Deep Skies

• Track Listing

This journey began with a serious nudge in the form of 'You need to make a new recording already!' The idea had been germinating and the time had arrived. My very first meeting with Michael Winograd to envision a whole CD resulted in concise goals: for people to be surprised at every cut no matter how many times they listen, for tears and guffaws to bubble up on occasion, and for people to sometimes find it impossible to sit still. Yes! I want you to dance! So here it is. After months of sifting through mountains of songs, of traveling to Brooklyn to record, of being happily jostled on the streets of Chinatown while seeking out candied ginger to get me through long days in the studio, of painting and collaborating and writing, and of pondering the outcome - I offer this small treasure of Yiddish art and music as a feast for the eyes and the ears. Deep Skies. The lyrics of several of these songs conjure up Maxfield Parrish's multiple washes of transparent watercolor, inviting the observer to reach into them as though there's depth without end. And so it is with the poetry of songs like HIrsh Glik's deep heavens hung with stars, Wolfson's memories of Vilne barely perceptible through the deep fog of memory, Papirnikov's skies bluer than blue, and let's not forget Levine - off into the yonder. H. Leivik's treasure hidden under the snow brings us to explore another layer, and the emotions of needleworkers and children reaching for hope deepen our exploration as well. Please sing along. Please sing! These songs are our lives, and songs only live when we fill the air with them. Michael and the assembled musicians - some of the finest in the world, I believe - have placed each song in a thoughtful new frame, in a fitting setting. For you. For all of us. AND! The recording is slipped into a small hard-bound book for which I created the cover art and paintings on every page! The book contains all translations and complete transliterations as well as contextual information about each song. The spot drawings are in the style of traditional papercut art on watercolor wash backgrounds.

Credits