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שכוייח! 

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נטסון יישר כח! לא יודע למה זכור לי שקראתי אותו פעם או את חלקים ממנו או שאני טועה...
בכל מקרה הילד שהיא לא ידעה את שמו שעולה מאוד גבוה בשיר "אחינו" זה כמובן ארי רוזנר!!! מצחיק שזה עוד היה הרבה לפני רווח שעוד לא הכירו את הסולנים האלו...

מי שיוכל לתרגם תבוא עליו ברכה....

מתוך האתר הזה(כולל תמונות):  http://jewishmusicreport.com/2009/10/08/miami-yovo-succos-concert-2009/

They've been around for so long that there aren't many of us who can remember a life without Miami Boys Choir.  And after all this time, we still keep coming back for more.  In this case, it was the annual Succos concert, held this year at the charming State Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  Every single one of the 1800 seats in the theater was sold and there has been some buzz online about staging a second concert on 24 hours notice.   Let's just say it turned out to be a night to remember in some very unexpected ways.  Intrigued?  Good.  Keep reading.

A few things I need to say up front.  For starters, I am writing this review at an obscene hour of the morning, so forgive me if I don't mention which album each song is from.  Miami has released so many albums, it would take a while to track down each song.  Given that everyone wants to read concert reviews right away, I am not going to spend the time naming each album.  Next:  the crowd was a little different than what you normally see at a concert, in that there were no white shirted yeshiva bochurim dancing in the aisles, cheering and singing along.  From the pictures I have seen of the audience at the Fried mit Lipa concert it looks like they all went there.  A pity that two such good concerts were scheduled for the same night.  But not to worry.  Yeshiva bochurim don't have the monopoly on being leibidic and there was plenty of energy in the audience.

Yerachmiel Begun seems to have heard our disappointment with the pint sized band he used at the Pesach concert, and this concert featured five musicians:  keyboard, drums, bass guitar, guitar and another musician who played assorted horns.  The sound  level and mixes were better at this concert than at most I have heard and the lighting was used nicely to enhance the concert.

Aside from the boys, this years concert also featured singer/composer Baruch Levine and The Alumni, who were the opening act.  While MC Yoily Karr did announce their names, I didn't catch them and couldn't tell you for sure who they were.   They clearly have nice voices and were enjoyable to listen to.  They also seemed to have brought their own cheering section with them.  This was one leibidic crowd.  Their first song was Ilu, probably the only song I can remember that The Alumni ever sang.  They followed that up with Miami's Mehaira which they then took into P'sach Libi.  While the Alumni were perfectly fine, they are not exactly a household name and I would have enjoyed if they had added one more performer to the roster that was a little more well known.

Baruch Levine, as usual, was hartzig, sweet and a welcome treat.  His first song Shalom, from his Chosson HaTorah album, was one of the few songs he did where he didn't play piano, which is how I enjoy Baruch Levine most.  After that it was piano time and Levine performed my favorite song from his last album, Ki Hu.  One thing I've noticed about Baruch Levine is that when he comes on stage, he always takes a water bottle with him and tonight was no exception.  He opened up the water bottle, poured it into a glass and announced ''Mommy, this glass is for you'' as he explained to the audience that his mother was in the audience and she always tells him to drink out of a glass instead of straight out of the bottle.  Next, Levine sang Kol Haberuim and the audience clapped enthusiastically along with him as he sang the high part.

And then it was time for the main event.   So many things I want to say before I get down to what they sang.

First of all, I estimated that there were nineteen boys in the choir.  (I could be wrong.  They kept moving around.)  I'm guessing there were about eight younger boys and the rest seemed to be anywhere from seventh through ninth grade.  I know that at least two of those boys are in high school already.   Which means that while right now Begun has some seasoned performers, he is going to have to start cultivating the younger kids.  The ones he had on stage tonight were all terrific and showed lots of potential.

Second, because there weren't a lot of boys on stage, each kid had his own mike.  I don't think I've ever seen that before and they were able to get a fuller sound out of the kids.  There were a few instances where a few mikes weren't working well, but all the issues were worked out quickly and painlessly.

Third, no mikes on the stage gave the boys a lot more room to dance. And wow, did these boys dance.  This wasn't just motions to go along with the music, these kids were REALLY moving up there.  There were times when they appeared to be simcha dancing, but there were other times where some of the moves had just a little too much movement in them for my taste.

Fourth:  Costumes.  While I can't tell you that I would ever want to see my son wearing sequins, the idea that the boys were changing their costumes and coming out on stage looking completely different from time to time added to the professionalism of the choir.

Fifth:  Music.  There is no question that not all the music that you heard was being played live.  Stay tuned for more on that one.  There were a few times during the concert when I wondered if there was also some choir on the soundtrack, but I honestly don't know.

Sixth:  Names.   I'm sorry, I just don't know most of their names.  They did introduce the boys at the end, but there is just no way I can tell you who sang which solo on which song.

Seventh:  My apologies to Yerachmiel Begun.  I was so busy keeping track of songs, costumes and all the other details, while at the same time trying to video that I wasn't able to keep track of when he came out and sang.  Suffice it to say that he made occasional appearances and enhanced the boys performance, really giving them the opportunity to be the stars of the show.

Eighth:  There is something so professional about a boys choir performing and doing a great job on stage without anyone up front directing them.  I can't think of another choir that does that.  Again, these boys are real pros as became obvious a little later.  No hints  yet.  Just keep reading.

The choir's opening number was Galey, from Miami Yovo.  The boys came out dressed in either shiny silver shirts with maroon ties or shiny maroon shirts with silver ties amid swirls of fog and lots of lighting schtick.  A four level riser in the middle of the stage gave the boys a lot to work with in terms of placement and choreography and they used the space well.  It looked to be the same arrangement that they used in their Pesach concert, but do you really expect a concert with no repeats from the last concert?  As long as they mix things up a little, I don't mind.

Their next song was Yerushalayim, which, unfortunately, did not feature Yoshi Bender doing his chazanus at the beginning.  A word about Yoshi Bender.  Now a ninth grader, his voice has gotten very deep and while his solos were excellent, he had very few of them.  But it didn't matter.  That kid owned the stage and is an unbelievable dancer.  I can't imagine what it's like for a boy to deal with the idea that he can't hit the notes he used to be able to but Yoshi Bender seemed to handle it with grace and dignity and there were many moments during the night where the crowd was calling his name.

Next were some oldies:  Al Eileh from Miami Moshiach and Nikadesh from Shiru Lo.  Both slow songs, both pretty, both gave the boys a little bit of a chance to rest as they arranged themselves on the risers and took advantage of an opportunity to sit down.  Baavur David featured only five boys:  Yoshi Bender, Yair Kenig, Jeremy Hershkowitz, David Hershkowitz and Moshe Yaakov Braun.  (I may have gotten the names  wrong.  Someone please correct me if I did?)  Yerachmiel Begun came out and gave a short d'var Torah on Esa Einai, before the boys began the song, all wearing suit jackets over their shiny shirts.  The last song before intermission was Moshiach and watching those boys, you'd think they had springs for legs.  To be able to sing and dance like that all at the same time?  Wow.  I don't think I had their energy at that age!

After a brief intermission The Miami Alumni were back and I definitely enjoyed them more their second time on stage.  They sang a few Carlebach songs:  Oseh Shalom, Esa Einai and Shomrim Hafked.  After seeing the boys choir perform, it was funny to see the Alumni and realize that one day, these boys will be grown men in suits,  sporting five o'clock shadow.

Baruch Levine returned to the stage with a story of how he asked Abie Rotenberg the secret of song writing and he replied that the music should be an expression of the meaning of the lyrics.  Levine acknowledged his parents, in laws and children, all of whom were in the audience and expressed the hope that the words of his next song, obviously V'Zakeini, would one day be fulfilled.  Instead of a sweet voiced boy joining Levine for this song, it was Yerachmiel Begun who was invited onstage and the duet was truly lovely.

Next, Levine told a story about a song that he wrote on Simchas Torah almost two years ago.  As he stood in Shul at the end of layning, the music for the song Chosson Hatorah came to him, but being yom tov, he was unable to record the music anywhere, so he spent the rest of the day singing the song to himself, in the hopes that he wouldn't forget it.   Levine sang energetically and the crowd was more than happy to help him out.

Miami was back next with a medley of older songs including, Lo Yisa Goy, Od Yishama and Ki Hashem, among others, each song featuring a group of boys in different costumes.

Remember at the beginning when I told you things were going to get really interesting?  Well, here we go.  Fasten your seatbelts.

It's kind of ironic that the words to this song were Me'im Hashem, because what happened next truly was. The boys came out in a costume I have never seen before:  a navy blue vest with a white v-neck.  Begun introduced the song and the crowd was clapping enthusiastically as the boys began singing.  Now, I will tell you that there were definitely moments in the concert when it was obvious that some of the music that you heard was coming from a soundtrack.  How can you hear violins when there are none on stage?  But I don't think that's a big issue.  At least it wouldn't be if something hadn't gone wrong with the soundtrack halfway through the song and it just stopped in the middle of a solo.  You can see the soloist looking around in confusion, but he had the presence of mind to just keep going.  It took just a few seconds for Begun to start singing along with the boys from backstage.  You have to understand, it wasn't like there the band was playing in addition to the soundtrack.  ALL the background music was on the soundtrack and it just stopped.  Completely.  You can see the kids looking around in confusion, but they kept their cool and just kept going.  The audience started clapping in time to the beat to keep the kids going and they did just that, first with Begun singing in the background and eventually with some accompaniment from the band.  The fact that Begun did not come out on stage to rescue the boys tells you just how much confidence he had in them to handle the glitch and they more than rose to the occasion.  The song finished amid thunderous applause from the audience.  Don't worry.  I got the whole thing on video.  :)

Next up, Revach.  For me, I don't think Revach will ever be better than it was on the Miami Revach DVD, but I know.  You can't compare live to a DVD.  The stage crew rolled out the piano again, but not for Boruch Levine this time.   It was for Yair Kenig singing the heartfelt Azor Na, accompanied by Stanislov Nikolov on the violin, truly a hartzig and beautiful moment.  Kenig is clearly a very talented boy.

Finally, finally the song everyone was waiting for:  Yovo.  The song began with the boys, newly changed into black sequined vests, lying on the floor amid swirling fog and as the song began they rose up slowly, as if rising up from the dead.  The song was awesome, so good in fact that I thought it was the finale.   The boys captured the energy of the song and it sounded almost as good as it did on the CD which makes me wonder if there was a soundtrack behind the boys to capture the fullness and the many harmonies of the song.  The song ended, unfortunately, with the boys laying back down on the floor amid the swirling fog and it reminded me of the graveyard sequence in Fiddler on the Roof.  I didn't have a problem with the image of the boys simulating Techiyas Hamaysim but the idea of these boys going back to their graves was a little creepy for me.

After the ebullient Yovo, the boys needed a break and they followed up with Mehaira from their latest album, sitting on the risers, starting and ending the song with their heads down on their arms.

Before the finale, Begun took a minute to introduce all the boys to the audience and then he told the audience he wanted everyone on their feet for the finale. The mikes got turned up really loud, there were lights swirling all over the place and the room really rocked for Ayom V'Nora.  I have to tell you that I don't get the idea for a really leibidic song with the lyrics ''Ayom V'nora'', but what do I know.  It's not like I'm a lyricist or anything.

And that was it for the night.  All in all, the concert, the first Miami concert I have ever been to, was a great night, full of fun and great music.  The boys were consummate professionals and did an an absolutely terrific job.

מי שיוכל לתרגם תבוא עליו ברכה...

מתוך האתר הזה: http://jewishmusicreport.com/2009/04/20/miami-experience-concert-review/


I'm finally home. After my GPS threw me ''off the derech'' so to speak. I was trying to get home from Brooklyn and it sends me through Manhattan of all places. I must have spent an hour in traffic in Manhattan. Why is there gridlocked traffic at 11:30PM!? Anyway, I doubt you're interested in hearing my driving woes; besides, nothing could ruin the spectacular evening I ''experienced'' at the Miami Experience Concert; not even the crazy drunk guy who tried to swerve into my car. That's right kids (and adults), don't drink and drive! I arrived a little bit late (more traffic…), but I still arrived in time for Benny Friedman, whom opened up the show. He has such a spectacular voice; it's obvious he's going places besides the chuppah (Mazel Tov Benny!).

Now that I got all of the preliminary ''blabber'' out of the way, it's time for some tachlis. (Forgive me for the grammatical errors; it's late) ☺

Benny Friedman

Rifoeinu (Miami) – I arrived at the scene with Benny performing a spectacular rendition of a Miami classic, Rifoeinu, from the Shabbos Yerushalayim album. Although I was still trying to find my seat (where's my Usher!), I still was able to hear this gorgeous song.

V'hee Sheomdah (?) – Benny faked out the crowd by humming Aaron Razel's V'hee Sheomdah, and asking if everyone knew it. After the crowd acknowledged him, he proceeded to say how he didn't have time for such a slow niggun, so he sang a fast version. I couldn't catch where this tune was from, but it was perfect for the Pesach timing of this concert.

Adon Olam (Miami) – I'm personally exhausted when it comes to Miami's Adon Olam. However, that didn't matter, because Benny has an outstanding voice, and it was a nice change of pace from hearing the choir sing it.
That was it for Benny Friedman (aww…); it was short and sweet. Can't wait to hear the new album!

Nachum Segal, the emcee, entered and announced the return of the Alumni!

The Alumni

The Alumni are back and they're sounding really good. I was not a huge fan of their album, and I was thinking ''oh great…'' when they came on, but then I was pleasantly surprised. They were really good! Do they have different guys? I couldn't tell (that's what I get for not doing enough research!). They started out with a Carlebach Medley and proceeded to two classic Miami songs. Here's what they sang:

Carlebach Medley -
Oseh Shalom
Esa Einai
Kol Hayom V'chol Halayla (the Shir Hamalos tune!)

Classics -
Meheira – A gorgeous classic.
P'sach Libi -There was way too much smokescreen during this song, I could barely see them! I felt like I was watching the Alumni in the sauna (weird…).
Overall, The Alumni sounded great, but I was ready for the main attraction! Just then, Nachum Segal walked out and announced Thee Miami Boys Choir (hurray!).

Miami Boys Choir

The crowd was eccentric, the music was eerie (in a good way!), and you could feel the excitement in the air from the crowd. Then BAM! The music starts, which leads us to the first song…

Galei – Those kids sure can move. The choreography was amazing, but with everything amazing comes some pitfalls. They were moving so fast and hard that I could see some of the kids sweating; that, and their mouths were not always close enough to the microphone, leaving bits and pieces of the song missing. Then Yerachmiel Begun came out during his part of the song and I couldn't even hear him. I thought it was the microphone, but it wasn't (you'll find out soon). Even with these issues, the crowd loved it, and I did too. It was great hearing a fresh song, and it ended leaving me wanting more.

Yerushalayim – The choir looked excited, and the sound was amazing. The crowd gobbled up every piece of this song; it was that good.

Slow Medley – Nikadeish and Shabbos.

Ba'avur – No electric guitar, which gave it a nicer ring to it. They had a rough start, but they picked it up throughout the remainder of the song. Overall, a lot of energy and very solid.

At this point Begun came out and solved the mystery to his performance in Galei. He mentioned something about having a hoarse voice. Refuah Shelaima.

Esa Einai – The choir threw on some neatly pressed suits for this song. This was the first slow song from the new album they performed that night. They had some very cute choreography, such as; the choir froze in place, each with a different pose, during one of the solos.

Moshiach – A crowd favorite, from Miami's last album Moshiach. Only half the choir started the song, and the rest joined during the midpoint. The crowd was clapping and you could feel their electricity throughout the entire song. The lighting effects were amazing, really showing off the capabilities of the lighting system. There was a special treat at the end of the song, with a little encore, which included a moment of break dancing.

Intermission
Nachum Segal returned to ask the crowd a highly debated question on his radio show. ''Which is your favorite song from the new album?'' Of course the crowd was inaudible with everyone shouting their answer. ''That's the same answer I always get,'' he said. ''They're all great and no one can agree.'' (haha, very funny).

The Alumni

They came back very briefly to sing Elu Yisrael from their album, nothing much to get excited about. And then they were gone as soon as they appeared!

Miami Boys Choir

They're back and the crowd loved it. They went directly into a medley I would like to call, The…
Flashback Medley (Costume Party) – During this medley, the choir switched back and forth between groups of choir members singing each song with new costumes every time.
- Lo Yisa Goy (Army costumes – Group 1)
- Od Yishoma (Blue bowtie and sash – Group 2)
- Kol Mi – (White shirts and black pants – Group 3)
- Tehilas Hashem (Black and white sweaters – Group 1) let me point out that the kids from Lo Yisa Goy came back on for this song, when they must have had only five minutes to change out of their previous army costumes; now that's talent!
- V'haya Machanecha Kadosh – (Black and white sweaters – Choir).
The whole medley was very fast and some parts were very hard to hear, but overall it was a solid performance.

Me'im Hashem – The choreography for this song was fantastic. The sound was crisp, and the crowd loved it.

Revach – They performed this song so well, that even the kids in the audience around me were bopping up and down to it. There were some new harmonies and Begun had a different children sub in for himself when his parts arrived. It was a little bit choppy, but it was amazing for on the spot. The crowd loved this song.

Azor Nah – This song started out with a narration, translating the lyrics in this song. It definitely added to the depth of the song. Yair Kenig, the soloist of the song was on piano, and they had an amazing violinist, Aryeh something… (sorry, it was announced to fast). There was a lot of smokescreen, and I could barely see the two of them, but they sounded amazing. The violin playing was truly a work of art. Bravo, Aryeh something! Hats off (not yarmulkes, chas v'shalom ☺) to Yair Kenig as well. He's got some voice, and apparently a skilled pianist. There was a huge round of applause at the end. It was that good.

Yavoh – Begun got the crowd pumped with his usual ''Let's go!'' The choreography for Yavoh is spectacular. I really enjoyed the song starting off with the choir pretending to be asleep. It was just as good as on the album, and that's not easy to pull off. The audience loved every second of it, begging for more.

Mehairah – This is a gorgeous song, and the one thing that really surprised me was that they had the soloist sing the extremely hard ''Neginaso'' shtick during the song. And what surprised me even more was the fact that he hit the key clearly (I wonder how many times he practiced that). The ending was great; in which the choir sat down on the benches they started the song on, and with heads resting on their knees, pretended to fall asleep.

Name Game – To give the evening a more personal touch to it, Begun entered and had each kid come up to announce his name. I could go home and say, ''Hey! That Yoshi Bender kid was really solid!'' (They were all amazing ☺).

Ayom V'norah – This song was the closer for the concert. The music was a bit too loud, but luckily it didn't overpower the choir's voices. This song was the first one in which I could recognize the group harmonies from the album (I know, kind of late, but maybe I'm a little slow. Must be the matzah…). The choreography was on the top of its game again. One of the children took over for Begun during his part of the song (poor Begun, feel better!). There was a short encore at then end in which the choir took turns bowing, and with that Begun said goodnight and Gut Yuntif.

Final Thoughts – Overall I was very happy with this concert. There were some rough spots with the microphones, but every concert has that. Benny Friedman was great, The Alumni were great, The Miami Boys Choir was spectacular, and the choreography was better than all of them. For those of you who read this review and have decided that you to, would like a piece of the Miami Experience, go to jewishtickets.com and purchase the tickets for tonight's show, which will feature Yehuda Green. Now if you'll excuse me, it's 3:10 in the morning and I have to get up for shacharis in less than five hours (got to love the 8 o'clock shacharis), so Kol Tuv, all the best, and enjoy the rest of your chag!

מי שיכול לתרגם תבוא עליו ברכה...
מתוך האתר הזה: http://jewishmusicreport.com/2010/03/07/review-miami-yavoh-dvd/

With the newest Miami Experience just a few short weeks away, it seemed like a good time to revisit last year's Miami Experience, by watching the Miami Yavoh DVD which was released just before Chanukah.  The DVD is divided into four separate parts:  the concert segment, music videos, interviews  and the same concert segment repeated, this time with a full length commentary by Yerachmiel Begun and some special guests.

The Actual Concert:

The concert segment combines the best parts of the Pesach and Succos Miami concerts.   Since there is no point in repeating reviews that have already been written on this website, I am not going to go through the concert song by song.  To read the review of the Pesach concert by JM Derech, click here. For the Succos concert review, click here.

Given that I was actually at the Succos concert, it was fun trying to place which parts of the video were from which concert.   The clips are blended together so smoothly that except for moments where the boys are standing and then magically sitting, it is difficult to remember that what you are watching is actually a combination of two different events, filmed six months apart.

A few comments that I feel compelled to make:

1)   Wow, these boys are good.  It is amazing how they perform at least three quarters of the concert onstage, alone, with no one leading the choir.  Their professionalism carries through in their dancing and their costumes.  No one would ever confuse Miami Boys Choir with a random choir from your son's elementary school.  They look, sound and appear very professional.  Having said that, someone needs to decide how to spell the title song and the name of the concert.  The CD itself was titled ''Yovo''.  On the CD, the title song was spelled ''Yovoh''.  On the DVD, the song is spelled ''Yavoh''.

2) Both the audio and the video on this DVD are great.  In fact, having been at one of the concerts, I will tell you that you will see the actual concert far better on this DVD than you ever will at a concert hall.  Of course, you can't compare the experience of a live concert with watching a DVD in your family room, but if you really want to see the kids, the DVD gives you a better view than the actual concert.   You will be able to count every freckle on the faces of the boys, should you feel a bizarre compulsion to do so.

3) In a nutshell?  This DVD combines two great concerts into one great video.  The concert portion is only an hour long, but that's why  bonus features were invented.

Music Videos:

There are two music videos on this DVD.  The first is the studio version of Me'im Hashem, videotaped in June 2008 at the recording studio.  After seeing these boys on stage in sequins and shiny shirts, it is almost a relief to see them dressed like regular kids:  t-shirts, polo shirts and their tzitzis hanging out.  A great song and I enjoyed seeing it/hearing it again, though it was pretty much just  footage of the boys either wearing headphones as they recorded or practicing the same choreography that you see on stage.  I don't know that the vocals here aren't straight off the original CD.  Once again, can we decide on one spelling for a song and stick with it?  This time around, the song is titled ''Mayim Hashem''.

The other music video is Miami 30, showcasing 30 years of Miami Boys Choir albums, set to the song Moshiach.  The video features graphics showing different years Miami albums were released, magazine and front pages of newspapers showing what was going on in the world during those times, shots of the choir performing at various concerts, all interspersed with current choir members asking ''are you ready?''

Interview:

Israeli radio personality Menachem Toker interviews choir members Shmuli Broyn, Ari Rosner, Menachem Sammel and Laibel Gordon.  Interestingly enough, not one of these boys actually sings anywhere on this DVD.  This group of boys is from Miami Revach, but the interview is still entertaining enough, with Toker asking the boys how it feels to be onstage, if they feel their choir experience has helped them in school and how they feel about the reality that their voices will change and they will have to leave the choir.

Commentary:

This is an hour long, full length running commentary on the concert.  As you watch the concert again, you hear discussions between Yerachmiel Begun and various people who pop in during his commentary:  former choir member Menachem Klein, Yoeli Kar, his son Chananya and a few choir boys: Yair Kenig, Yoshi Bender and the Ayal brothers:  David, Sol and Albert.  It is nice to hear the easy banter between Begun and the boys.  While the casual listener won't really be all that interested in hearing Begun discuss carpool arrangements with Mrs. Bender, devoted Miami fans will eat up the assorted bits of trivia that come out during the commentary.

Final Thoughts:

If you have music loving kids, concert DVDs are a terrific innovation.  Not only can your entire family see a concert for approximately $25, but they will get a better view of the stage than at a live concert and be able to watch the concert as many times as their little hearts desire.  Bonus features makes these DVDs even more appealing.

This DVD in particular is a little on the short side as the live concerts feature performers other than just the boys choir.  While the cover boasts a running time of 2 ½ hours, that is only if you watch the concert twice:  once with the commentary and once without.  The bonus features aren't quite as full or as entertaining as the ones on Miami Revach, but I thought the DVD was a worthwhile investment for my crew, hardcore Miami fans.   Can't wait to see what Yerachmiel Begun has up his sleeve for this year's Miami Experience!

המתרגם תבוא עליו ברכה...
מתוך האתר הזה:  http://jewishmusicreport.com/2009/04/19/jm-derech-miami-yavo-review/

Hello again fellow readers. It's an honor and a privilege to be given the chance to guest post here on the Jewish Music Report. You can check out my blog, Jewish Music Derech for more fun posts and reviews from yours truly!

Let me start out this review by saying how impressed I am with this album. I had all but lost faith in the Miami Boys Choir after 1999′s Stand Up album. So when Yovo was recently released, I was like ''here we go again…'' To tell you the truth, I'm not a fan of the preview Aderet threw on their website. They're C quality clips. How are you supposed to sell an album like that? I guess they figured its Miami, who's not going to buy it? Well guess what? They were right; I bought it anyway. Anyway, enough yapping! This album is a quality production. On this album, Begun transported the listener into a ''time capsule''. The songs are a mix of classic Miami with some contemporary pieces as well. The combination delivers a ''blast from the past'' mixed with ''Bam! In your face!''

The Soloists: Bless you, Yerachmiel Begun for picking solid soloists this time around. There are no voices that make me want to shut off the album and that's huge for me. The ''Miami Ensemble'' on Ba'avur is brilliant; kind of gives you that Shalsheles Jr. effect (whoops! did I just mention a competitor?). Of course, you can't forget the brilliant ''Group Harmony Team'', which is something I haven't seen Miami do, but have seen on the Shira Chadasha Boys Choir (I'm gonna get in trouble for this!). It adds a ''shticky'' touch to the songs, giving them the fullness they needed.

Arrangements: And now announcing the Miami Boys Choir arrangements All-Star Team. Moshe Laufer, Yitzi Bald, Yisroel Lamm, Yerachmiel Begun, Leib Yaakov Rigler, and Mona Rosenblum. Sweet!

Z'man Chazara (Review Time)

Okay! Less talking, more reviewing!

Ayoim V'Norah

Arranged by the brilliant Mona Rosenblum. This song gives you that ''blast from the past'' feeling that I was talking about. The arrangements are flawless, the lyrics flow to the tune, and it's an all around amazing intro song. The song is classic Miami. In other words, the choir sings the song once through before the soloists come in. At 2:14-2:22 listen for the amazing group harmonies this album is filled with. At 3:12 there is a great musical interlude, followed by a cool Oy Gevalt shtick starting at 3:37. Begun comes in at 4:32 and for the first time in Miami history, I don't mind it a bit. I always thought he took away from the songs, but this is a short and simple piece that enhances the song. This song is Mammash A' Gevalt! =)

Me'im Hashem

Every Miami album needs an English song. I haven't liked any of them since 1995′s One by One. Well, there's been a change in events. This song is a solid English song; I like it! Begun has always done an amazing job with the lyrics, but the melodies haven't been so hot. This time though, the lyrics and the melody flow beautifully together. Yisroel Lamm arranged this song, and did an amazing job. Each part of the song has the perfect voice to accompany it. Begun's harmonies at 5:00 until the end are (speechless). Ya, they're that good.

Yovo

This is by far my favorite pick for this album. Arranged by Begun, the music sounds like something off of a Super Mario game (Ahh! Secular influence! CHEIRIM!!). This song is great to exercise too or really to do anything too. Okay, at 2:18, if you don't listen to this, you basically missed the ''sweet candy center'' of the song! The soloists voice is amazing and the Group Harmonies are back in full blast. The duet at 3:13 is super sweet. Which is followed by a ''Baruch Hagever'' (Lev Tahor) harmony at 3:26. At 4:10 the group harmonies come back in blowing you away. You walk away from this song wanting more. This is what every title track should be like. Yasher Koach, Yerachmiel Begun.

M'heiroh

Arranged by Moshe Laufer. I'm surprised Begun picked these lyrics, because the last M'heiroh from the Klal Yisrael Together album is classified as a hit (at least, so says Aderet) and its like playing with fireworks trying to outdo a hit. Regardless, this song has gorgeous piano on it. The song is nothing to jump out of your seat over, but it's still good, especially with Begun's new group harmony team (I'm telling you, these kids are great). At 5:05 the soloist does a very nice job. But the real star here is the soloist at 5:35. Listen for yourself =)

Boreich Oleinu

Yitzi Bald (hey! Where's his choir?) and Begun arranged this song together. The intro to this song gives you that ominous ''We must accomplish the mission!'' feeling (Ya, I know, I'm a little crazy). This song is rocked up, but not overly rocked up. At 2:07 the ''Ahh'' shtick is very cute. This song really gets good at 3:22. The soloist reminds me of Miami alumni, Yosef Schick (amazing voice). The music become relaxed at 4:26 and this is the most gorgeous part of the song. Begun comes in at 4:50 and once again he really adds to the song. You know what it is? He's no longer dominating the songs. His voice now has that gruff feel to it and has become an impressive enhancer. You know what? I retract my previous statement on favorite pick. This song is easily equal to Yavoh if not better.

Galei

Moshe Laufer returns two tracks later with these arrangements on Galei. Another ominous intro; it's so incredibly random… It makes me feel like I'm soaring, kind of like Kol Noar's Baruch Hashem (that was a cool intro) without the techno beat of course. I can't put my finger on what classic Miami song this sounds like, but the music sounds like a repeat. Regardless, it's good music. Wait a second! This is Ki Heim Chayenu (B'derech Hatorah) music (my mother agrees, so take that!). Anyway, now that we got passed the intro, I have to say the coolest part about this song is the chorus when they say ''Hey! Galei, Galei, Galei''. There's nothing that jumps out at me about this song, but it's a good listen and definitely not a waste of a track.

Esa Einai

Zzzz… No, I'm not falling asleep because it's a boring song, it's just the music is so serene. I could totally see myself sitting in a recliner, sipping tea, and relaxing to this song. Begun arranged and Yisroel Lamm orchestrated the music and they did a great job making this song, not in your face. There's no screaming voices or loud trumpets, its just gorgeous! The harmony at 2:57 is very sweet. This song is so relaxing; I think I'm going to go take a nap now…Zzzz.

Ba'avur

Whoa! So much for napping; this is a 180-degree turn from the last song. Begun and Yitzi Bald arranged this song, and put in a nice electric guitar intro like M'leim (YBC) or Vihoer (Shira Chadasha), very cool! (By the way, yes I do get a kick out of mentioning the competition; it keeps me honest!). The Miami Ensemble sings this song. The best part of this song is the ''Ooo, Ahh'' shtick. The song gets really good at 2:44 and on. If you skip to the ending, starting at 5:00, the words switch to Eitz Chaim and it's very shticky, a great way to end a song.

V'seiroeiv

This song, arranged by Moshe Laufer, starts off with a gorgeous round of piano playing and strings. It sounds like a song that would have fit nicely on their ''Around the Campfire'' album. I'm not a huge fan of this song but there are definitely those out there who will enjoy this song. I do feel this song is a bit too long (8:13). But, hey! It's for sure not a bad quality song! I return to my previous conclusion; this song would sound really cool without the music, as an acapella song. It would have kept it short, and given the Group Harmony Team a chance to show off their acapella harmonies! (Hint, hint).

Zman Simchaseinu

A classic freilach arranged by Mona Rosenblum! I can see this being sung at Simchas Beis Hashoeiva's in the future; a lot of crazy men dancing, a little drinking (only a little!), the ''to cool to dance'' guys on the side playing with their cell phones. What a picturesque thought… Anyway, the soloist at 3:42 is amazing, especially with the harmonies behind him. The ''oy oy oy'' harmony is very cute. Don't miss the song from 4:07 until the end. It's a lot of fun. And from 4:35 and on is hilarious!!!

Azor Noh

This song is sung entirely by Yair Kenig. It's been a while since he gave an entire song to a child. My favorite? 1984′s B'syiata D'shmaya sung by Jonathan Paley. The key element of this song is the amazing instrumental pieces (Leib Yaakov Rigler, you're the man!). As for the soloist, Kenig has a gorgeous, powerful voice. The way he whines with some words only enhances the tremendous impact of the song. Usually you don't want to hear your kids whine, but when they're good at it, let em' whine away! Starting at 3:42 the song shines in all its glory with the added harmonies. This song is a great way to end an album. It takes you out with a spiritually uplifted feeling.

So what's the Maskanah (verdict)?

This album is a must buy, not for only Miami Boys Choir lovers, but for everyone! That's right, you! You, the person reading this really long review! Go out and buy it now! Here, I'll even help. Help yourself to a link and go!

מי שיכול לתרגם  תבוא עליו ברכה...
מתוך האתר הזה: http://jewishmusicreport.com/2010/05/17/spotlight-on-ultimate-miami-the-english-collection/

After thirty three years of composing, Yerachmiel Begun has had more than his share of hit songs.   Ultimate Miami:  The English Collection is retrospective showing how Miami's English songs have evolved throught the years.  Containing twenty six songs, two hours and ten minutes of music and a beautiful forty page color booklet with lyrics to every song, this two CD set is truly an impressive collection.  This set contains songs from Miami's earliest albums, with the most current song coming from Miami Revach (2005).  Many of the songs are major hits that any serious music lover knows in entirety. Others songs have popular choruses but verses that are less familiar to all but the most hardcore Miami fanatics.  A few lesser known songs round out this sweeping collection.  All in all, this album is truly a welcome addition to any Jewish music library.

Some would argue that rerecording the songs instead of having Ilya Lishinsky digitally remaster them could have produced cleaner sound and more up to date arrangements.  Aside from the obvious financial issues, I enjoyed hearing the songs with the original soloists as I remember them from years ago.    Some very famous names have passed through Miami Boys Choir over the years including Yaakov Shwekey, Ari Goldwag, Yitzy Spinner, Yitzchok Rosenthal, Srully Williger, Shloime Dachs, Ophie Nat and Nachman Seltzer.  Of those, Goldwag, Stark and Spinner can be heard on this album and it is entertaining to hear these singers as child soloists.  Do the songs sound remarkably different from the original albums?  I'm sure they sound crisper, but it is difficult to compare the sound coming off my record player (yes, I do have one) to what you hear on the headphones of your iPod.

The booklet itself, with cover art by Shloimy Zeiger, is quite large with some beautiful shots of the current choir, courtesy of photographers Baruch Ezagui, Yossi Percia, Shimon Gifter and Josh Block.  I wish they had included some photographs of the older choirs, given that with only one song from 2005 in this set, for all intents and purposes, almost none of the boys who appear in the pictures actually sing on any of the songs.  I can't imagine that there were no choir parents from previous years who wouldn't have shared their photographs for this booklet.  Additionally, it would have been nice to have someone proofread the booklet so that the songs would be spelled consistently on the back of the booklet and on the inside of the booklet.  A proofreader probably also would have caught that many of the vov's and final nun's in the Hebrew lyrics were inadvertently bolded.

Enough about the booklet.  Tachlis time!  To make life easier, unless otherwise noted, assume that lyrics were written by Yerachmiel Begun and arrangements were by Yisroel Lamm.

The Simcha Song (The Simcha Song:  1997) This song just works on all levels.  It grabs you with the ''Dance!  Sing!  Clap!'' introduction and never lets go.  Great lyrics, great song, very well done and the soloists all sound terrific.    A great prototype of what a fast English song should be.

Min Hashamayim (Min Hashomayim:  1992) What a treat to hear both Ari Goldwag and Nachum Stark as child soloists.  Another hit song, with lyrics by Shoshana Begun, also known as Mrs. Begun.

Sunshine (One By One:  1995) I have heard this beautiful song with lyrics by Shoshana Begun on several occasions, but this original version with Yitzy Spinner singing as a child soloist is my favorite.   For entertainment purposes, you can hear Spinner singing the song again on Miami 25 – Past, Present and Future.

We Need You (Shabbos Yerushalayim:  1988) One of the things about Yerachmiel Begun is that there doesn't seem to be any topic that he is afraid to take on.  This song, with lyrics by Shoshana Begun, deals with not talking during davening which, sadly, is as timely a topic now as it was 22 years ago.  It is obvious listening to the song that it was recorded quite a while ago.  Neither the song nor the arrangements are as sophisticated as current Miami songs, but it is a cute song and I happen to really like it.  Love the men's choir harmony at 2:53.

B'siyatah Dishmaya (B'Siyatah Dishmaya:  1984) Another Miami classic with arrangements by Moshe Laufer and lyrics by Y. Reich.      This is one of my favorite Miami albums and the song is as strong now as it was when it was first released 26 years ago.  This song was also on Miami 25, with the adult Jonathan Paley reprising his solo.

Be A Mentsch (The 2^nd Annual Miami Experience:  1992) I have never heard this particular album nor was I at the concert, so I have never heard this song with Shoshana Begun's lyrics before.  The track seems start in the middle of a sentence during some kind of dramatic presentation at the concert.  I am not sure that without the context of the play that surrounded it that this song really stands on its own.

One By One (One By One:  1995) Another traditional Miami English song, with lyrics by Shoshana Begun, though the chorus is probably the strongest part of the song.  Of the two English songs on this album, I think Sunshine is the better song, but can you imagine an album named Sunshine?

Stand Up (Stand Up:  2000) Another great song with lyrics by Mrs. B. that work so well with the mood and music of the song. Anyone want to explain to me why surrender and defend her are intentionally pronounced ''surrenda'' and ''defenda''?  It's not like they were rhyming those words with anything else.  No matter, clearly Begun's songs have evolved over the years and have kept pace with the higher level of sophistication that has become part and parcel of Jewish music.

To Live A Life Of Torah (The 2^nd Annual Miami Experience:  1992) Both the lyrics by Chaya Sara Fogel and the way it is sung by Nachum Stark are a little intense for me.   Another great example of a Miami song whose chorus made it really big, with verses that are probably less familiar to the casual listener.

Shabbos Yerushalayim (Shabbos Yerushalayim:  1988)   Both the song and the lyrics by Shoshana Begun do a great job capturing the mood of Shabbos in that most special of places.  Love the siren that starts off the song.

When (Min Hashamayim:  1992) Another very intense song sung by Nachum Stark with some beautiful harmonies by the choir softening the song up a little.  Touching lyrics by Mrs. Begun, who is clearly very good at what she does.   A prolific composer, married to a talented lyricist – now there is a match made in Heaven!

Araivim (Miami 26:  Miami and Dedi: 2004) I absolutely love this song with arrangements by both Yerachmiel Begun and Yisroel Lamm.  The music is fast paced, never predictable and the lyrics are truly terrific.  As good as this song is on this album, I liked the version on the Miami Revach DVD even more.  English lyrics by Shoshana Begun.  Hebrew lyrics by Gideon Levine.

Experience (The 2^nd Annual Miami Experience:  1992) This song, with solos by Ari Goldwag and Nachum Stark is one of a number of songs from the 2^nd Miami Experience that were clearly composed for this specific performance, but to the best of my knowledge, were never used outside of the concert.    Definitely an enjoyable listen as far as concert songs go.

Shiru Lo (The 4^th Annual Miami Experience:  1994) Even though it is obvious that this is another song that was written specifically for a concert, it is a solid enough song that it is still enjoyable outside of the concert setting.  It is actually one of my favorites on the album.  Love the low harmony that kicks in at 3:45.

Klal Yisroel Together (Klal Yisroel Together:  1986) Another Miami classic with arrangements by Moshe Laufer and lyrics by (are you sitting down?)  Yerachmiel Begun, Shoshana Begun, H. Begun, Y. Reich and S. Rokove.   Lots of people working on these lyrics, which are really good. But it is the knock out combination of a great song with top notch harmonies and excellent arrangements that made this song strong enough to stand the test of time, even twenty four years later.

The Hand Of Hashem (First Annual Miami Experience:  1991) I am guessing many of you have never ever heard this song, with vocals by Gershon Veroba, but I actually remember the original version which appeared on the 1981 album Judea.  Lyrics by Yerachmiel Begun, Gershon Veroba and Chesky Kleiner.

Torah Today (Torah Today:  1990) This song, composed for the 1989 Siyum Hashas, has a top notch chorus and was arranged by Moshe Laufer.  Once again,  Shoshana Begun demonstrates her abilities as a lyricist.  Really good harmonies on the chorus, particularly at 4:00.  Love the minor chord at the end of the chorus.

Mr. Carter (Miami Meets Toronto:  1978) All these years later, this song still cracks me up and you have to give Begun credit for having the guts to express his thoughts on a sitting president, in a song, something that I don't think has been done before or since in mainstream Jewish music.  (Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.)  Those of you who don't remember Jimmy Carter's presidency may just be sitting there scratching your heads wondering what this song is all about, but look at it this way.  Can you imagine any mainstream Jewish group or singer coming up with an Obama song today?  While this may not be Begun's strongest composition from a musical perspective, the music suits the lighthearted song and there are some cute lyrics thanks to the lyrical team of Yerachmiel Begun, E. Levin, Lenny Friedman and Y. Arem.

Shabbos Candles (Stand Up:  2000) This was another song I never heard before and I must confess that listening to it the first time without the booklet in front of me, I was wondering what war or what crisis this song was about, especially with all ominous sound effects kicking an at about 1:40.  It all sounded very apocalyptic and quite frankly it was a relief to read in the booklet that this song was actually about Y2K.  (For those youngsters out there reading this, by the end of the 1990's people starting panicking, wondering if the computers would all crash when we hit the year 2000.  As January 1, 2000 was a Shabbos, we all went to sleep that Friday night wondering just how many things would break down by the time we woke up in the morning.)  Just as an aside, the choir does not sing at all on this song.

Around The World (The 2^nd Annual Miami Experience:  1992) (Miami Experience 4 – Shiru Lo:  1994) (Special thanx to GPL for catching a pretty big oops in the booklet!)  Another song from the 1994 concert, with lyrics by Shoshana Begun.  Listening to this song on an album instead of hearing it at a concert, it feels a little out of context.

I Want To Know (Miami Meets Toronto:  1978) This is a pretty song, but it always seems funny to me when you have a kid singing, pretending to be a grown up.  Every time soloist Yitzchok Jeret sings ''Could it be true I'm only half a man'' I feel like shouting ''Yes!  Because you are probably only twelve years old!''  The booklet describes the song as ''A tzadik shows someone the Derech Hatorah'',  which makes it sounds like this is taken from some sort of dramatic performance, but I don't remember there being one on this album.  Am I remembering wrong?

We Will Prevail (B'derech Hatorah:  2001) Another song that I have never heard before, with lyrics by Shoshana Begun, and is described in the booklet as a ''rededication to Torah values after 9/11.''  This song that takes a number of unexpected twists (a la Me'im  Hashem (Yovo) and Araivim (Miami 26), to name a few) but it just never seemed to come together for me.

Would You Please (Miami 25:  2003) This version of the song, sung by Eitan Nat, brother of singer Ophie Nat, is far better than the original version from Miami Live (1979).  I can't tell you that the lyrics here are particularly sophisticated, but they fit the mood of this sweet song perfectly.  Another song that sounds like it should have come from a play of some sort.  Sadly, my copy of Miami Live seems to have disappeared so I have no clue what the original context of this song is. No matter.  It's an oldie but a goodie.

On The Road To Yerushalayim (2^nd Annual Miami Experience:  1992) See around the world, above.

Lift Up Your Candle (Revach:  2005) Another gem proves that Begun hasn't lost his touch.  A gorgeous song, exquisite arrangements, top notch vocals by Shalom Barishansky, Zalman Pollack, Shaul Elson, Ari Rosner and Yitzchok Friedman.  No question at all that the verses of this song are the best lyrics Yerachmiel Begun has ever written.  The absolutely beautiful harmony at 3:21 on just a single word proves, once again, that less is sometimes more.

Victory Entebbe (Victory Entebbe:  1977) Most of you have probably  of never heard this album, but it has some fabulous songs that I would love to hear redone with today's much higher standards in Jewish music, including Bamarom, Shifchi and, of course, Victory Entebbe.  Those of you who weren't around in 1976 can't possibly imagine how the story of 103 Jewish hostages being rescued from an airport in Uganda by a team of 100 elite Israeli commandos touched the hearts of Yidden everywhere.  Trust me when I tell you that this song, which has almost no vocals, captured the mood perfectly.  Thirty three years later, I still love this song.  If that isn't the hallmark of a hit song, I don't know what is.

Just a final note:  the name ''Ultimate Miami:  The English Collection'' leaves me wondering.  Is Begun planning another collection of ultimate Miami songs?  If he does, I look forward to hearing it.

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