Search - Tim Sparks :: At the Rebbe's Table

Jewish music comes full circle -- on the guitar!

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom | Minnesota, USA | 05/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Judging from his music, Tim Sparks has found a deep connection between music and Jewish mysticism. "At The Rebbe's Table" is his third CD in a series of, in his own words, "explorations of Jewish mystical traditions." Played on the steel-string guitar.If you think the guitar is not an authentically "Jewish" instrument, think again. Plucking stringed instruments dates all the way back to biblical times. King David, it is said, meditated on the sound of his harp. Not to mention that the Sephardic Jews came from Spain --original home of the guitar. Spain was also the home of several schools of kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) during the Middle Ages, whose writings are still studied today. I can easily imagine the Spanish kabbalists meditating to the sound of this instrument. As Sparks explains in his liner notes, "There's a way in which a guitar can uniquely embody these Jewish songs, something about the guitar having evolved from the Judeo-Arabic culture in Spain." So, if you hear strains of flamenco in some of these arrangements, that's not a gentile intrusion -- just a case of Jewish music coming full circle. He's not just strumming Hava Nagila, either. This is highly sophisticated finger-style picking, accompanied by Marc Ribot on nylon acoustic guitar, Erik Friedlander on the cello, Greg Cohen on bass, and Cyro Basta on percussion. The result is an ensemble with a fresh sound that made me hear Jewish music in an entirely new way. The pieces include traditional Hasidic niggunim, a tune based on an old Yemenite chant, and Sephardic pieces collected in Greece and Bosnia. Plus there are three tunes by Naftule Brandwein, and two klezmer gems gleaned from old 78s recorded by the Abe Schwartz Orchestra. In each case, Sparks and company have breathed a new spirit into these varied forms of Jewish music. Their latest CD is a creative experiment that definitely succeeds!"

Tim Sparks - At The Rebbe's Table

Israel Beat | Jerusalem, Israel | 03/31/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is acoustic guitarist Tim Sparks' third record exploring Jewish melody on John Zorn's Tzadik label. Zorn, an avant-garde jazz composer, often showcases little-known musicians delving into their Jewish roots. Everything from punk-rock-inflected klezmer and free-form jazz based on Hasidic nigunim (melodies) are the norm on Tzadik records. The latest album from Sparks includes the well-known Marc Ribot on backing guitar. Many of the tracks on this all-instrumental album are traditional klezmer tunes, smoothed out by Sparks' acoustic treatment. Naftule Brandwein's "Fun Tashlich," for instance, wouldn't be out of place on Smooth Jazz radio station. Also featured are a traditional Jewish Yemenite song, a Sephardic melody from Greece, and an original John Zorn composition. The album's songs flow together creating a mellow, relaxing, groovy kind of vibe. Sparks' experienced arrangements and technique shine through a diverse selection of music..."

Unlikely combination--country Klezmer--works brilliantly

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 02/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It probably would fall flat without the contributions of some of the most creative NY Downtown musicians, viz., Greg Cohen (bass), Marc Ribot (guitar), and Eric Friedlander (cello), plus musical wildcard, world-class percussionist Cyro Baptista. What they do is take the leader's cool concept and ratchet it up to the next level. Thus, the resultant clash of cultures comes across as, somehow, completely natural, even inevitable. Take, for example, "The Keys from Spain," the second cut. Built on a casual Flamenco vibe, when wrapped in Baptista's worldly-wise percussion stylings and Ribot's killer nylon-string guitar solo it warps way beyond its homely genre roots, becoming something elemental, essential, even eternal. Or check out the subtle guitar interplay on the title cut, where Sparks' sophiticated attack weaves in and out of the more subdued approach (though it's strange to imagine it, if you've heard him, on, say Dave Douglas's Freak In) of Marc Ribot on, of all things, a nylon-string guitar. The magic they consistently evoke comes fully to the fore on "Beautiful City," one of the most evocative, stunningly beautiful guitar duets ever recorded.All in all, this is deeply moving music, brilliantly concieved by the leader and loving rendered by some of the finest living musicians. Highest rating."