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Young Women Jewish Singer-Songwriters from Brooklyn
Last Wednesday I went to hear a concert of 3 young women, all Jewish singer songwriters who live in Brooklyn: Clare Burson, Chana Rothman, and Michelle Citrin at the concert hall of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City, NYC. All of them have a following and I expected a big crowd, but it felt like it mostly the entourage of each singer, maybe a hundred to hundred and fifty people total.
We came in during Clare's set. She is the one I didn't know of before, and somehow her stuff did not grab me.
Chana and Michelle first met each other at a camp for Jewish song leaders. Chana's songs seemed in someways the most Jewishly sophisticated, many including a lot of Hebrew, as in her song "We Can Rise," her take on Ps 121, Esa Eynai. Sometimes she still seemed a song leader. Her band was nice.
Michelle seemed the best musician of the bunch, with the strongest stage presence. She came out and played the first few songs just with harmonica and guitar. She showed a sense of irony by getting people to sing in song leader style, to sing out in unison "individuality" in a song about just that. Then she brought out her band, The Citrinellas. It was musically enjoyable, but not Jewishly deep. I hope she grows, because musically she has a lot of potential.
One interesting thing, all had bands and they were all male. None of them had any women in their back up band.
We emerged to a beautiful evening and New York Harbor at dusk.
Now off to Isabella Friedman for a few days of study with rabbis on 21st Century Judaism, by the Oraita Institute of Hebrew College.
We came in during Clare's set. She is the one I didn't know of before, and somehow her stuff did not grab me.
Chana and Michelle first met each other at a camp for Jewish song leaders. Chana's songs seemed in someways the most Jewishly sophisticated, many including a lot of Hebrew, as in her song "We Can Rise," her take on Ps 121, Esa Eynai. Sometimes she still seemed a song leader. Her band was nice.
Michelle seemed the best musician of the bunch, with the strongest stage presence. She came out and played the first few songs just with harmonica and guitar. She showed a sense of irony by getting people to sing in song leader style, to sing out in unison "individuality" in a song about just that. Then she brought out her band, The Citrinellas. It was musically enjoyable, but not Jewishly deep. I hope she grows, because musically she has a lot of potential.
One interesting thing, all had bands and they were all male. None of them had any women in their back up band.
We emerged to a beautiful evening and New York Harbor at dusk.
Now off to Isabella Friedman for a few days of study with rabbis on 21st Century Judaism, by the Oraita Institute of Hebrew College.
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