Performers' Index D
Yisroel Dagan
Singer for Azamra, a movement of the Breslov Chassidim. CD "ASHRENU!" Website has biographical information, photos and sound bites. "The Azamra Institute is dedicated to the dissemination of Torah spirituality, healthcare and healing through educational programs, quality publications and Internet outreach. Founded in 1986 by Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum, the Azamra Institute is an independent non-profit organization incorporated in Israel, the U.S. and Canada."
http://www.azamra.org/HTML/song.htm
Daniel Akiva
Daniel Akiva, guitarist, appears as soloist, in Classical Trio (oboe, cello and guitar) and in ensembles presenting music inspired by the Judeo-Spanish tradition, with the Ladino language; a synthesis of Spanish and older Hebrew. Daniel Akiva’s repertoire includes works from the Renaissance to the 20th century. Special emphasis is placed in his programs on original music written by him or for him by Israeli composers.
http://www.monica-fallon.com/artists/daniel_akiva.htm
Daniel Kazez, Cellist
Daniel Kazez who works at Wittenberg University in Ohio, has put up a website with music on Jewish themes for cello. He also gives brief biographies of some of the composers whose works he performs.
http://userpages.wittenberg.edu/dkazez/dk/jmu.html
David Broza
Commercial site promoting the music of David Broza, popular Israeli rock star. Includes a biography and discography, quotes from critics and some sound samples.
http://Broza.com/
Adam Davis
Jewish Band for the South African Jewish Wedding Market.
Adam Davis +27-82-452 3317
http://www.jewishwedding.co.za
Deborah Davis
Soprano. First confirmed cantor in the Humanistic Jewish
movement. Specializes in singing in Yiddish, Ladino and Hebrew. Currently with Second Avenue Klezmer Ensemble, based in San Diego, CA.
Richard Danielpour
American. Born New York, January 28, 1956. composer. pianist. "Richard Danielpour is one of the most recorded composers of his generation, and became only the third composer — after Stravinsky and Copland — to be signed to an exclusive recording contract by Sony Classical." There is an in-depth biography of Danielpour from G. Schirmer (AMP) that includes a list of works and links to reviews of his music.
http://www.schirmer.com/composers/danielpour_bio.html
Davka
A three person group of violin, cello and doumbek that intertwines musical traditions of Classical, Middle Eastern and Klezmer with a twist of jazz. They have two CDs, Davka and Lavy's Dream.
http://www.davkamusic.com/
Den Flygande Bokrullen
Den Flygande Bokrullen is a five-man group that plays 'Klezmer' music offering background, music samples, photos and links.
http://home7.swipnet.se/~w-75598/e_klez.htm
Moshe Denburg
Moshe Denburg (b. 1949) grew up in Montreal, Canada, in a religious Jewish family. His first musical influences were the singing and chanting of the Synagogue and his mother's singing of Jewish and Israeli folksongs. His musical career has spanned over 3 decades and his accomplishments encompass a wide range of musical activities, including Composition, Performance, Jewish Music Education, and Piano Tuning. His compositions have been performed in many parts of the world and as a Performer/Composer he has recorded and toured with his ensemble Tzimmes all over North America.
Mr. Denburg has studied music extensively, both formally and informally. He has travelled worldwide, living and studying music in New York (1965-66), Israel (1966-73), Montreal (1973-78), Toronto (1978-82), India (1982-83; 1985-86), and Japan (1985). From 1986-90 he studied composition with John Celona at the University of Victoria, Canada. Since 1987 his compositions have reflected an ongoing and strengthening commitment to the principle of inter-cultural music making.
From 1982 until the present, Mr. Denburg has apprenticed himself to the study of World Music traditions, as much as possible in their native context. Living and working in India on two occasions, he studied Carnatic music (South Indian Classical tradition), both the rhythmic and melodic elements (Mrdangam and Voice). He began his studies with Trichy Sankaran at York University and contuinued in Madras with percussion master T.H. Vinayakram, and Carnatic vocal repertoire master the late Dr. S. Ramanathan. (Note: Mr. Vinayakram is known for his work with the original Shakti ensemble with John Mclaughlin, Zakir Hussain, and L. Shankar, as well as with Mickey Hart on the Grammy Award winning Planet Drum. Dr. Ramanathan was a practicing singer, Vina player, and renowned scholar who received his Phd in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University.)
In 1985 Mr. Denburg lived in Japan for 6 months, studying, in Tokyo, a style of music called Naga-uta. Naga-uta is a song form accompanied by a three stringed fretless Lute called the Shamisen, and is derived from the Kabuki theatre. (Teacher: Ms. Naomi Muraishi).
In 1993 and again in 1994, Mr. Denburg travelled to Israel to research Arabic music, consulting with expert musicians and musicologists (Edwin Serussi and Amnon Shiloah, among others) in the field, including the conductor (Suhil Radwan) of an active, professional Arabic Music Orchestra in Haifa. In 1995, he participated in the World Percussion Intensive at Simon Fraser University, to further his understanding of the rhythms and rhythmic instruments of the world.
These studies of the music of the world are ongoing, and have always had as their purpose the creation of compositions which would help build a new inter-cultural lexicon for composers and musicians of the future. No less a challenge for the composer, this work challenges musicians of differing disciplines to work together across oral/written cultural divides, and to find a common musical aesthetic. Over the last three years Mr. Denburg has established the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO), a vehicle for the realization of his, and other Canadian composers' inter-cultural work. In 2002 he was awarded a Canada Council grant to write a new work for the VICO. Entitled 'Ani Ma-amin (I Believe)' it calls for choir and a large array of instruments from musical instruments from all over the globe: China, India, Japan, Vietnam, Africa, South America, the Mid-East, & the Western world.
Di Naye Kapele
Bob Cohen formed Di Naye Kapelye, a klezmer ensemble, to "present Carpathian klezmer music in its most authentic form. A member of the Jewish
Music Research Center at Budapest's ELTE University, Bob has done extensive field research in klezmer and Yiddish music in Eastern Europe, the United States, and Israel. A founding member of the Budapester Klezmer Band, Bob has also performed and toured with Budowitz." The website contains information about the group, its members, links and photos, a discography and articles including "Jewish Musicians in Moldavia" a translation of an article by Itzik Schwartz.
http://www.dinayekapelye.com/DNKfront.htm
The Diaspora Yeshiva Band
This band, formed in the 1970's at the Diaspora Yeshiva in Jerusalem, combines American bluegrass, rock and country music with the chassidic nigun. They gained fame after garnering prizes at the Chassidic Music Festival in Israel in the late 1970's. Today the band consists of eight members and has produced six albums including Melave Malke, At the Gate of Return, The Diaspora Yeshiva Band, and Land of Our Fathers. Samples of their style are available in Real Audio on their website. They sing in both Hebrew and English.
http://www.diasporaband.com/bio.php
Digitallis All Stars
See: Sophie Solomon's website includes information about the CD, photos, writings, and information about the performers. Audio clips also available.
Divahn
All woman's quartet of Sephardic and Middle Eastern Jewish music, using tabla, cello, rabel, and other acoustics, plus vocals in Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish, Persian and Aramaic. Galeet Dardashti, leader, is the granddaughter of Yona Dardashti, one of the most famous singers of Persian classical music in Iran, and daughter of Hazzan Farid Dardashti. Lauren DeAlbert, percussion; Michal Raizen, cello; Emily Pinkerton, violin, rabel, banjo, and secondary vocals. Group based in Austin, Texas. The group has produced a CD by the same name.
http://www.divahn.com/
Doina Klezmer Quartet
"The repertoire of the Doina Klezmer Quartet consists of the traditional Eastern European klezmer music arranged by the band, but also of new, own Finnish and Northern influences creatively combining klezmer music composed by Sampo Lassila. In the music of Doina Klezmer otherwise distance musical elements are combined in a special and unique way. These musicians regard highly the tradition and also improvisation has a great importance in their music.
Doina Klezmer was established in 1996 and after that the old Jewish music has gained quicly a whole lot of new fans in Finland and the concept of the "Finnish Klezmer" has been presented for the first time in public. Doina Klezmer has given concerts in Helsinki with their artist friends and performed at clubs and concert halls all over Finland. Of numerous festival gigs, there have to be mentioned here the Helsinki Festival, the Seinäjoki Festival and the Kuhmo and Avanti! Chamber Music Festivals.
In spring 2000 a Finnish modern dance choreographer and dancer Tommi Kitti and his dance group was one of the third winners in the world´s leading dance competition Bagnolet in Paris with the music of Doina Klezmer, based on the Sampo Lassila´s composition "Mehta Shavota".
That composition can be found at the Sorja Tanz -album, which was released in 2001. It was the first Finnish klezmer album ever and published by a Swedish label Proprius. The album has been warmly welcomed by the audience and music magazines both in Finland and Sweden. The second album of Doina Klezmer, Nomada, was released in spring 2004 by the Finnish Alba records (www.alba.fi).
In January 2003 the Finnish National Radio Broadcasting Company Yleisradio and Doina Klezmer prepared a radio play for six actors and actresses and four musicians, based on the Jewish folk tale and a play of S.Anski. The radio play was written and directed by Michael Baran, a dramaturge of the Finnish National Theatre.
The musicians of Doina Klezmer are well known in Finland also by their other professional classical, world and jazz bands, such as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lahti Sinfonietta, Avanti! Chamber Orhestra, Värttinä, Markku Lepistö Company and Edward Vesala & Sound Fury."
~ DOINA KLEZMER ~
HANNU VASARA – violin, viola
MARKKU LEPISTÖ – accordion
SAMPO LASSILA – bass
TAPANI JÄMSEN – percussions
Doina Klezmer: ”Sorja Tanz” (Proprius 2001)
"Nomada" (Alba records 2004)
Management: Jaana Kari, phone +358 - 40 701 0505
jaana@markkulepisto.com
www.doinaklezmer.com