Album Notes

Now available for the first time in years, the seminal first CD by Shirim! The dual vocals of Betty Silberman and Rosalie Gerut (reminiscent of the Barry Sisters), dazzling new instrumentals and new Yiddish songs as well as some startling remakes of some old chestnuts (check out the post-bop arrangement of “And the Angels Sing”) combine to make this a CD a grandmother can love but which also turns the heads of the younger crowd. Rosalie and Betty are native Yiddish speakers who performed in the Joseph Papp Yiddish Theater in the late 1980’s and Rosalie contributes two of her own compositional jewels, “Shabbat Shalom Tsuzamen” and “Sarah’s Lullaby and Hagar’s Lament” as well as new lyrics and Yiddish asides in theater songs.
Shirim emerged on this first effort as a band that was steeped in tradition and yet intent on evolving with five new instrumentals by clarinetist Glenn Dickson, including the much-covered “Black Wedding.” That tune foreshadowed the Radical Jewish Culture movement soon to emerge in New York and Dickson’s own move to form his more progressive band, “Naftule’s Dream.”
But don’t get the wrong idea, this album is serious fun, with covers of the Barry Sister’s “Coney Island with Betty and Rosalie kibitzing between verses, Mickey Katz’s “Trombonick Tantz” with Moshe Waldocks (author of the “Big Book of Jewish Humor”) playing the trombonick and Yiddish theater star Avi Hoffman harassing him, and the original dance tunes which really rock!
Major players in the klezmer revival make appearances on this recording. Accordionist Alan Bern (Brave Old World) contributes a burning solo on “The Black Wedding;” violinist Mimi Rabson (Klezmer Conservatory Band) tears through the melody on “Serba with Horseradish;” drummer Bob Weiner (Andy Statman) lays down the groove on most of the tracks; and David Harris (Klezmer Conservatory Band and Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars) lays down amazing trombone work throughout the recording. Additionally, jazz pianist Bevan Manson contributes some stellar playing and arrangements.
Shirim has toured the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and is know for their recordings “Klezmer Nutcracker,” “Pincus and the Pig” (with Maurice Sendak), “The Golden Dreydl” (with NPR’s Ellen Kushner), and their latest “Mayse.”

This album was released in 1990 on the Northeastern label and these are remainder copies that have been made available for the first time years.