Less is more…

I’d like you to be aware of a very recent and very unique recording project released just this week.  It is a CD album called Bridge of Generations and it features Mayer Davis and others performing Zmirot that have been transmitted through the generations of Mayer’s extended families. The song list also includes some original compositions which are, I’m sure, intended to be handed down to the future Davis generations. Why is this unique? Well let me begin by saying that I experience the album as a type of musical documentary. That is, it provides undeniable evidence of the power of Jewish song to connect a present generation to both previous and future generations. That is no small feat. This would be true even if the Nigunim were not as unusually beautiful as these are. I warn you now though, they are not easily learned, easily sung, predictable or cliché-ridden. They are what I might term irregular musical gems. While we are today regularly exposed to Jewish music CDs that have large bands, rhythmically intricate arrangements, horn lines that overshadow the songs, and long, drawn out intros that are remembered more than the song which follows, it is a breath of fresh air to listen to Elliot Weiss’ sparse, but poignant musical settings for the Davis songs. If ever there were arrangements that added meaning to the adage “less is more”, these are them. I urge you listen to this album which is dedicated to Esther Davis, A”H, Mayer’s mom who passed away this past year. There is no doubt that it is a labor of love, both to the music and to the dedicatee. Listen to Mark Fineberg’s clarinet playing, Dave Dunaway’s bass, Eli Kahn’s singing, and Mayer’s own vocal that serves to connect the album with past and future generations, just to mention a few of the many musical highlights of this album. As we approach the Passover season, this project underscores one of the most meaningful themes of the Haggadah – B’chol Dor V’Dor……………………………….

I’ll be talkin’ to ya’

EZ