On April 9th, the first-ever compilation album featuring YU bands, Amsterdam Ave., will be released nationwide. "We're trying to coordinate a marketing effort that brings the message of this music to as wide an audience as possible," commented Steven I. Weiss, the album's producer.
The album, which features musicians from every Jewish Studies program, is noteworthy, if only for its marked variety. "There's never been anything that has brought people together from such diverse backgrounds and situations and put them all in one project," exclaimed YC graduate Ephraim Shapiro. With musicians ranging from JSS to RIETS, YC to SSSB, sophomores to graduates, the diversity is not something that came about intentionally. "We just wanted to put out an album with good music, and we found a creative spectrum that is as broad as any we could imagine," noted Weiss. "It appears that music is a common denominator at Yeshiva, and, hopefully, this album will emphasize that."
Featuring nine different musical groupings and twenty-two tracks, the album is filled to the brim with original music. With five songs in Hebrew and several instrumental tunes, the CD features a musical range that ranges from gritty Chicago Blues to the lighthearted lilt of authentic Eastern European Klezmer.
Even within individual bands, significant displays of diversity are apparent. Reyach Nihoach, which features JSS/SSSB student Ari White, YC/MYP student Yosef Goldman, RIETS student Sam Feinsmith, and Binyamin Goldman, is testament to the unifying ability of the music scene at Yeshiva. Reyach Nihoach, which has only played one concert - this past Purim, under the pseudonym Esther's Groove - has come together rather quickly and is already achieving a measure of success. Their experience in recording two tracks for Amsterdam Ave. has motivated them to begin recording their own full-length album, for which they have already amassed too much material, forcing them to pare down a list of dozens of original songs.
The list of well-known Yeshiva musicians featured on the CD features several long-time favorites, including Alex Remer, Ilan Rubinstein, and Elie Rosenblatt. Several newcomers are featured as well, among them Eitan Zerykier, Menashe East, Rob Shur and Matt Weinberg, in addition to the famed Jason Caplan Quartet. This combination of old and young is sure to satisfy both the Yeshiva student of years past and the avid newcomer.
Priced affordably at ten dollars apiece, Amsterdam Ave. is, hopefully, just an indicator of things to come. "We will, im yirtzeh Hashem, be coming out with a second album - tentatively entitled Amsterdam & Audubon - by Shavuos," indicated Weiss. As well, Weiss asserted that he has "begun planning a massive concert for the night of Lag Ba'Omer, which should really begin to provide a common ground for all the fans of this incredible music." Possibly an indicator of great things to come, Amsterdam Ave. is being made available at various locations over Pesach.