Avi Finegold contemplates the definition of Jewish music—with a playlist you can listen to now
The words beneath the Spotify playlist also appear in the Summer 2024 issue of The CJN’s quarterly magazine. You can also listen to the playlist on Apple Music. Most people have some idea of what Jewish food is—or, at least, they think they do. They probably even have some opinions about it: which versions of […]
The cancelling of culture: What happens when arts and politics collide in Canada during the Israel-Hamas war
A comedy club in Toronto was a target in the fourth month of venues being protested.
Doorstep Postings: Touching grass, or touching the grassroots? Don’t ask the keffiyeh-wearing NHL anthem singer to understand Canada
This is a special edition of Doorstep Postings, the periodic political commentary column written by Josh Lieblein for The CJN. There’s no formal name for it, so, for the purposes of this column, I will call it the astroturf vs. grassroots problem. But rest assured: it is the most difficult problem in Canadian politics, and has […]
Brian Kotler memorializes his sister Donna with all-female remake of Pink Floyd’s album ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ at ovarian cancer benefit
Brian Kotler admits his kid sister Donna at first really wasn’t into Pink Floyd the way he was as a teen, but as the big brother who kept a lock on the stereo cabinet she had to follow along. Donna, three-and-a-half years younger, preferred younger synth-pop groups like Depeche Mode and Duran Duran. But he […]
Tribute: Leon Dubinsky, 81, a musician devoted to his native Cape Breton and its people
Leon Dubinsky died Jan. 17 at the age of 81. He wrote the unofficial anthem for Cape Breton, “We Rise Again,” which has also become the anthem for the March of the Living, as well as hundreds of other songs. He was the musical director of the Cape Breton Summertime Revue and Rise and Follies […]
Jessica Roda has researched a new wave of ultra-Orthodox women performers raising the ire of certain rabbis
It’s been eight years since Jessica Roda started studying the relatively secret world of female artists performing for ultra-Orthodox communities. And while she wasn’t brought up that way–she comes from a Sephardi family with French and Spanish origins–her access came from teaching piano and the French language to families in Montreal who may have otherwise […]
KlezKanada is returning to full programming—including its annual summer retreat—with a new executive director
KlezKanada, a Montreal centre devoted to promoting Yiddish arts and culture, was hard-hit after having to cancel its popular summer retreat for two years because of the pandemic, but is nevertheless confident about the future, says its new executive director, David Moss. A native of Montreal, Moss has spent three decades as an arts administrator […]
Punk-inspired klezmer band Black Ox Orkestar is releasing new music after a 16-year hiatus
Experimental klezmer band Black Ox Orkestar has returned with its first new music in 16 years, which expands on the social justice themes and eclectic stylings of its earlier work. The band’s new album Everything Returns comes out Dec. 2. “Mizrakh Mi Ma’arav,” its first single, which made its streaming service debut on Oct. 20. […]
Boris Brott will be remembered in a musical tribute to be performed by the legendary conductor’s own orchestra
Six months after his tragic death, the renowned Canadian conductor Boris Brott will be celebrated in a tribute concert that reflects the diversity of his career and interests. Boris: His Life in Music will open the 83rd season of the Orchestre Classique de Montréal (OCM) on Oct.18. Brott was artistic director of the OCM and […]
‘I would have asked Drake to put on tefillin’: The real rabbi who presided over the Toronto rapper’s fake wedding
Could the real rabbi recruited to be in Drake’s new music video convince the mega-star to do something exceptionally Jewish? Ari Sitnik thought he’d give it a shot—and that’s why he brought a pair of tefillin when he arrived on the set of the new music video called “Falling Back,” filmed on the last weekend […]
