September 25, 2000
Pasifas / Mosaic
Gal Paz
The history of modern Jewish Music dates back to the mid-1960's in New York. Through the past 35 years or so, American Jewish music has matured. It has become more instrumentalized, more polished, and more professional sounding.
In the same period, Israeli Jewish music has occasionally produced wondrous performances such as the Chasidic Song Festival, Naomi Shemer, and Yoel Sharabi. There have also been other performers who sounded too Middle Eastern to be widely accepted in North America, or whose music relied to heavily on computerization to be taken seriously.
The emergence of Mickey Rosenbaum on his debut album breaks all the stereotypes about Israeli Jewish Music. This is one album that belongs at the top of the charts in any Jewish Music outlet.
The songs on Pasifas are all original save for one and Rosenbaum wrote seven of them himself. The one song that is not an original is Bo'ee Veshalom, which Rosenbaum puts to the popular wedding tune sung to accompany the bride down the aisle at most religious weddings in Israel.
The music on this album is flawlessly performed by a group of people whose names are new to the Jewish Music scene, even in Israel. The instruments are all live, and their pure and refreshing sound, combined with Rosenbaum's smooth and effortless vocal performance, is a treat that is rarely equalled.
What is most surprising about this album, however, is a small item listed at the end of the liner notes. This album, it says, was recorded and produced at Rosenbaum's home studio. Knowing that the brilliance of this album was produced in a home studio, I am left wondering whether home productions will become the norm for Jewish Music in the future. For this album is truly one of the best I have heard in a long time.
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