Our search has started – with a research.

I'm continuously listening to a huge variety of Jewish music from four continents: sacred, secular, folk, jazz, hip-hop, and the list goes on. The varieties of music are all quite different from each another, yet i did find something common among them. I realized this as I was listening to Jewish music from Bulgaria and recognized some Moroccan motifs. After being kicked out in 1492, some Spanish Jews ended up in the Ottoman Empire, too. As for the Transylvanian Jewish music, it is a mix of German, Romanian, Hungarian and Gypsy styles. Gershwin, Zorn, Cohen and So-Called have one thing in common: they all mix and blend.

I’ve made several research trips, to New York, Moscow, St.Petersburg, Berlin, and Amsterdam. I met musicians from Canada, the United States, Tajikistan, Argentina, Israel, Morocco, Gibraltar, Yemen, Cuba, Afghanistan, Russia, and the Ukraine. I had a camera in hand, and this footage is used to create this web site.

I managed to find certain groups, which is the last living musicians of that particular tradition. Like the group Shashmaqam, made of the last remaining Jewish musicians from Bhukara (Uzbekistan and Tajikistan). I also met someone from Afghanistan, who has learned the music from his father, but does not remember the lyrics. I met several cantors from different Hassidic sects. But I mostly met musicians, who are creating innovative new music influenced by traditional Jewish musical styles and lyrics. The variation is endless, from tango-klezmer to jewish jazz, and rock in ancient Hebrew.