1. Chanukah Chag Yafeh
2. Light One Candle
3. Be A Light
4. Oh Chanukah, Oh Chanukah
5. On The Air
6. Maoz Tzur
7. Mi Yimaleil
8. The Great Menorah Debate
9. Al Hanisim
10. S'vivon (Instrumental)
11. Oseh Shalom
12. Maoz Tzur (Instrumental)
ARTIST SITE
CD BABY
2. Light One Candle
3. Be A Light
4. Oh Chanukah, Oh Chanukah
5. On The Air
6. Maoz Tzur
7. Mi Yimaleil
8. The Great Menorah Debate
9. Al Hanisim
10. S'vivon (Instrumental)
11. Oseh Shalom
12. Maoz Tzur (Instrumental)
ARTIST SITE
CD BABY
I'm always on the lookout for good Chanukah music and "Be A Light" from 2009 certainly qualifies. Neal Katz is a Rabbi and Folk musician and one of his challenges is presenting traditional Jewish music in a manner that is accessible to grown-ups and kids alike. Following in the tradition of artists like Debbie Friedman, Neal's music grows out of his experience with the youth groups and summer camps of the Reform Movement.
On traditional tracks, Neal never strays too far from the original intent--often mixing in klezmer--yet manages to infuse songs like "Maoz Tzur" with a warm living room feel. But it's on the originals Neal's light shines brightest. The title track is a very sweet folk number, given added depth by the inclusion of a cello. "On The Air" offers its message in a more modern arrangement. And Neal hits a nice little groove in "The Great Menorah Debate", his talking blues wonderfully offset by the singers (whom I suspect are Stacy Beyer and Sonia Rutstein) in the breaks.
Neal is still perfecting his Folk music craft, but he reached an excellent level on the ladder up with this recording and he should rightly be pleased with the achievement. Perhaps that's why "Be A Light" can be downloaded free from his web site though, for the highest quality (and to support the artist), you should consider purchasing the hard copy CD from CDBaby or Amazon.
On traditional tracks, Neal never strays too far from the original intent--often mixing in klezmer--yet manages to infuse songs like "Maoz Tzur" with a warm living room feel. But it's on the originals Neal's light shines brightest. The title track is a very sweet folk number, given added depth by the inclusion of a cello. "On The Air" offers its message in a more modern arrangement. And Neal hits a nice little groove in "The Great Menorah Debate", his talking blues wonderfully offset by the singers (whom I suspect are Stacy Beyer and Sonia Rutstein) in the breaks.
Neal is still perfecting his Folk music craft, but he reached an excellent level on the ladder up with this recording and he should rightly be pleased with the achievement. Perhaps that's why "Be A Light" can be downloaded free from his web site though, for the highest quality (and to support the artist), you should consider purchasing the hard copy CD from CDBaby or Amazon.
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