Yiddish poetry

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

Last year, I first heard a program by Adrienne Cooper and 
Zalmen Mlotek in which they did a wide range of Yiddish
songs from the Holocaust era--some just prior, such as the
Brecht/Weill "Soldier's Song". Just prior to that, I heard
the Boston band, Naftule's Dream doing new jazz settings to
old Yiddish poems, and now I am listening to a CD by a group
called "Gojim," from Austria, in which they have set Yiddish
poetry of the 20s, Vienna, to music. 

Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon? In terms of recordings,
or even new programs (I especially note the recent, and wonderful, 
program by Josh Waletzky, but also nod to the efforts of delightful
"local" bands such as Western Massachusetts' Wholesale Klezmer), 
there seems to be far more =new= Yiddish than old this year, and
musically, almost all of it is exciting. This doesn't make it a 
major phenomenon compared to, say, hip hop, or even when compared
to the number of klezmer-something fusion bands, but it's enough
to be notable, I think.

ari