Their artistic flame burns brightly
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By: NAILA FRANCIS
The Intelligencer

Three singer-songwriters celebrate Hanukkah and more during an evening of inspirational music Sunday in Philadelphia.

It won’t necessarily be a Hanukkah-themed show, but some of the holiday’s traditions will definitely be part of the festivities Sunday when three Jewish singer-songwriters of eclectic musical leanings take the stage at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia for “Lights Ignite Change.”

The concert is as much a celebration of the heritage of Naomi Less, Sarah Aroeste and Chana Rothman – yes, there will be fried treats, dreidel-spinning and the lighting of the Hanukkiyah (or Hanukkah menorah) – as it is their values and artistic goals. The eight-day holiday begins tonight.

While delivering an evening of reggae, alt-folk, rock, Sephardic-influenced tunes and Cuban rhythms, they’ll also be sharing information on some of the humanitarian projects and organizations that they support.

Here’s a brief look at each performer.

CHANA ROTHMAN

Hometown: Philadelphia by way of Brooklyn and her native Toronto

Recent release: “We Can Rise,” with a new album on the way

Sounds like: groove-based, socially conscious songs, or according to popsyndicate.com, “Bob Marley meets Edie Brickell”

What’s in a name: “(Hanukkah) is about light. … In fact, many holidays this time of year are about light. + We wanted to emphasize the elements of music that creative positive social change,” says Rothman, of the concert title “Lights Ignite Change.” “I wanted to gather us under the cozy umbrella of celebration and affirmation.”

Lyrical change: Rothman, who originally aspired to play flute in an orchestra, had already been writing songs when she took a life-changing trip to Nepal a few years back. Her songs then evolved from love stories and personal narratives to reflections of a more spiritual and socially conscious bent. “I remember sitting on the rooftop of a house in the Himalayas, looking up at the sky and feeling completely surrounded by a presence much larger than myself. As I sat there with my little guitar, I began singing to the sound of the wind. That’s how my song ‘The Wind’ was born,” she says, referring to one of the tracks from “We Can Rise.”

A two-way dialogue: Having served as both a spiritual leader and educator – she still tours summer camps across North America, Israel, Africa and the United Kingdom, using music to bring communities together – Rothman often engages her audience through storytelling, call-and-response songs or questions during her live performances. “I know we are all born with a deep capacity to love, feel, understand and create music,” she says of her philosophy that music is a two-way dialogue. “Some people have these traumatic experiences when a teacher or parent told them: ‘Don’t ever sing again’ or ‘You really have no rhythm.’ We all have rhythm and we all can sing! It’s a shift in approach, from music being an elite group of artists to a divine source from which we can all flourish.”

Faith through music: “There are many different ways to observe Judaism, but what I feel to be the core is a sense of justice, and fixing up the world to make it a better place,” says Rothman, who has plans for a youth-based HIV-prevention project in South Africa. “Music is a bridge between countries, peoples and cultures. I am so honored to be a part of this link that spans globally. When I travel, I try to be as respectful and kind as possible, have a positive impact on the places and people, and support local artists and activists. I try to do the same here at home, too.”

NAOMI LESS

Hometown: Chicago (or the ridiculously funded arts-focused public schools of Highland Park)

Recent release: “Meshuga’at”

Sounds like: Pink and Avril have a bat mitzvah

Working for change: Less has been dubbed the “definitive Jewish chick who rocks” by PresenTense magazine, a distinction she sees as the melding of three identities – being a woman, a Jew and a rocker. “It means I have tons of historical baggage put upon Jews and women that I’m trying to lift, reshape and turn into positive empowerment through rock,” she says. “Maybe there’s a girl out there who will grow up with a more positive self-image as a woman or as a Jew or as both because of this work.”

In the beginning: “I used to make up routines to my favorite bands – and subject my family on Friday night at Shabbat dinner to watching them,” says Less of her early rock tendencies. Long before that, Less had shocked her nursery school teacher by performing “You Light Up My Life” in its entirety. She eventually studied classical voice at Northwestern University, but after buying her first guitar, and despite doing song-leading for a while in the Jewish community, she decided to explore another path. “A few years back, I stopped trying to separate my worlds and let it evolve. Hence the Jewish Chick Rock,” she says.

A performance of purpose: “When you’re inspired, when you feel light – or lighter – you’re more apt to shine out to other people, to give light back, to be an influence of good to people, even if it’s one person, like your child, or friend or spouse or sibling,” says Less of the theme of Sunday’s concert. “We’re hoping to bring some feel-good, community-building, light-inspiring music to people – and then to lay on them that there are great (organizations) doing really important work in the Philadelphia and worldwide community and they can get involved.”

SARAH AROESTE

Hometown: New York City by way of Princeton

Recent release: “Puertas”

Sounds like: a Spanish, Middle Eastern rock band

In love with Ladino: Though she grew up studying Western classical music, for the last decade, Aroeste has been bringing the Ladino musical tradition – the language of the Spanish (or Sephardic) Jews after their expulsion from Spain in 1492 – to contemporary audiences, with her own rock vibe. “It’s like a funky medieval dialect of Spanish with a pan-Mediterranean twist,” she says. “And as fascinating as the language is, the music is even more so! First, it’s just simply amazing that it has at all even survived over the past 500 years. But in addition, the music and the lyrics give real insight and access into the lives and traditions of Sephardic families over the years. The music is charming, funny, poignant, (yearning). + The lyrics are so spot-on and universal in their themes, it sometimes amazes me that these songs weren’t just written today.”

Always music: “I’ve been a musician all my life,” says Aroeste, who grew up playing multiple instruments in a very musical family. By 13, she was attending music school for voice, certain she would be an opera singer. “The story my mom tells me is that she had a parent-teacher conference with my sixth-grade chorus teacher who told my mother that I was a problem in her class – I sang too loud! But because I stood out so much, she could hear that I had a voice and loved to sing, and so she suggested that I get some proper training,” says Aroeste. “Apparently that’s how it all started.”

Cuban connection: Earlier this year, following a humanitarian trip to Santa Clara, Cuba, Aroeste launched the Cuban-Jewish Music Project with Cuban-American musician Roberto Rodriguez to establish libraries of Jewish music across Cuba, where Jews have little connection to their music. “The Cuban experience is very similar to the Sephardic one in terms of the historical struggles both traditions have been through: displacement, being separated from family, longing to return home. When I toured Cuba sharing music with the Jewish communities there last year, I was so struck by their desire to connect to their Jewish history,” she says. “I knew I could do my part to bring a connection to Judaism for them through music.”

Championing diversity: “I love showing people who have never been exposed to Ladino, that it is, indeed, very much a part of Jewish history and culture and still very relevant today,” says Aroeste. “No one has a monopoly on a culture – the Jewish experience is so rich with diversity and range and I try to get people to see beyond their own experiences and understand the diversity around them. I also hope that I inspire new generations to embrace their heritages and be proud of where they come from.”

“Lights Ignite Change” takes place Sunday Upstairs at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St., Philadelphia. Show time: 7 p.m. Tickets: in advance, $12; at the door, $15. Information: 215-222-1400; www.worldcafelive.com.

December 11, 2009 03:14 AM