Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on August 9, 2017

The top music, film, theater and food events in New York City this week, curated by arts and culture editors:

THE TOP THREE

TRAVELING IN PAIRS

Israeli-American jazz pianist Alon Nechustan and polymath Samuel Torjman Thomas join forces in Traveling in Pairs, a musical project that gives a jazz-inflicted treatment to a wide range of Jewish music. Thomas, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and singer, is also a professor of ethnomusicology and Jewish studies; hes best known as the leader of the New York Andalus Ensemble, a multi-ethnic outfit performing the traditional music of North Africa and Spain in Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish. Nechushtan has worked with Frank London, Baye Kouyates Afro Beat ensemble and Alicia Svigals Klezmer Quartet; hes forged a name for himself as a genre-buster who remains strongly rooted in jazz. Sunday, Aug. 20, 11 a.m., City Winery, 155 Varick St., (212) 608-0555, citywinery.com. $10.

THE AMERICAN SEPHARDI MUSIC FESTIVAL

Baritone David Serero star of the Ladino versions of The Merchant of Venice, Nabucco and Othello directs the inaugural American Sephardi Music Festival. Produced by the American Sephardi Federation, the three-day event features several Sephardic music stars. Composer/singer-songwriter and guitarist Gerard Edery a master of Sephardic song (The New York Times) performs sacred songs from the three major religions; Franoise Atlan, a French singer who lives in Morocco, explores Sephardic and Arabic music; the Arabic Jazz Ensemble Nashaz plays Maqam jazz (with oud); Israeli-American trumpeter Itamar Borochov connects the music of the downtown scene, North Africa, modern Israel and ancient Bukhara. Serero closes the festival with a mix of opera and comedy. Tuesday, Aug. 24 and Sunday-Monday, Aug. 27-28. Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St., (212) 294-8301, http://programs.cjh.org.

TAMUZ NISSIM

Jazz singer Tamuz Nissim plays Rockwood Music Hall this weekend. Tamuzmusic.com

Israeli-born vocalist and composer Tamuz Nissim can deliver a moody, sultry ballad with real authority, and she can swing as well, with a command of the scatting vocabulary. Nissims 2016 debut album, Liquid Melodies, a duet with guitarist George Nazos, was hailed as a combination that works so amazingly well through each [jazz] style that it is stunning (WTJU.net). The title song, a Nissim original set to a soft Brazilian beat that will bring to mind Astrud Gilberto, asks longingly, Liquid melodies that we used to sing/ They have lost their sound as weve lost our way/ If well call them, Come Back/ Will they stay? Saturday, Aug. 12, 5 p.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., rockwoodmusichall.com.

Theater

AMERIKE

Created by Zalmen Mlotek and Moishe Rosenfeld in 1984, the musical Amerike The Golden Land, weaves stories and observations the two collected from New Yorks Yiddish-speaking immigrants. The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene is now reimagining the production, documentary-style, heightened by the use of projection designs and a live seven-piece klezmer band on stage. Directed by Drama Desk-nominee Bryna Wasserman, Amerike is performed in Yiddish with Russian and English supertitles. Through Aug. 20, Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, (866) 811-4111, mjhnyc.org.

HELLO, DOLLY!

The Broadway hit that became an even more famous Barbra Streisand movie has returned to its Broadway roots. The widowed, brassy matchmaker Dolly Levi travels to Yonkers to find a match for the miserly well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire Horace Vandergelder. Played on film by the legendary Babs, this Broadway revival features the no-less-legendary Bette Midler as Dolly. Directed by four-time Tony Award-winner Jerry Zaks. Shubert Theatre, 225 W. 44th St., (212) 239-6200, hellodollyonbroadway.com. $59-$189.

ARI SHAPIRO: HOMEWARD

As a journalist, NPRs All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro has witnessed wars and revolutions. Inspired by his experiences around the world, he takes the stage in Homeward, his first solo cabaret performance. Shapiro will sing songs of upheaval, patriotism and hope, from places that are less far away than they seem. Sunday, Aug. 13, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Joes Pub, 425 Lafayette St., (212) 539-8778, publictheater.org.

Music

HEKSELFEST

Israeli-born jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman, who has drawn praise for his warm and clean guitar tone, clear articulation, [and] crazily extended improvisational ideas, (The New York Times) teams up with various jazz mavericks for three nights. On tap: legendary jazz drummer Billy Hart, singer Becca Stevens, multi-instrumentalist Joel Ross and more. Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 10-13, at various times, Cornelia Street Caf, 29 Cornelia St., (212) 989-9319. $20, drinks included. Visit corneliastreetcafe.com for details.

ANBESSA ORCHESTRA

Ethiopian pop/funk, for those not hip to it, is a world-music revelation. Fusing the familiar sounds of American rock, soul, blues and jazz with the utterly foreign pentatonic scales and melismatic vocal delivery of Ethiopian music, the genre has an otherworldly sound married to a powerful, guttural groove. Anbessa Orchestra, a seven-piece group of Israeli-born, New York-based musicians, riffs off Ethiopian hits from the 60s and 70s, the so-called Golden Age of Ethiopian pop, spicing up the mix with Middle Eastern and Israeli influences. Friday, Aug. 11, 10 p.m., Barbs, 376 Ninth St., Brooklyn, (347) 422-0248, barbesbrooklyn.com. $10.

SHIRA AVERBUCH

Well-known in local Israeli-American circles for her Hebrew performances for kids, young Israeli-American actor/singer/songwriter (and self-proclaimed tree-hugging fairy) Shira Averbuch performs acoustic songs from her #12WeeksofGratitude video project, a heartfelt folk collection with a touch of country jazz. All proceeds will be donated to the International Rescue Committee. Sunday, Aug. 13, 3 p.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., (212) 477-4155, rockwoodmusichall.com. Free.

GOYFRIEND

Berlin-based Sasha Lurje is one of the most sought-after voices in klezmer music. Belarusian-born composer/clarinetist Zisl Slepovitch is leader of the critically acclaimed Litvakus, a NYC-based band known for its raw, rootsy and energetic performances of Jewish music from Belarus. The two team-up in Goyfriend, a project exploring the Jewish-Slavic-Baltic cultural dialogue through music. Sunday, Aug. 13, 11 a.m., City Winery, 155 Varick St., (212) 608-0555, citywinery.com. $10.

SHAI MAESTRO SOLO PIANO

The Israeli-born pianist is a former member of bassist Avishai Cohens Trio and currently leads his own trio. Hearing the Shai Maestro trio is like awakening to a new world: a world of wonders, excitement, beauty, and uncertainty, says All About Jazz. Maestro will perform a solo piano version of originals from his 2014 album, Untold Stories, and more. Monday, Aug. 21, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Jazz Gallery, 1160 Broadway, 5th fl., (646) 494-3625, jazzgallery.nyc.

KADAWA

This Israeli-born, N.Y.-based trio performs quirky originals drawing from jazz, rock, classical and Israeli music. With Tal Yahalom on guitar, Almog Sharvit on bass and Ben Silashi on drums. Saturday, Aug. 19, 12 a.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., (212) 477-4155, rockwoodmusichall.com.

AVIVA

Infusing her high-timbered indie-pop songs with subtle Middle Eastern trills, young Israeli-American singer/songwriter Aviva Scheier sounds like a cross between Adele, Birdy and a westernized Sarit Haddad. Scheier will present songs from her recent debut album, Paper Cranes. Sunday, Aug. 20, 6 p.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., (212) 477-4155, rockwoodmusichall.com.

ORLY BENDAVID AND THE MONA DAHLS

Songwriter/performing artist Orly Bendavid and her band, The Mona Dahls, perform quirky, earthly and folksy songs, evoking sounds of Parisian cabaret, Appalachian hill country and the Middle East. With guest pianist Matthew Davies. Sunday, Aug. 20, 6 p.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., (212) 477-4155, rockwoodmusichall.com.

SLAVIC SOUL PARTY

The acclaimed Brooklyn-based Balkan brass plays its fiery signature blend of Balkan brass, funk grooves, Roma, klezmer and jazz. Tuesdays, 9 p.m., Barbs, 376 Ninth St., Brooklyn, (347) 422-0248, barbesbrooklyn.com. $10.

Film

THE WOMENS BALCONY

When the womens balcony in an Orthodox synagogue collapses, leaving the rabbis wife in a coma and the rabbi in shock, the congregation falls into crisis. Charismatic young Rabbi David appears to be a savior after the accident, but slowly starts pushing his fundamentalist ways. This tests the womens friendships and creates an almost Lysistrata-type rift between the communitys women and men. Lincoln Plaza Cinema, 1886 Broadway, (212) 757-0359, lincolnplazacinema.com.

WONDER WOMAN

Starring Sabra actress/model/former Miss Israel Gal Gadot, the first A-list Israeli movie star ever, the smash-hit film follows Diana, princess of the Amazons and demi-god, as she grows up on an all-female, all-warrior, all-Israeli-accented island. After a handsome British pilot fighter (Chris Pine) arrives on the island and alerts her to the First World War raging outside, the two rush off to save the world through their combined military prowess. In very wide release.

MENASHE

Starring a real-life Menashe (the Skverer chasid Menashe Lustig), Joshua Z. Weinsteins Menashe follows the tale of a widower pushing against the conventions of his tight-knit, family-oriented community by trying to win custody of his young son. In his debut feature, Weinstein, a documentarian, shows a real feel for the rhythms and cadences of chasidic life. Its sweet and sad all at once, and a New York story through and through. Angelika Film Center, 18 W. Houston St., angelikafilmcenter.com (through Aug.17), and Lincoln Plaza Cinema, 1886 Broadway, lincolnplazacinema.com (through Aug.10).

IN SEARCH OF ISRAELI CUISINE

This tasty, feature-length documentary is a portrait of the Israeli people told through food. More than 70 cultures comprise the Israeli people, each with its own culinary traditions; featured here are profiles of chefs, home cooks, vintners and cheese makers drawn from the Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, Druze and other cultures that make up Israel today. Sundays through August, 5:30 p.m., Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, (212) 864-5400, SymphonySpace.org.

Exhibitions

OPERATION FINALE

Playing out more like a spy novel than a museum show, this multimedia exhibit features recently declassified materials charting the tracking, capture, extradition and trial of Adolf Eichmann Through Dec. 22, Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, (646) 437-4202, mjhnyc.org.

FLORINE STETTHEIMER: PAINTING POETRY

Through her critically acclaimed poems, paintings and drawings, as well as a selection of costume and theater designs, photographs and ephemera, The Jewish Museum offers a timely reconsideration of poet/painter Florine Stettheimer, an icon of Jazz Age New York. Through Sept. 24, The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave., (212) 423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org.

To publish events, submit them to jewishweekcalendar@gmail.com two weeks or more in advance. We cannot guarantee inclusion due to space limitations. Since scheduling changes may occur, we recommend contacting the venue before heading out to an event.

Alon Nechustan and Samuel Torjman Thomas perform Aug. 20 at City Winery. Musicsalon.com | Asefamusic.com

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What's Going On In NYC This Week - Jewish Week

Category: Sephardic
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