Jack Gottlieb (z'l) talks about his music on WQXR (1980)

With the recent passing of Jack Gottlieb, the Jewish music world has lost a giant. A brilliant and gifted composer, Jack's music was just as captivating and effective in the synagogue as it was on the concert stage (and vice versa.)

In October 1980, Jack celebrated his 50th birthday with an extraordinary concert of his music that I was privileged to attend. (More on that very soon.)

Several days before that concert Jack was interviewed on WQXR radio, and several of his songs were beautifully performed by Julia Lovett, Alberto Mizrahi, and Jay Willoughby. Click on this link to download a 30-minute portion of that program. 

Debbie Friedman - Chanukah 5762

On December 9, 2001, I put together a Chanukah concert for the final day of the URJ Biennial in Boston to benefit the Rashi School. More than a thousand attendees filled the Hynes Convention Center to see Doug Cotler, Julie Silver, Peri Smilow, David Paskin, Yom Hadash, myself, and of course, Debbie Friedman, who pushed her tired voice and gave as rousing a performance as I have ever seen. A couple of hundred religious school children and dozens of cantors and song-leaders led Chanukah songs from the stage - you can see their delight in singing The Latke Song with Debbie. Thanks to the production crew's efforts - working overtime - to preserve the concert on video, we are able to enjoy Debbie's music and witness the magical way she connected with an audience. Watch Debbie's complete performance HERE.