Live in Concert Song Notes

JEFF KLEPPER LIVE IN CONCERT
"JEWISH MUSIC FOR THE MASSES"

LINER NOTES

Recorded at Temple Reyim, Newton, MA, January 13, 2002

"Behold how good and how pleasant when people dwell together" (Psalm 133)

I learned the old ‘Hinei Ma Tov’ in kindergarten back in ‘59; I’ve been singing it and its many variants ever since. Does the world really need another ‘Hinei Ma Tov’? Why not? I was recently singing with some 21st century kindergarten kids in New Jersey and this riff just came to me...by the end of the class we were singing it together.

Recorded at Temple Reyim, Newton, MA, January 13, 2002

This is a medieval song in Aramaic which appears at the end of the Pesach (Passover) Haggadah. While its original meaning may have been an allegory on the ephemeral nature of empires throughout history (Israel is the little goat, get it?) it was meant to amuse the children during the long seder, but our kids are usually asleep by the time we get to it. There are hundreds of versions in Aramaic but only a few in English. This is one of them, with a melody wherein Bo Diddley meets David Byrne, with a little bit of tradition thrown in. It’s meant to keep the kids awake.

3. Shabbes (Traditional)

Recorded at Temple Reyim, Newton, MA, January 13, 2002

"Let there be Shabbes...Holidays...Peace for the Jews and all over the world."

I learned this delightful Yiddish folk tune at camp many years ago and sang it at lots of senior centers over the years. Then I heard Wolf Krakowski’s reggae version and I figured I’d try giving it more of a rock edge. Here’s the result. What a privilege it was to play this with Klezmer superstars Ilene Stahl and Evan Harlan. (If you haven’t heard their amazing group, Klezperanto, run and purchase their CD and get ready to blast off!

Recorded at Temple Reyim, Newton, MA, January 13, 2002

Another old tune from my childhood, it magically morphed into this unique arrangement one Shabbat evening at my previous shul in Evanston, IL. I had wanted to surprise the Rabbi with this, his favorite ‘Adon Olam’ melody but I guess I went a little overboard. If you’re up for dancing it works great with a conga line. By the way, I accidently omitted the thrid verse. Oops.

Recorded at Temple Reyim, Newton, MA, January 13, 2002

Since I first heard ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ in 1963 Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman) has been my hero. Many of his songs have Jewish images but most of the time they are heavily disguised. And in the late 1980s I saw Bob himself playing ‘Hava Nagila’ on the harmonica to raise money on a Chabad telethon! So a few years ago I wrote a one-man show called Like A Rolling Cohen in which I played Bob singing his songs with my own lyrics on Jewish themes. In his hilarious 1966 song, ‘Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again,’ Bob cuts up the world around him with wit and wordplay, and I’ve tried to do the same, even if it sometimes takes me over the edge. My new versions work on several levels but most important is they help us to laugh at ourselves. Monsey, by the way, is a small community north of New York City inhabited mostly by Chassidim. To them, Brooklyn must seem like the Old Country.

Recorded at The Concord Hotel (North American Jewish Choral Festival) Kiamisha Lake, NY, August 1, 1999

Since this is the only ‘Hebrew song’ Bob has ever recorded I had to cover it here. His publisher told me I am the first person besides Bob to sing it on a record. Back in 1961 (when hardly anybody suspected Bob was Jewish) it seems to have been a satire on the prevalence of poorly sung ethnic songs performed by coffee house singers in Greenwich Village. This version was recorded, quite appropriately, at the Concord Hotel in the heart of the Borsht Belt, at a late night concert at the North American Jewish Choral Festival, and you can hear how giddy everyone was after singing around the clock with hardly any sleep. An article I wrote about this song can be found at www.GenJ.com.

Recorded at Temple Micah, Washington, D.C., February 27, 1999

Bob Dylan’s ‘Desolation Row’ is one of the greatest songs ever written. It peels away layers of reality to reveal the absurdity lurking beneath the surface of our consciousness. I’ve tried to do the same thing here with the inner workings of a modern day synagogue. I hope I’m not telling secrets out of shul. When I sing this, it’s rabbis and cantors who laugh the hardest, and I think I know why.

Recorded at Beloit College, Beloit, WI (UAHC Kallah) August 4, 1999

You know how Bart Simpson's mom makes him wear that scratchy suit with his hair combed back to go to church? Well, that was me going to synagogue on the holidays. My childhood memory of those big shuls, packed full for the Holidays, the chazzn and rabbi giving us their best stuff, still sends chills up my spine. The lyric is from the perspective of an older man who loves to daven with his friends, but his fancy shul is maybe a bit too rich for his blood. This comes from a great blues song of Dylan’s called ‘It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry,’ but I had to shorten the title. Thanks to Rabbi Jeff Salkin for help with the lyrics.

Recorded at Beloit College, Beloit, WI (UAHC Kallah) August 9, 1997

We have been blessed to live at the same time as Bob Dylan, who turned 60 in 2001, ('ad meiah v’esrim', Bob, may you live to 120, staying forever young!) and to derive meaning and insight from his boundless creativity. My version of one of his most enduring songs pokes fun at some cantors (it really does take one to know one) but it’s actually a loving tribute to a bygone era when great cantors like Kousevitzky and Rosenblatt were true superstars. As for the recording, performing with Howard Levy and Stuart Rosenberg is always a delight. They play whatever I throw at them, with or without charts (printed music). Howard is regarded as the greatest harmonica player in the world (he’s featured on tracks 10 and 18) so I couldn’t resist the chutzpah of playing harp myself while Howard was stuck at the piano. You can hear how much fun we were having.

Recorded at Beloit College, Beloit, WI (UAHC Kallah) August 9, 1997

It took me awhile to appreciate the simple beauty of David Shneyer’s Appalachian-inspired version of the popular Shabbat hymn. It’s a true classic. David, as I did, studied at the feet of the great Shlomo Carlebach z’l, and went on to make wonderful music of his own with The Farbrengen Fiddlers. This track (along with the previous song) was recorded in mono off the soundboard and the levels aren’t perfect, but Howard Levy and Stuart Rosenberg played so exquisitely I just had to include it.

11. Eit Dodim (Traditional)

Recorded at Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute, Occonomowoc, WI (Hava Nashira) June 10, 1992

"A time for lovers, come into my garden my bride; the vines are blossoming, the pomegranates are budding." (Shir Hashirim)

I first met Debbie Friedman in 1969 at the UAHC Kutz Camp. That summer, among the dozens of songs she taught me, was this sublime Yemenite folk tune adapted from Song of Songs. Debbie is one of my two special soul mates in this world of contemporary Jewish music (Dan Freelander being the other.) She’s written dozens of legendary songs but it’s the old standards she loves most of all. In 1992 we teamed up with Jerry Kaye to start Hava Nashira, an annual summer workshop for teaching songleading, held at Jerry’s camp in Occonomowoc, WI. On the last night of that very first Hava Nashira, Debbie and I gave an impromptu concert and we improvised this arrangement on the spot with no rehearsal.

Recorded at Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute, Occonomowoc, WI (Hava Nashira) June 10, 1992

"Come, my beloved to greet the Bride, to welcome Shabbat."

Shlomo Alkabetz surely had the Song of Songs in mind when he wrote the words to this Kabbalistic Shabbat hymn in the 16th century. After spending a year in Israel, serving as a cantor and composer-in-residence at the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa, I had Sephardic rhythms and Israeli minor scales in my blood. ‘L’cha Dodi’ is just one example of the influence. (Our services could use a little more of that kind of sound.) Special thanks to my buddy Benj Kanters who recorded the Hava Nashira concert.

Recorded at Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute, Occonomowoc, WI (Hava Nashira) June 10, 1992

My year of living in Israel affected me deeply. When I returned to the States I recorded a CD, Yom Chadash, of songs I composed there. I wanted to write an anthem to Israel and the people who made and continue to make her great: the olim (immigrants) who come from all over the world. Beginning in 1989 the gates were finally opened for Jews wishing to leave the Soviet Union. Operation Moses had brought Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 1984 with a second rescue operation in 1991. A new era of modern Jewish history began, and ‘Coming Home’ was written. This was one of the first performances of the song, and I have since changed the first line of the third verse to, "From many lands we have returned, but our task is not complete..." The newer version appears on Kol B’seder’s CD In Every Generation.

Recorded at Temple Micah, Washington, D.C., February 27, 1999

John Fogerty’s original song, Proud Mary, was a huge 60s hit for Creedence Clearwater Revival, but the sizzling cover by Ike and Tina Turner in 1970 turned it into a Rock Classic. Jeff Mallow and I wrote this parody for a Purimshpiel at Beth Emet Synagogue. Jeff teaches college physics but is a Yiddish humorist in his spare time. We wrote it over lunch in a Thai restaurant. The lyrics were a slam dunk, but the funniest lines are his. Hey, somebody had to write this one, so it may as well have been us.

Recorded at Beth Emet Synagogue, Evanston, IL, April 19, 1997

Stuart and I wrote this song for a service in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King at Beth Emet. It may be full of cliches but it’s a powerful song with a message, it comes from the heart and I love to sing it. I performed it live with full band accompaniment on the CD Sing Out for Justice, to benefit the Religious Action Center in Washington D.C. This performance (and the following song too) comes from a set Stuart and I played opening for a Doug Mishkin concert at Beth Emet in 1997. In my typical fashion I flubbed a line in the bridge. It should have been, "And if there’s darkness deep inside you and it’s holding on so strong, There’s a light that’s always shining, it’s been shining for so long!"

Recorded at Beth Emet Synagogue, Evanston, IL, April 19, 1997

This song was inspired by my studies with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, author of numerous books (all brilliant) which draw from the Jewish mystical tradition in discussing contemporary spirituality. I wrote the song after hearing him give a talk on Emptiness, which brought together Eliahu, the empty chair of Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlav, the Holy of Holies, and Elvis Presley. I’m kidding about Elvis. It took a long time to write but I finished the song just in time to record it on In This Place in 1996. Stuart produced that album but didn’t get to play much on it, unfortunately. This performance reveals what a consummate musician he is. He’s also a great friend.

Recorded at The Concord Hotel (Noth American Jewish Choral Festival) Kiamisha Lake, NY, August 1, 1999

(Rabbi) Dan Freelander is my long time singing partner and my other Jewish music soul mate. We met as college students in 1972. By the middle of 1974 (when we formed the group Kol B’seder) we had composed ‘Modeh Ani’, ‘Shalom Rav’, ‘Lo Alecha’, ‘Ushmor’, ‘V’yashvu Ish’ and a dozen other Hebrew golden oldies. (We’ve been singing together for over 30 years, so we both know how Simon and Garfunkel must have felt after 20.) Anyway, after an exhaustive search I finally found a good digital concert tape (thanks to Larry Sandberg), recorded at an amazing annual event, the North American Jewish Choral Festival. ‘In Every Generation’ comes from the Passover Haggadah and bids us all to see ourselves as if each one of us had personally experienced the Exodus from Egypt. A famous Torah text from Exodus was the inspiration for the lyrics: "You shall not oppress the stranger, for you were strangers in the Land of Egypt." More songs from this Choral Festival concert and other surprises will appear on the forthcoming Best of Kol B’seder CD.

Recorded at Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute, Occonomowoc, WI, July 13,1991

"It is not your duty to complete the work; neither are you free to refrain from beginning it." (Pirkei Avot). This was the forth or fifth song Dan and I wrote together back in the early 70s. I was singing with Boston’s Zamir Chorale then, and I taught our new song to one of my guitar playing choir-mates (Jerry Stern if my memory serves me right) for a Yom Haatzma’ut performance we participated in at Harvard. (Jerry, are you out there?). Shortly after that, he taught it to an NCSY gathering in New York. From there it traveled mouth to mouth, literally around the Jewish world, to Israel and back. It appeared on at least one LP with the composer listed as ‘Traditional’, and when I met Vel Pasternak (the Jewish music maven and songbook editor) for the first time in New York, he floored me by announcing that the song was to be included in his latest book, Hassidic Hits. (Hassidic Hits?!) This version was recorded at an outdoor concert to benefit the Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute in Occonomowoc, WI. Substituting for Dan was the always amazing Howard Levy on harmonica and piano!

Recorded at Temple Reyim, Newton MA, January 13, 2002

"Next year we will sit on the balcony and count the migrating birds. Kids on vacation will play catch between the house and field. You will see how good everything will be next year."

The late 1960s and early 70s was the Golden Age of Israeli Song, and no other example captures the spirit of those years better than this. The lyrics paint a picture of a young, optimistic nation, having just emerged victorious from the 1967 Six Day War. Nurit Hirsch’s bouncy melody captured the lyric’s message so perfectly that it became El Al’s theme song for awhile, and kids would stick their arms out like airplane wings and dance whenever we sang it.

Recorded at Shoebox Audio and Renaissance Recording Company, Boston, MA, July, 2002

"Turn it and turn it, for everything is in it." (Pirkei Avot)

Here’s a studio bonus track featuring the awesome multi-instrumental talents of Josh Nelson. The quote-quote sounds like a riddle, and the answer is: Torah. The song started out as a silly improvisation in the car to amuse my kids. I’m told it has become one of the hot songs at Jewish camps recently. Yes, his real name was Ben Bag-Bag (in Hebrew, pronounced "Bog-Bog"), but ‘Bag’ is a lot easier to rhyme.

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