Hurrah! The third and last Itzik Zhelonek cd is finished: Nervez! - Yiddish Songs from Warsaw

These days life smiles on those who don't believe in delayed gratification. Jerry Brown and I finished mixing this cd around noon today and you can already hear all the music (for free) at the Mappamundi Bandcamp site.


I think this is the most word-oriented of the three cds. The songs are clever, thoughtful, cynical, droll, nostalgic, modern, old-fashioned, full of life. I really hope you'll go have a listen: Nervez!. There are translations for all the songs available with download of the album.

The title is pronounced "nehr-VEZ" in Yiddish and it means nervous. The title track - sung by the amazing baritone Randy Kloko - is sung by a guy who is so overwhelmed by the sounds and sights of the modern world that his wife takes him to the doctor and he gets electroshock treatments while the world roars on.

There will be "real" cds in a few weeks. Now I should try to find some places for us to present the music. Ideas of venues that appreciate Jewish music from before World War II?