January 31, 2000
Countless new acts have sprung up mimicking his style and covering his songs, and while some of these are quite good, others are too much within the hippie mode to be taken seriously.
In addition, many of his recordings are being reproduced in bootleg version, saturating the market with Carlebach retrospectives, overexposing his name and his well-deserved reputation as the foremost composer of early modern Jewish music.
Carlebach's following is not restricted to performers, however. "The Hevra" has spawned "Carlebach minyanim," and now even a weekly radio show.
Eliezer and Michele Garner host a show every Friday morning in Staten Island, New York, which presents Jewish music with a twist.
From 7 until 8:45 (New York time) Rabbi Garner, who received his ordination from Carlebach, hosts The Happy Hevra Show, and plays many of the Shlomo cover acts, as well as the new "alternative" Jewish music popular with the younger generation.
This includes acts such as Even Sh'siya and Reva L'Sheva which claim influence from Carlebach, and which perform music aimed at reaching out to the less-committed younger Jews of today.
"After all," says Garner, "Carlebach used music to bring Jews back to Judaism and give them the spirituality they craved. We are continuing this tradition."
The show also features a d'var Torah, discussing the weekly Torah portion or current issues from the point of view of spiritual fulfillment that Carlebach stressed.
From 8:45 until 10, Michele takes over. Michele's on-air persona is "The Rockin' Rebbetzin," and she doesn't hold back. Her Kol Isha Show plays only women's music, and includes leading female performers such as Neshama Carlebach (of course), Tofa'a, Tirtza Singer, Fran Avni, Debbie Freedman, and Tzufit.
"Women don't get the recognition in Jewish music," says Michele. "Most religious men won't listen to women's recordings, and most music stores won't carry their albums as a result. The market for women is even more limited than for mainstream Jewish music, since it is restricted to Jews, and also to women."
Michele even has an interactive Web site (http://wsia.csi.cuny.edu/ music.html) with streaming video of her hosting the show, and an on-line request section.
One of the albums that Eliezer Garner is paying close attention to these days is a new three-disc set of Shlomo Carlebach's greatest hits unplugged, produced by Noam Productions. With all the Carlebach recordings flooding the market, this one is remarkable in that it is a definitive collection of his most classic songs, performed with some of today's leading musicians, including Avi Singolda on guitars, Avi Agababa on drums, and Yaron Gottfryd on keyboards.
The accompaniment is top-notch, and the vocal track of Shlomo's singing is relatively clear, especially when compared to some of the bootleg recordings. This set is a worthwhile effort by Noam and the Creative Audio recording staff, and a nice addition to the musical library of Carlebach fans.
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