Bester Quartet - The Golden Land (2013)

A mainstay of the Radical Jewish series since their first release in 2000, Jaroslaw Bester is one of the most consistently creative and imaginative musicians in the New Jewish Renaissance. His quartet, formerly The Cracow Klezmer Band has released no less than seven CDs on Tzadik, two interpreting John Zorn's Masada songbooks. Here they approach the classic compositions of Cracow-born Mordechaj Gebirtig, the preeminent Yiddish folk artist and one of the most influential poets and songwriters of his time. Killed in the Cracow Ghetto on Bloody Thursday, his songs were a staple of the Yiddish Theatre and continue to be widely performed today. Bester's arrangements are lush and filled with emotion,setting the tone of Gebirtig's lyrical melodies into a modern and powerful new context.

Tracklist:

1. Di Lalke
2. Shloymele Liber
3. Dos Lidl fun Goldenem Land
4. Oy, Briderl, L'Chayim
5. Kinder Yoren
6. Oreme Shnayderlech
7. Reysele
8. Unser orem kind
9. Krigsinvalid
10. Kivele

Personnel:

Jarosław Bester - bayan;
Jarosław Tyrała - violn;
Oleg Dyyak - bayan, clarinet, percussion;
Mikołaj Pospieszalski - double bass.

Special guest:

Tomasz Ziętek - trumpet;
Magdalena Pluta - cello;
Marcin Malinowski - bass clarinet.