The Jewish Songbook: The Heart & Humor of a People

Performer: Various Artists
Artist: Andy Statman; Alicia Svigals; Max Weinberg; Brooks Arthur; Betsy Hammer; Cantor Marcelo Gindlin; Kenny Karen
Engineer: Brian Zee; Gabe Veltri; Marc Ellis; Larry Alexander; Ghian Wright; Bryan Zee
Producer: Barbra Streisand; Brooks Arthur
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Adapter: Adam Sandler. Personnel: Neil Sedaka (vocals, piano); Paul Shaffer (vocals, tambourine); Kenny Karen, Adam Sandler, Lainie Kazan, Richard Belzer, Rob Schneider, Theodore Bikel, Barbra Streisand, Betsy Hammer, Brooks Arthur (vocals); John Chiodini, Waddy Wachtel, Bucky Pizzarelli (guitar); Brian Koonin (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Marc Ellis (acoustic guitar, harp, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe, celesta, vibraphone); Katia Popov, Alicia Svigals, Bruce Dukov (violin); Roland Kato (viola); Stephen Erdody (cello); Jimmie Haskell (accordion); Tom Scott (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Gene Cipriano, Ken Peplowski, Andy Statman, Ray Musiker, Lawrence Feldman (clarinet); Dave Koz, Bob Malach (saxophone); Chuck Findley, Herb Alpert, Lew Soloff, Scott Wendholt, Warren Luening, Bob Millikan (trumpet); Daniel Kelley (French horn); Art Baron, Charles Loper (trombone); Irwin Fisch, Joe d'Elia, Mike Garson, Marvin Hamlisch, Gayle Levant, Rupert Gregson-Williams (piano); Lee Musiker (keyboards); Don Heffington, Gregg Field, Max Weinberg, Shawn Pelton (drums). Audio Mixers: Gabe Veltri; Marc Ellis; Al Schmitt; Larry Alexander ; Bryan Zee. Liner Note Author: Brooks Arthur. Recording information: Avatar Studios, New York, NY; Capitol studios, Los Angeles, CA; Chung King Studios, New York, NY; Latte Mix, Santa Monica, CA; Legacy Recording Studios, New York, NY; Mooncrest Studios, Encino, CA; The Village, Los Angeles, CA; Westlake Audio, Hollywood, CA. Photographers: Gerry Wersh; Larry Alexander ; Betsy Hammer; Brooks Arthur. Translator: Theodore Bikel. Arrangers: Marc Ellis; Jimmie Haskell; Joe d'Elia; Mike Garson; Ray Ellis; Artie Butler; Waddy Wachtel; Marvin Hamlisch. Alternately melodious and side-splitting, THE JEWISH SONGBOOK is the sound of Jewish artists honoring their culture. Whether it's Neil Sedaka delivering a heartfelt, string-laden "My Yiddishe Momme" or SNL star Rob Schneider singing jazzy praises to his beloved "Bagel & Lox," Jewish life gets a salute in song, sometimes earnest and sometimes with tongue lodged firmly in cheek. The Jewish Songbook is the brainchild of Brooks Arthur, a veteran record producer whose long string of hits stretches back to the heyday of Brill Building pop. For years Arthur conceived of recording contemporary takes on popular and traditional Jewish songs, and once he found a willing label to green-light the project he rounded up an impressive cast that includes artists as diverse as Barbra Streisand, the Manhattan Transfer, Herb Alpert, Adam Sandler (who plays it straight on his "Hine Ma Tov," sharing the spotlight with Cantor Marcelo Gindlin), Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Theodore Bikel, and Lainie Kazan to carry out his ideas. The repertoire exposes the range of styles that fall under the catchall umbrella of "Jewish music," but it's what Arthur does with the songs that makes the project such a mitzvah. There's a solemnity to much of it, but not always: Jason Alexander might have been expected to treat "Shake Hands with Your Uncle Max," an old one by the late parodist Allan Sherman, with levity. Instead, he and his accompanists turn the song around into a serious treatise on the value of family. "Hatikvah," as close as the Jewish people have to an official anthem, on the other hand, is treated by Marvin Hamlisch and Kenny Karen with the absolute reverence it commands, as is Neil Sedaka's rendition of "My Yiddishe Momme." With contributing musicians as talented as Max Weinberg, Dave Koz, klezmer clarinetist Andy Statman, and Alpert fleshing out his concepts, Brooks Arthur's tribute to Jewish musical culture is anything but meshuggah. ~ Jeff Tamarkin

Dirty Linen (p.42) - "[T]he CD sparkles with performances by Manhattan Transfer joined by klezmer clarinetist Andy Statman; trumpeter Herb Alpert and klezmer fiddler Alicia Svigals; and smooth jazz saxophonist Dave Koz."

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