Two debut albums offer surprises from new talent

Out of Range

There is something unique about GERSHI URI’s voice, a certain magnetic timbre and intensity. Producer Naftali Schnitzler, one of the best ears in today’s Jewish music industry, picked out the London-based chassidish singer’s talent a few years ago, long before Uri’s debut album, ZMAN, hit the stands last month. “Gershi is blessed with such an amazing range and talent that he can do almost anything with his voice. While there are others who also have flexibility, their voices are often thin, but Gershi has a voice that is not only flexible, but full as well,” says Schnitlzer.

Uri had sung on several recent singles, including “Hoidee Lashem,” where he joined Shea Berko for a lively duet. But releasing a full album is a whole different level. In addition to requiring a lot of travel for both Gershy and Naftali, it also meant searching for material that would be both appropriate for a chassidish music album and a perfect fit for Uri’s voice and vocal range.

In the end, when Schnitzler couldn’t find those perfect songs from other composers, he used some of his very own compositions. Avrumi Lunger, who worked on the perfect execution of Naftali’s creative vision, is also responsible for some of the arrangements and the album’s mix. One lively track, “Loi Loi,” grabs the listener’s attention with its pulsating electronic music and Uri’s vocals almost entirely in falsetto. Not every track is so sharply up to date, though. Gershi Uri says his personal favorite is “U’vetach,” a slow, reflective yet powerful track.

One thing the pair wanted was a fast-paced wedding dance song in an authentic chassidish style. They approached Meshulem Greenberger, composer of the Yingerlich hit song “Meloich” — which Schnitzler produced — and loved Greenberger’s response: an energetic “Zoch shochein me’onah… leshanah habah b”Yerushalayim.” The song is already playing at chasunahs — and with Gershi himself singing at weddings night after night, it’s sure to spread fast.

Open House, Open Heart

Thousands of former bochurim who’ve passed through the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem over the last two decades surely know YOELI DOPPELT from his once-popular Shabbos catering and takeout restaurant, Yoeli’s, which is right next to the yeshivah in the Beis Yisrael neighborhood; or from the open-door, no-reservations-necessary Shabbos meals he hosted in his apartment off Rechov Shmuel Hanavi. But Yoeli, who was a longtime rebbi in Kesher and always brought his saxophone or clarinet to events, moved back to Boro Park a few years ago. He's now on staff at the Chaburah of Brooklyn, a “landing pad” for baal teshuvah yeshivah graduates, and owns a construction waste business, but music is still his passion. His newly-released album of his own songs, SHIRU SHIRU, has been getting plenty of regards from acquaintances and new fans in Jerusalem and all over.

“I started this songwriting project because I was looking for a commitment to get on my piano and play every day,” Yoeli shares. “Although I’ve always loved songwriting and have a piano in my office, it was hard to stop in the middle of a hectic day and engage in the creative musical process. When I met Yochi Briskman and we discussed the idea of this album project, it motivated me to make a daily ‘kviyus’ in music. Composing melodies and writing lyrics is a lot harder than it looks, but the results are very rewarding.”

The album, produced by Yochi Briskman with arrangements by Moshe Laufer, has eight songs from Tehillim and davening, with a frank, uncomplicated feel, and a definite flavor of the previous decades. Of the three English tracks, “The Rebbe” is a charming country song that recounts the story of a stolen watch and a rebbi’s sensitivity and devotion; “One Nation One Soul” gives a refreshingly upbeat picture of Klal Yisrael’s chesed (We’re always here for you / that’s what brothers are for); and the final track, “Don’t You Worry,” is an original English version of Avraham Fried’s Yiddish “Nisht Gedaiget Yidden.”

Mic Drop

Soundtrack for the Month of Mercy

The new Kumzitz Alive Elul album, the latest recorded Baruch Levine kumzits, offers an encouraging and relatable soundtrack for Elul. With today’s technological speed and Doni Gross’s ever-ready initiative and talent, maybe it’s not even surprising that the album was actually recorded this very Elul.

“I was davening on Rosh Chodesh Elul when I remembered Baruch Levine’s beautiful tune for ‘Achas Shoalti,’ a new song that didn't make the cut on his recent Lev Chodosh album,” says Doni, the producer. “That day, Tuesday afternoon, as I drove home from upstate back to Brooklyn, I called Baruch, and as we spoke, he said what we were both thinking: “We should have done an Elul version of Kumzitz Alive.”

I answered him, “What are you doing on Thursday?”

The idea was to do a kumzitz-style recording, similar to the well-received Kumzitz Alive album recorded in Lakewood last Chanukah. But on such short notice, there was no time to get together a hundred-plus bochurim. Doni thought of creating a farbrengen and kumzitz in the studio instead. The first step was getting song expert Yaakov Brown to join the chat and help hammer out a list of songs.

“My first thought was to include songs like ‘Chamol’ and ‘Shaarei Shamayim,’” Doni says. “But we challenged ourselves to present something with a little more freshness.” The final list includes five of Baruch’s own compositions, including his “Selach Na,” sang by Shloime Daskal in 2008, and a selection from Rav Shmuel Brazil, Abie Rotenberg, and others.

“I did a lot of singing in camps over the summer,” Baruch shares. “Kumzitz is ‘in,’ but it no longer means that everyone sits on the floor in a dark room with a flickering candle. Kumzitzes have become more alive, including a variety of songs, but the key is that everyone wants to sing along, not just listen.” One popular kumzitz that Boruch led over the summer break was titled the “Let’s not be afraid of Elul” medley, and the experience enabled him to pick winning songs with wide appeal for this album.

On Wednesday morning, the second day of Rosh Chodesh, Doni laid out the songs and arrangements. By Thursday morning, as the musicians in Eretz Yisrael were recording the background music, Baruch was in Doni’s studio in Brooklyn recording his vocals.

Then came the fun part: an hours-long farbrengen on Thursday evening.

“It was the first time I’ve recorded so many people in the studio,” Doni says.

Choir vocals on a studio album are usually sung by three or four choir members, whose voices are then layered, to create the effect of a larger choir. Three-part harmonies are standard. This 16-strong kumzitz with only gentle harmony is something completely different, which is audible in the album. The sound is unvarnished, and somehow welcoming, so the listener can easily sing along.

“We sang some songs two or three in a row, we didn’t overthink it by editing every syllable, and Baruch didn’t want to over-sing it, but rather hear the olam singing,” Doni says. “He actually sang in a lower register in order for the other guys to sing along as comfortably as possible.”

As for the new “Achas Shoalti”, it’s almost familiar, a real kumzitz song. Baruch taught it to the participants live, and its simplicity — an easy low part and high part — enabled a great sound.

When you teach a new song to a crowd, everyone sings because they’re not singing solo, so they’re not afraid to make a mistake. You get the song ninety percent right. But that’s okay here.”

Doni remembers when he was a ninth grader in Camp Rayim Mesivta, and Baruch, who was a division head in Rayim, came over and taught a newly-composed song — his “Haneshama Lach.” The sound of Elul hasn’t changed all that much since then.

A Song That Gets Me into the Elul Spirit

The beautiful rendition of “Hashkifa” by Kol Achai gets me into the Elul mood. Besides it being a pasuk that is always read during Elul in parshas Ki Savo, it reminds me that when we follow the mitzvos, Hashem looks down on us favorably, showering us with blessings, especially the blessing of giving us the Land of Israel.

—Leib Yaacov Rigler

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1030)