Re: CD Review: Abayudaya: Music from the Jewish People of Uganda

[Alex J. Lubet <lubet001...>]

This was the first recording mentioned on a recommended list of cd 'holiday' 
gifts this
morning on mpr's "Weekend Edition."

Klezcorner (at) aol(dot)com wrote:

> the following is George Robinson's review of the "Abayudaya" CD in the
> current issue of The Jewish Week. The response has been terrific, and 
> deservedly so!
> Orders for this CD place through Dec 1 will receive the special price of
> $14.98 with free shipping within the USA.
> Simon
> Hatikvah Music
> 323) 655-7083
>
> "Abayudaya: Music from the Jewish People of Uganda" (Smithsonian Folkways).
>
> In more than five years of writing this column, I have reviewed Jewish
>
> reggae, Jewish salsa, Jewish punk and who-knows-what-else. This is the first
>
> (and I suspect the only) time I have ever encountered Jewish Afro-pop.
>
> Unless we are talking about the ill-fated attempt to reroute Zionist
>
> aspirations to the then English colony there, Jews and Uganda don't turn up
>
> in the same sentence too often. But there is a tribe, called the Abayudaya,
>
> who have openly embraced a Jewish identity for a century, and this recording
>
> of their musical traditions is the nicest surprise I can imagine, a lively,
>
> melodic collection of settings of Jewish texts unlike any other. Ranging
>
> from hand-drum-driven "Hiwumbe Awumba" through a sweetly harmonized children
>
> 's choir version of "Mi Khamokha," this CD is pure joy from start to finish.
>
> If you like King Sunny Ade, you'll definitely get this. Available from
>
> Hatikvah Music (www.hatikvahmusic.com or 1-323-655-7083).  Rating: 5 stars.
>

--
Alex Lubet, Ph. D.
Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music and Jewish Studies
Adjunct Professor of American Studies
University of Minnesota
2106 4th St. S
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612 624-7840 612 624-8001 (fax)


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