Making music and other work with frequent collaborators is one of my favorite things to do. Here are my most important collaborations with artists that are near and dear to me:
Isra-Alien
A high energy acoustic guitar duo exploring the roots of Israeli music. This is an ongoing collaboration with guitarist Gilad Ben-Zvi. We’ve been playing and hanging together for over 20 years. We’ve released three albums and toured throughout the US and Canada as well as Brazil, the UK and Israel.
Sha’ar
A project based band with my dear friends David Freeman(Drums Co-Leader), Ivan Barenboim(Clarinet) and Doug Drewes (Bass). This band has been getting together consistently over the last 10-15 years to work on various projects. Most recently we collaborated with NJPAC and saxophonist Mark Gross to create the “Jazz and Justice Suite”, a work that explores the ongoing intertwined history and relationship between Jewish and African American music.
Playwright Robin Goldfin
Robin and I met at an arts residency in 2006 and have been working together since. We have developed the play “Suddenly a Knock at the Door” based on short stories by Etgar Keret which was produced at Theater for the New City in NYC in 2017, and are currently working on a new project titled “Flawless” which we hope to bring to the stage in the coming year. Both plays feature music played onstage as part of the play.
Zhenya Lopatnik
I have been collaborating with Yiddish singer/songwriter Zhenya Lopatnik since she moved to the US from Ukraine in 2017. We have collaborated as part of the band Zapekanka, and most recently on new arrangements for her song cycle by renowned Ukrainian Yiddish poet Itzik Feffer, who was murdered by Stalin in 1952 as part of a purge of Jewish Artists and leaders.
“...the two onstage musicians are a fine touch, providing underscoring, sound effects and occasional commentary with their acoustic guitars.”
NY Times review of “Suddenly a Knock at the Door”
Nicole Borger
Ever since our lovely chance meeting in 2011 Brazilian singer Nicole Borger and I have been collaborating whenever she is in New York or I am in Brazil. I was so glad to be a part of her debut album “Raizes/Roots” which was produced by Grammy award winning trumpeter Frank London.