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Looking Forward, Going Back
Katharine Hamer
Editor, Jewish Independent, March 30, 2007
www.jewishindependent.ca/
Our holiday issue round-up of CDs includes some beloved classics, modern pop, a soundtrack for Shabbat and, of course, klezmer.
Building momentum
Shawn Zevit doesn't look much like a rock star. Bearded, bespectacled and middle-aged, the former Winnipegger with relatives scattered throughout the Vancouver area is now a Philadelphia-based Reconstructionist rabbi. But he's sure got his musical chops. Were it not for the Hebrew liturgies, you could easily mistake the first half of Zevit's album, Generations: Journey Across the Ages, for a new entry by folk-rock hipsters Jack Johnson or John Mayer. The 15 songs designed to take listeners into Shabbat ripple with crisp guitars and gentle melodies, highlighted by Zevit's harmonious tenor. Even the spoken word on the first track, "Beshem Hashem (In the Name of the Holy One)" is soothing, as Zevit runs through the days of the week and intones: "Breathe it in, and let it go ... let Shabbat bring you home."
Zevit clearly knows how to build momentum in songs, from soft intros to sustained choruses. Each track blends easily into the next, creating a spellbinding Shabbat mood. Alongside him are talented backing vocalists, including several other musically inclined rabbis.
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