And All That Jazz

Did you catch the latest article about Congregation Adas Emuno in last week's Leonia Life? If not, you can see it on the NorthJersey.com website under the title of Adas Emuno Jazzes Up the Holiday Season in Leonia.  The date of publication is listed as December 21st, and the article begins with the following:

Eugene Marlow's Heritage Ensemble came to Congregation Adas Emuno to bring a lively, multi-cultural mix of music to Leonia on Dec. 1.

The article continues, based primarily on an interview with Adas Emuno President Lance Strate:

"They preformed for about an hour and the repertoire comes from taking Hebraic melodies and turning them into jazz compositions," said Lance Strate, President of the Congregation. "It's a kind of multi-cultural approach where there is a Latin rhythm section and sometimes we get Latin beats, Afro-Cuban beats and sometimes we get a Mediterranean touch to it."

Guests, including both members of the congregation and visitors, were entertained by a variety of songs.

"It's actually a wonderful mix and collaboration because the leader of the band, Eugene Marlow, comes from a Jewish background but the drummers are native New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent," said Lance Strate. "The saxophone player is Lebanese and the bass player is German."

The article also features a photo credited to Christopher Trento, with the following caption: "Michael Hashim, Frank Wagner, guest vocalist Shira Lissek and Matthew Gonzalez of Eugene Marlow's Heritage Ensemble perform a variety of Hebraic melodies at Congregation Adas Emuno on Dec. 1. "



And the article concludes with some more quotations:

The concert began after a brief Havdallah service. The band was also joined by a singer who joined the instrumental musicians by adding her voice to a few of the songs.

"Four of the pieces that they did they did, they were joined by Shira Lisseck who is a cantorial soloist. She has preformed with symphony orchestras and has an absolutely gorgeous voice," said Strate.

At the conclusion of the concert, guests attended the congregation's Social Hall where there were light refreshments being served.

"We're hoping to make it a tradition but this is only the second time that they preformed for us but we are planning on having them back again next year," said Strate.

The congregation also recently celebrated the daily lighting of the Menorah for Hanukkah.

And indeed, it was a great way to start off a jazzy Festival of Lights and holiday season here in Bergen County! 

And we'll be holding on to that spirit into the new year with a performance by Magevet, the premier Jewish, Hebrew and Israeli a cappella group of Yale University, on Thursday, January 10, at 7:30 PM.  More on that in a future post, so stay tuned!