Congregation Ner Shalom Presents Sonoma County Yiddish Revival Band “Mama Loshn” :
World Music with a contemporary beat in Yiddish, English, French, Spanish, Ladino and Hebrew.
On Saturday, Sept 17th at 7:30 PM, Congregation Ner Shalom, located at 85 La Plaza, Cotati, will present a benefit performance by Sonoma County’s home grown Mama Loshn performing world music from the Old World shtetl and beyond.
Mama Loshn (Yiddish for mother tongue) performs songs in multiple languages using contemporary, playful arrangements to connect traditional music with modern relevance. Samples of their music can be heard at https://www.youtube.com/user/mamaloshn.
The band consists of Gale Kissin on vocals, Suzanne Shanbaum on guitar, Mike Margulis on trumpet – and joining the ensemble for this performance, Judy Graboyes on percussion and Bay Area Yiddish Dance Maven, Bruce Bierman.
Mama Loshn has recently performed locally at Yiddishland, The French Garden, The Barlow Center, The Friedman Center, and the Center for Spiritual Living.
Sebastopol residents Kissin and Shanbaum have played together in Mama Loshn for more than five years, and have developed an intuitive “feel” for the music, supported by their shared Jewish upbringing. Margulis lives in Berkeley. He says he also feels very intimately connected to the music they play together.
A J Weekly article in November, 2015 featured a look into the band’s chemistry as they practiced “Yiddishe Mame.” Kissin observed, “The song delivers a wailing sadness breaking into a tango. When the band plays songs like this, audiences react with great emotion.” She added: “There’s a ‘benkshaft’ — a yearning — when you allow it into your bones and let yourself move to the music.”
Shanbaum studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and has been a guitarist for more than 50 years. “Playing this music takes me back to my roots,” she says. “These songs have a lot of meaning and a lot of soul in them, and I really appreciate the opportunity to unwrap them and communicate the soul they carry.”
While each band member brings their unique musical contribution to the band, it was Kissin’s passion for the Yiddish language and culture that became the catalyst for their development.
Kissin recalled a memory of when she was 11 years old and sang “Kinder Yoren” before hundreds of people in a hall in Brooklyn. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” she said. “I remember the power of the music and what it evoked. This power comes through the music effortlessly. I am so unbelievably grateful to get to share it. The music is just ‘in there’ and I have no business keeping it to myself.”
Tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for students. They are available by calling Congregation Ner Shalom at (707) 664-8622.
Add to Google CalendarCongregation Ner Shalom
85 La Plaza
- Cotati
Price: $20.00