“Song for Lia” was written to celebrate the birth of my niece, Lia Margaret Lemish.
“The Nagila Mayster” is an invented phrase that incorporates three languages: English, Hebrew, and Yiddish. ‘Nagila’, is a Hebrew word, a conjugated verb derived from the noun ‘Gil’ which means happiness and joy. ‘Mayster’, is the Yiddish equivalent of the German ‘Meister’ or English ‘Master’. So, this title translates roughly into “The Master of Joyfulness”. The composition is an homage to the limitless joy that one experiences, expresses, and shares when making music.
It is dedicated to George Marsh, percussionist, improviser, composer, author, and teacher who is a true Nagila Mayster. This is a devotional piece, dedicated not only to George, but also to music makers worldwide, the “Masters of Joy”.
“Beethoven’s 7th Visit to Romania” takes its inspiration from the main theme of the second movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony.
“Between Utopia and Destruction” draws upon two melodies derived from Soviet-Jewish sources - Isaak Dunayevsky’s “Lullaby” from the 1936 film Circus and WWII-era Yiddish-song “Der verter un di shtern”. This latter piece was unearthed in Ukraine from a hidden archive only a few years ago by scholar Anna Shternshis who shared it with me.
credits
released October 21, 2022
Noam Lemish - piano & compositions
Terry Promane - musical director
Kevin Turcotte - trumpet & flugelhorn
Jim Lewis - trumpet & flugelhorn
Allison Au - alto saxophone
Mike Murley - tenor saxophone & soprano saxophone (2,3)
Kelly Jefferson - tenor saxophone & soprano saxophone (5)
William Carn - trombone
Karl Silveira - trombone
Laura Swankey - vocals (1, 2)
Ted Quinlan - guitar
Michael Davidson - vibraphone (2, 3, 4, 6)
Justin Gray - double bass
Derek Gray - drums & percussion
Choir (Beethoven’s 7th Visit to Romania): Michelle De Palma, Sanja Dejanovic, Aliyah Guthrie, Yuval Jarus Hakak, Alexandra Kapogiannis, Allison Long, Dulce Martinez, Sarvi Seivani, Nitish Sharma, Marie Tossios, Jackson Welchner, Yulina Wong, Samira Yeo
All compositions & arrangements by Noam Lemish (ASCAP)
Recorded by Jon Bartel on December 15 & 16, 2021 at Revolution Recording, Toronto, Canada
Additional recording by Jon Bartel at Bartel Audio and at York University
Assisted by Kevin Fallis
Mixed by Jon Bartel
Mastered by Justin Gray at Immersive Mastering
Artwork by Yesim Tosuner
Design by Yesim Tosuner
Photography by Dahlia Katz
Produced by Terry Promane & Noam Lemish
Pianist and composer Noam Lemish has never felt inclined to pick a lane. Maybe his multi-local identity has helped inspire
his multiplicity and general disinclination to follow stylistic guidelines. He’s a jazz artist and a classical composer, an improviser and an accompanist, an intrepid cross-cultural investigator and an interpreter of contemporary composition. He
contains multitudes....more
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