Zikhroynes / זכרונות
Yosl and the Yingles
(josephlandau.com/yosl-and-the-yingels)
It’s not often an EP of original Yiddish songs lands in one’s inbox; rarer, still, for it to be reviewed in The WholeNote. Well, that’s exactly what has transpired with Zikhroynes, “Memories,” the lovely debut by Yosl and the Yingels.
Led by Toronto-based singer-songwriter and accordionist, Joseph Landau, this Yiddish swing and folk band arose out of a busking project during the pandemic. For Zikhroynes, Landau, one of only a few Canadian composers currently penning songs in Yiddish, chose four of his favourites (from the dozens he has written), each embodying classic aspects of Klezmer instrumentation, form and style, and the familiar Yiddish musical theatre themes of nostalgia and yearning.
Mayn Haymshtetele, “My Hometown,” evokes the longing for the shtetl (think “Anatevka” from Fiddler) or in Landau’s case, his childhood Jewish enclave in Thornhill, just north of Toronto. Blimele, “Little Flower,” is a beautiful, lilting waltz, reminiscent of Tumbalalaika. Listen for the spectacular clarinet solo by the always-astonishing Jacob Gorzhaltsan in Lomir Freylekh Zayn, “Let’s Be Happy.” And the Yiddish swing era of the Barry Sisters is perfectly captured in Shternbild, “Constellation.”
Enjoyment of this enchanting gem is greatly enhanced by the essential, highly informative “Lyric Explainers” found on Landau’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/@josephdavidlandau/videos.
