SHAWN ZEVIT: Generations

Shawn Zevit

Generations

© 2006 Shawn Zevit (634479436185)

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AWARD WINNING 2 CD SET(Shalshelet Jewish Music Festival 2008). Inspiring folk-jazz-Jewish world music journey through melodies of the Old World and powerful spiritual melodies, rhythms and lyrics of contemporary music.

notes

Shawn Zevit, (www.rabbizevit.com) originally from Winnipeg and Toronto, Canada, now resides in Philadelphia, PA. He has been a singer, songwriter, actor, perfomer and liturgist for over 20 years- performing concerts, interactive music and theater events, and weaving song into a variety of performance, teaching and consulting venues around North America and the world. He is also an author, playwright, poet and spiritual leader. He is also a founding member since 1995 of the musical group "Shabbat Unplugged" based in the Delaware Valley (see http://www.jrf.org/pub/cat-passoversongs.html) for more info.

Shawn's music draws on many styles from folk to indie rock to traditional Jewish music to rhythm and blues and beyond. "Generations" takes you through the world of prayer, longing and a celebration of life, using universal themes with a contemporary interpretation and sound. Many of the songs have found their way into worship services across North America and are performed by other singers and musicians.

Once you have welcomed this CD into your home- you will find yourself returning to it again and again for inspiration and introspection, to move and dance, and celebrate the passages of life!

For live performance of "Shalom Aleychem" see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilZ9Llw32J0

CD 1, follows the traditional matbeah (deep structure) of the Friday night Sabbath service. Weaving traditional prayers, melodies, and words with new interpretations of each, I offer a blending of the old and the new, composed by myself and by colleagues between 1994 and 2006. This CD has been recorded as a spiritual journey- one that could focus particular prayers for specific times, or be listened to in its entirety on your own or in a group for a complete experiential entry into the Sabbath.

CD 2- The 15 pieces on this CD were from original recordings that my grandfather and I made in the early 1990’s and digitally enhanced. Except for light percussion, guitar and violin added on some selections, the vocals are live and as they were originally captured. Most of these songs are traditionally sung on Friday night or Saturday afternoon.


In awe and gratitude
To the Source of All
Breath of my soul
Song of my heart
Touch of my hand
Spark of my mind
This is the soundtrack
Of Our dance Beloved One
Across time and space
Your Glory Shines

Also available by Shawn Zevit
“Heart and Soul” (1998) www.cdbaby.com/zevit1
“Sanctuary” (2005) www.cdbaby.com/zevit2

For information about Shawn's book "Offerings of the Heart" and other articles see www.rabbizevit.com

10% of CD sales go money allocated to support the causes of social and environmental justice in the world.

reviews

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  • Generations
    author: Ben

    This is a beautiful CD and its title says it all. Half the music is Rabbi Shawn Zevit performing with his father, bridging generations. The music is at once old and new. Half the music is Rabbi Zevit on his own. The CD is beautiful listening for Shabbat and for Jewish celebrations. We'll be listening to it at my daughter's bat mitzvah next week, making the connections symbolized by L'dor va dor all that more apparent not only with the participation of different generations, but with the Jewish music of different generations. Inspiring!

  • New Jewish Liturgical Music concert
    author: Leon Cohen

    “Ve-Shamru” by Rabbi Shawn Zevit. This wasn’t just a musical highlight; this was the spiritual highlight of the evening. Leon Cohen, Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle Zevit is a Philadelphia-based rabbi and teacher. He accompanied himself on a shruti, an accordion-like instrument from India that produces a drone; over it, he sent the words of Exodus 31:16-17 flying in an exultant chant that made time stand still.

  • Inspired Soundscape
    author: Benjamin Jacobson, Jerusalem Post

    Zevit explores the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service through original melodies written by himself and his peers, liturgical texts and a tranquil mood... on the whole, this song suite is relaxed and tasteful. Through his vocals and acoustic guitar contributions, Zevit leads the listener into an appropriately release-oriented headspace, while easy mandolin, fretless bass, violin, hand percussion and Juliet Spitzer and Rabbi Margot Stein's elegant, Jennifer Warnes-like soprano harmonies fill in the rich bluegrass-inspired soundscape.

  • CD Builds Momentum!
    author: Jewish Independent- Katherine Hamer (March 30, 2007)

    Shawn Zevit doesn't look much like a rock star. But he's sure got his musical chops. Were it not for the Hebrew liturgies, you could easily mistake the first half of Zevit's album, Generations: Journey Across the Ages, for a new entry by folk-rock hipsters Jack Johnson or John Mayer. The 15 songs designed to take listeners into Shabbat ripple with crisp guitars and gentle melodies, highlighted by Zevit's harmonious tenor. Even the spoken word on the first track, "Beshem Hashem (In the Name of the Holy One)" is soothing, as Zevit runs through the days of the week and intones: "Breathe it in, and let it go ... let Shabbat bring you home." Zevit clearly knows how to build momentum in songs, from soft intros to sustained choruses. Each track blends easily into the next, creating a spellbinding Shabbat mood. Alongside him are talented backing vocalists, including several other musically inclined rabbis.

  • New Blessings with each listen!
    author: Shulamit Fagan

    In the last few months I have been blessed with some quiet solitary time on Shabbos. Your album has set the tone in a joyful and wonderful way. Each time I treat myself to your erev Shabbat service I receive new blessings from it. Thank you so much!

  • Accompanying soundtrack to the Day of Rest!
    author: ANDY LEVY-AJZENKOPF, Canadian Jewish News

    If Shabbat is a day of rest and spiritual enrichment, then Shawn Zevit has just put together its accompanying soundtrack. Titled Generations: Journey Across the Ages, the double CD is both an ode to the spirit of Shabbat’s past and a nod to its future... the project is full of Zevit’s rhapsodic meditations on the Sabbath... the disc has the desired effect of shepherding the listener to a dreamlike soundscape, where one can allow these songs to engulf them and strip them of their weekday hardships. For many, listening to disc two will be like traveling back in time. The sounds of Zevit, his grandfather and his family singing Shabbat melodies around the dinner table will strike an emotional chord with anyone who’s lost a grandparent with whom they’ve shared similar moments.

  • Jewish nostalgia and modern sounds- unique contribution to Judaic tradition
    author: Jewish Tribune, Canada

    New CD mixes Jewish nostalgia with modern sounds- Shawn Zevit’s CD is a unique contribution to Judaic tradition. The first CD includes his own songwriting, influenced by folk, pop, rock, soul, and indie mixed with prayerful music. The CD cover is precious, with its stunning black-and-white intergenerational family photo.

  • This is music to touch the Jewish sole.
    author: Bob Grodsky

    It is not possible to listen to this music without wanting to give something back, at least a good word. It has changed the way our family celebrates Shabbat.

  • Rabbi Shawn Zevit links the old shtetl world of traditional chazanut with an alm
    author: Jewish Telegraph, Manchester, England

    The first disc of Generations is Kabbalat Shabbat - A Complete Friday Evening Spiritual Experience in Music - commences almost as a relaxation tape, helping the listener to let go of his or her tensions of the week in order to enter the "holy eternal time" of Shabbat. Listeners are invited to "reclaim and re-ensoul" themselves as they are led through an inspiring version of the Friday night service, set to a eclectic mixture of folk, indie rock, rhythm, blues and traditional Jewish music. The music is a fitting preparation as you scramble round with your last-minute Friday preparations, or even when you want to unwind and uplift yourself with a pre-taste of Shabbat earlier in the week.

  • author: karen

    In this CD, the beauty of spirit is brought into form. Every track offers opportunity to open, deepen, and feed the soul's longing both to be soothed and to dance. Breathe/bring shabbos in with Track 1 - a wonderful waltz-like meditation, which opens into an impassioned, joyous rendition of Shalom Aleykhem on Track 2. Another jewel is Track 4, L'Cha Dodi, a timeless love song, sung with heart-felt devotion. The Shma is truly inspired, a richly textured piece, blending and harmonizing men's voices in a way that is simultaneously powerful and comforting. Listen to the chanting of the Kaddish, a subtle, evocative piece, that cocoons and quiets the heart. The second CD, featuring the artist and his grandfather, is a genuine and sweet treat! Try it...you'll love it!

  • Generations is great!
    author: Cantor David Landau

    This Shabbes, I taught my congregation Shiru (track 3) on Friday night, and Shema (track7) on Shabbat Morning. They loved it. And, to tell the truth, I didn't even have to really 'teach' it -- I just started singing, and they joined in. They loved it. And, I do too. Generations is a great way to experience Shawn Zevit's spirit, talent, love, and sharing. This CD is a rare gem that is so good, you will find yourself buying more to share with your friends.

  • amazing, moving, wonderful
    author: Barbara N

    I was moved by the entire CD. The second disc with the blend of generations was deeply inspiring - the old melodies are wonderful the the tenderness between grandfather and grandson are heard in the harmonies and spaces between words throughout every song.

  • a meditative gem combined with valuable historical archive
    author: Sharon A.

    Rabbi Shawn Zevit's Shabbat CD is a meditative gem. The V'shamru, with its harmonium accompaniment sent me into the same trance he must have been in when he sang it. But his deeply hypnotic Amidah, which invites you to pass through each of the seven gates, was no less than transformational. Masterful and beautiful.

  • Warms the Heart
    author: Joe G.

    The mingling of Shawn and his Grandfather's voice provides closure between the past and the present. What a blessing.

  • Fabulous
    author: Barbara

    What a full world--the CD provides a contemporary meditative celebration of Shabbat and a sense of where we all came from--through the singing of and an interview with Zevit's grandfather. Past, Present and Future all in one.

  • Thank you for a memorable Erev Shabbat "visit"!
    author: Doris D., Pittsburgh

    Last Friday, I was driving back home in the late afternoon. It was right on the heels of that big storm front that went through, and still very windy, so the sky was full of black shreds of cloud scudding across a brilliant sunset. I felt that I was actually physically experiencing the transition to Shabbat through the combination of your singing and the darkening sky and ever-changing landscape around me as I drove along. At one point, your "seven gates" of the Amidah were exactly pictured in the skyscape in front of me: a huge cloud spread apart and curled around itself to form a door-like oval opening against the lighter sky behind it. Later, after the "service" was over and night had fallen -- I listened to the second disk with you and your grandfather singing and talking together. Though his voice was elderly, the old-world tunes still spoke through it beautifully, and your interview with him at the end was a loving benediction to the whole set. Thank you for a memorable Erev Shabbat "visit"!

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