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Recorded before an enthusiastic audience the
music welds the upliftingly rhythmic and soulfully inspirational
elements of klezmer with the soul and dynamism of Afro-American
gospel music. The opening Eyliyohu Hanovi, a traditional Passover
song beautifully sung by lead singer Lorin Sklamberg segues naturally
into Elijah Rock, a 10 minute wallshaker which features the powerful
vocals of gospel singer Joshua Nelson.
The song is a virtual anthem of the greatest
gospel singer of the second half of the 20th century, Mahalia
Jackson and Josh has got the passionate delivery down pat as the
band swings deliriously with a series of solos in tandem on trumpet,
violin and a delirious clarinet break that elicits spontaneous
applause from the punters. Fantastic stuff. In fact the whole
record leapfrogs nimbly between klezmer and gospel with the Klezmatics
swinging mightily or emoting soulfully on both sides of the fence.
The gospel and Yiddish cantorial spirits of
Josh and Lorin mesh to mesmerising effect on Shnirele, Perele,
one of the groups most enduring pieces. Even so, the bulk of Brother
gets caught up in an unstoppable swirl of hot testifying and just
plain fun, making this recording indispensable not just for the
klezmer fans. It never ceases to amaze me how the propagation
of the music of the diasporas (not just the African one) breaks
down the time-honoured barriers that separated it to reveal such
vital sounds. I’d love to see the reaction of one of the
so-called gospel/ blues purists to the Klezmatics punching the
ether with Josh on the Mahalia classic Walk In Jerusalem, the
deep interplay with another great singer Kathryn Farmer on the
perennial Go Down Moses, the vocals of everyone on the a cappella
title track or indeed anything on this outstanding recording.
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