Go to Fraidy Katz Discography:
 The Eternal Question (TEQ), Family Portrait


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From Craig Taubman,
Singer, Producer, & President, Craig 'n Co.
I had a the pleasure of listening to the "ETERNAL QUESTION" CD a number of times these past few weeks. It is AWESOMELY powerful. Love the production, the grooves the tunes the whole experience.  

I love "That Little Bit of Charm," "A Shtekele,"  "Gedenk."

All honor to you!


From Clement Dumais blogs
Review of "Gedenk" ("Remember") from "Di Alte Kashe" (TEQ).


From Rainlore's World of Music
"Fraidy Katz has delivered a heartfelt delight."


From Itzik Gottesman, Ph. D.
The Forward Hour (WEVD, New York)

"We can hear in her singing that the songs are no shpilikhl (plaything) to her, but a way to a deep source."


From Pablo Yglesias
Author: Cocinanda! Forty Years of Latin Music Album Cover Art
Producer: Rough Guide to Salsa Clandestina (Personal correspondence)
I love this album, especially the reggae cut (A Shtekele) and the title song. Very diverse in it's scope. Brilliant.


From Norman Corwin
"Superb, tuneful and well-performed"
www.normancorwin.com

2008


From Association of Jewish Libraries
...Fraidy Katz is gifted with a clear, warm voice and clear easy-to-understand diction. The innovative modern arrangements of the songs inject them with new rhythms . . . A valuable addition to Jewish folk music collections in private, public and academic libraries. Appropriate for all ages.
Newsletter Feb-Mar 2008


From George Robinson, Jewish Week
It’s been a long time since Katz’s superb CD, "Family Portrait" with the Klezical Tradition, which was released in ‘98. That, of course, is an indication of how tough it is to be a Jewish musician working for indie labels and so on. The wait, however, was worth it, because this is a fine collection of Yiddish tunes given an interesting range of treatments. Although the backbeat-driven opening cut, "Mit Gelt Tor Men Nisht Shtoltsirn," would probably work better as a vehicle for the gritty voice of Wolf Krakowski, Katz’s frequent collaborator and labelmate, the rest of the songs are lovely, with a gently jazzy "Dos Pintele fun Kheyn" a particular pleasure. The set has a strong bluegrass/alt-country feel, and Katz’s mountain-fed-stream of a soprano is a great match for the Lonesome Brothers and other backing musicians.
  Rated 4.5 Stars
December 2006


From Seth Rogovoy
The long-awaited recording featuring the vocals of one of our finest contemporary Yiddish singers, Fraidy Katz, has finally arrived, and it was worth every minute of the wait. "Eternal Question" (Di Alte Kashe) features a baker's dozen Yiddish folk and popular tunes recontextualized for modern times; Old World ballads are draped in accordion, pipes, tsimbl and violin, in a peaceful coexistence alongside electric guitars, trumpets and saxophones. As co-producer Wolf Krakowski has explored on his own albums that boast a similar approach and use the same core band, the fabulous Lonesome Brothers, there is a natural affinity between Yiddish popular songs and such quintessentially American styles as blues, reggae, jazz, and even country swing, and Katz exploits this affinity in a manner that at once showcases her intuitive grasp of the songs' roots while at the same time effortlessly making them speak to contemporary audiences. Had there been no Shoah, this is undoubtedly the direction in which Yiddish song would have evolved and the music that a vast majority of what would have been a large, Yiddish-speaking world would have been listening to today. It's our good fortune to have it re-created and represented by such a sterling talent as Fraidy Katz.

- Seth Rogovoy, author, "The Essential Klezmer: A Music Lover's Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music"
December 2006


From Mae Rockland Tupa
Almost everyone I know is concerned about maintaining whatever intellectual and cultural prowess they have achieved over the years. Many of my friends are into So Duko and crossword puzzles. Some are mad followers of Harry Potter and the Muggles. When they ask me what I am doing to keep my mind nimble and quick, I slowly respond that I am revisiting and resurrecting my mame loshen, (mother tongue), Yiddish. A child of immigrants I didn’t speak English until entering kindergarten at which point I morphed into the English speaking translator for the family. We belonged to the I.W.O. and I sang in a Yiddish children’s chorus and many of the old songs took root in my heart. Now, as I relearn my baby-talk and try to expand my vocabulary, I find that music is once again a wonderful link to the soul of language.

Two of the best helpers in bringing my old language into my present life have been Wolf Krakowski and Fraidy Katz.

Their latest production, the CD entitled, “THE ETERNAL QUESTION~ DI ALTE KASHE”, which includes as a bonus track a poignant rendition of “Vilna”, has 12 songs I hadn’t heard before.

With the brilliant accompaniment of The Lonesome Brothers and thirteen other gifted musicians, early and mid twentieth century European Yiddish songs and poetry are made comfortably accessible via a sensitive mixture of bluegrass, country, folk and dance rhythms. Fraidy Katz’s soft and friendly soprano gently illuminates different corners of life from courtship and child-care, to poverty, philosophy, and social values. Her expertise as a student and teacher of languages is brought to play in her expressiveness which draws the listener into her Yiddish world. Fraidy’s gentleness as she sings her hungry child to sleep in the waltz tempo lullaby, Hungerik Dayn Ketzele, (Your Kitten is Hungry) expresses the profound sadness of all mothers who feel helpless to shield their child from life’s pains. The duet with Wolf Krakowski, “Gedenk”, is both playful and profound; from there Fraidy segues neatly into a jazzy swing rendition of “Du Zolst Nisht Geyn Mit Keyn Andere Meydelekh” (Don’t Go With Other Girls). The rich contemporary musical settings bring the poetry right up to date and the more I listen to this CD the more it feels woven into my life.  And, thanks to Fraidy my Yiddish vocabulary is growing!

Mae Rockland Tupa is a yiddisheh mame, bobeh, artist and author. She divides her time between Brookline, MA, Bucksport ME, and Vilafames, Spain.


From Barry Reisman
Just a note to let you know how much I enjoyed listening to Fraidy's new CD, The Eternal Question.  Needless to say, after I heard it, I immediately started to use it on the air on WNWR and www.wnwr.com in Philadelphia.
Judging from the listener phone calls, it is an instant hit!  The timeless melodies flawlessly performed by Fraidy Katz is a wonderful new addition to my playlist, and I'll be using it frequently on my daily klezmer/Jewish music program.
Thanks for the music!

Barry Reisman, Program Host, WNWR AM 1540
, a 50,000-watt station covering Philadelphia, southern New Jersey and Delaware.