Radiant Others: A Klezmer Music Podcast

This episode continues our exploration of the UK’s klezmer scene. Today, Dan talks to one of the longtime movers and shakers on the scene, violinist, festival organizer, teacher and more, Ilana Cravitz! Ilana is a violinist specializing in klezmer as well as baroque historical performance. She has performed and taught all over Europe and throughout the world. … Continue reading Ilana Cravitz →

Today on Radiant Others we finish off our unofficial and unintended “A” trilogy with Dan’s chat with guitarist, singer/songwriter, Avi Fox-Rosen! Avi has been doing resonant work in Yiddish music for twenty years, most notably as a central player on Adrienne Cooper’s album Enchanted, and as part of the “guitarmony” of Yiddish Princess. His new album, … Continue reading Avi Fox-Rosen →

Today’s episode should have been a halloween episode! This time, Dan sits down with Historian, Yiddishist, singer, and messenger of deep Jewish ritual practices, Annie Gottfried Cohen! Annie is based in the UK, teaches Yiddish through the Workers Circle, and has sung with Cantor Rachel Weston, the Isle of Klezbos, and on her own Yiddish … Continue reading Annie Gottfried Cohen →

It’s a special Yontif edition of Radiant Others!! Hot off the release of her debut album Through the Walls, today’s episode features Dan’s conversation with UK violinist Anna Lowenstein! Anna Lowenstein is a leader klezmer fiddler and teacher in the UK and beyond. She is part of a younger cohort (than Dan at least) who … Continue reading Anna Lowenstein →

For this month’s episode we turn to happenings in Dan’s home neighborhood of West Philly. Turns out, there’s a whole lot of Yiddish Culture being organized and created here, right now! Find out all about it from this live Radiant Others recording Dan held at Kol Tzedek Synagogue (where he leads the inimitable Simcha Band) … Continue reading New Philly Yiddish Culture Live! →

It’s time to head back to the earliest days of the so-called klezmer revival with today’s guests, saxophonist Lev Liberman and clarinettist David Julian Gray of The Klezmorim. Founded in Berkeley California in 1975, this band started playing the repertoire that so many of us know and love and sharing it first in the Bay Area, then soon all … Continue reading Lev Liberman and David Julian Gray (The Klezmorim) →

Dan here! We made it through another year and are ready to start the new one with a really amazing conversation. I am so excited to share my (first ever) conversation with professor Devin Naar.  Devin E. Naar is the Isaac Alhadeff Professor in Sephardic Studies and the chair of Sephardic Studies at the University of … Continue reading Devin Naar →

Our penultimate podcast of 2025 delves into the rarified and mysterious mystical musical form, Khazones. Khazones is Yiddish term for the work of the synagogue cantor, or Khazn. It is music, prayer, speech, and more all at once. Today we talk with two incredible musicians, Judith Berkson and Jeremiah Lockwood. They have banded together to … Continue reading Khazones Underground with Judith Berkson and Jeremiah Lockwood →

It’s time for Part 2 of our conversation with singer, songwriter, actor, translator, bandleader and more, Daniel Kahn! We continue right where we left off and dive right in with talking about the very first Painted Bird song Dan Blacksberg recorded, Parasites. Then Dan & Dan get into their whole big history together, which is nearly … Continue reading Daniel Kahn – Part 2 →

It’s all Dans on Radiant Others this month! This month is part 1 of our conversation with one of our Yiddish World’s most wide-reaching artists, singer, songwriter, actor, and more, Daniel Kahn. Dan Kahn’s music, especially through his longtime band The Painted Bird, has reached a lot of people inside and outside the Yiddish scene. … Continue reading Daniel Kahn – Part 1 →

Today on the podcast Dan is joined by the Magid Ensemble for a conversation with his largest group of guests yet! The Magid Ensemble –  klezmer musicians and composers Rachel Leader, Mattias Kaufmann, Raffi Boden, Yiddishist and storyteller Weaver, and visual artist Kiah Raymond – has taken the scene by storm with their multimedia piece Shterna and … Continue reading Magid Ensemble →

Many listeners of this podcast will know our guest this month, Avia Moore from being an internationally renowned Yiddish dance leader and teacher, and from being a longtime faculty and current artistic director of Klezkanada. But did you know that she is a photographer and graphic designer who has made some of your favorite Klezkanada art and … Continue reading Avia Moore →

On this month’s episode of Radiant Others, Dan sits down with actor, playwright, stage director, lyricist, and Yiddishist, Mikhl Yashinsky (מיכל יאַשינסקי). Mikhl shares his fantastic passion for all things Yiddish: the language, the poetry, the music, the history and more. We talk about the many connections to Yiddish from his personal history, his journey into the … Continue reading Mikhl Yashinsky →

Today on the podcast, Seattle-based Brivele, the duo of Maia Brown and Stefanie Brendler! Brivele formed as a trio in 2017 and have recently become a duo. They are releasing their 3rd album, Khaverim Zayt Greyt, (Friends/Comrades, Get Ready) on May Day (May 1st), on Borscht Beat Records. Dan and the duo talk about the new … Continue reading Brivele →

This month we are re-airing one of our favorite episodes, Dan’s 2018 conversation with Ethel Raim. Among numerous amazing accomplishments, Ethel is the most frequently name-dropped artist on this podcast in recent years. People keep bringing her up as a central mentor and source of inspiration, including in conversations we haven’t released yet! Listening back to the endless … Continue reading Re-air: Ethel Raim →

On today’s episode, Dan sits down with two musicians based in Vienna, Austria: Isabel Frey and Benjy Fox-Rosen. Both musicians are accomplished Yiddish singers, and thoughtful Yiddish scholars, among many other roles. The wide ranging conversation begins with a focus on Isabel’s new album Di fliendike pave (Borscht Beat), and expands outwards in many personal … Continue reading Isabel Frey and Benjy Fox-Rosen →

Today on the podcast, flautist, composer, teacher, scholar, Adrianne Greenbaum. Adrianne has been at the forefront of bringing the rich tradition of klezmer flute playing into the present day. A stunning player, she leads successful lives as a symphony player (and a long time member of the New Haven Symphony), a teacher at Mount Holyoke … Continue reading Adrianne Greenbaum →

It’s our final Radiant Others episode for 2024 and it’s a big one. Today on the podcast is pianist, composer and awesome human Marilyn Lerner. Based in Toronto, Marilyn makes music across a really wide range of sounds and practices ranging from Yiddish music to jazz, and beyond. Dan and Marilyn go deep into the … Continue reading Marilyn Lerner →

Just in time to aid in your digestion or your long drives home, we’re re-airing one of our earliest episodes with tsimbalist, cultural organizer, and cultural enabler Pete Rushefsky! Pete was the first person Dan interviewed way back in 2018, when life was oh-so-different. We get into the many nooks and crannies of Pete’s journey … Continue reading Re-air: Pete Rushefsky →

Radiant Others is back with a new episode featuring Yiddish singer, educator, Road Warrior and sometimes poyk player Sasha Lurje! Sasha is one of the most in demand Yiddish singers active on the scene today. From her home in Berlin, she can often be seen all around Europe, North America and Beyond. She is involved … Continue reading Sasha Lurje →

Radiant Others is proud to present an episode on “Songs from Testimonies – Fortunoff Video Archive” Featuring musician and scholar D. Zisl Slepovitch and archivist Stephen Naron. This is the second in our informal series about people creating present day music working with archives. The archive that is the focus of this episode is the Fortunoff … Continue reading Zisl Slepovitch & Stephen Naron – Fortunoff Video Archive →

Today on Radiant Others, violinist, composer, bandleader Alicia Svigals. Since the 1980s, Alicia has been a major figure in the klezmer and Yiddish music worlds. She was a founding member of the Klezmatics, and took a lead role in bringing back attention to the traditional fiddle style of klezmer music, especially with her groundbreaking album … Continue reading Alicia Svigals →

This week on the Radiant Others Klezmer Music Podcast, Dan sits down to speak with Susi Evans & Szilvia Csaranko. Susi and Szilvia are stalwarts of the UK and German klezmer scenes who joined together as a duo in 2019 after meeting earlier at Yiddish Summer Weimar. Their latest release is Fun an Altn Klezmer … Continue reading Susi Evans & Szilvia Csaranko →

Today on Radiant Others, scholar and Yiddish dancer Sonia Gollance. Sonia is a scholar of Yiddish Studies and German-Jewish literature whose work focuses on dance, theatre, and gender. Her first book, It Could Lead to Dancing: Mixed-Sex Dancing and Jewish Modernity, was published by Stanford University Press in May 2021. It is a National Jewish … Continue reading Sonia Gollance →

Today on the Radiant Others Klezmer Music Podcast, Dan speaks with Francesca Ter-Berg and Flora Curzon about their duo Fran and Flora and their new album entitled Precious Collection, out now on the Hidden Notes label. We talk about what it takes to make a band’s second record and how to stick together through their … Continue reading Fran and Flora →

Ilya Shneyveys is an international performer, accordionist and multi-instrumentalist, teacher, composer, arranger and producer of contemporary Jewish music. He’s one of the most in demand musicians on the klezmer scene and works in just about every setting imaginable, from the traditional to the most cutting edge. This episode is a “return to form” with Dan … Continue reading Ilya Shneyveys →

Today on the Radiant Others Podcast, Dan speaks with Ira Khonen Temple. Ira is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and embedded cultural organizer. Recent credits include accordionist for Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, and music director of Indecent at the Weston Playhouse, Great Small Works’ Muntergang and Other Cheerful Downfalls, the Aftselakhis Spectacle Committe Purimshpil, and … Continue reading Ira Khonen Temple →

Today on The Radiant Others Podcast we hear a conversation between Dan and Aaron Bendich, the founder of Borscht Beat, a multifaceted cultural project with a focus on Jewish Music. After a decade of collecting records, Bendich launched Borscht Beat as a radio program on WJFF Radio Catskill in early 2021 (listen to past programs here). … Continue reading Aaron Bendich/Borscht Beat →

What would it be like if klezmer music’s geographic and historical continuity had never been interrupted? Today I talk to violinist, composer, educator, and researcher Zoë Aqua about her experiences researching Jewish and non-Jewish music in Transylvania and surrounding regions in Hungary and Romania. These are regions where musicians have been exceptionally successful at keeping … Continue reading Zoë Aqua →

How do you bring people in and get them invested in Ashkenazic Expressive Culture? The Klezmer Institute has a few ideas! In this episode I sit down with Klezmer Institute leaders Christina Crowder (her 2nd appearance on the Podcast!) and Clara Byom. They share stories about how this community fueled organization began, where they are … Continue reading The Klezmer Institute →

A very hearty welcome back to the Radiant Others Podcast! There is a lot of new music coming out in our Yiddish world, and so it’s the perfect time to drop back in with NEW episodes to share conversations with the people making it happen! This is our first in a while and it’s a … Continue reading Tsvey Brider →

Hello Everyone!  Dan Blacksberg here, to let you know that the Radiant Others Podcast will have New Episodes coming to your podcast feed very soon! There’s a lot of really amazing music and work being done right now in our klezmer and Yiddish world. I can’t wait to share new episodes that feature wonderful people … Continue reading COMING SOON: New Episodes →

I’m thrilled to share this very special episode of the Radiant Others Podcast with you all. On this episode: Ray Musiker. Ray is a living legend – clarinetist, saxophonist, educator and composer. He’s a leading figure in 20th-century Yiddish-American music and he’s still leading the way in the 21st century.  Ray is the fourth generation … <p class="link-more"><a href="http://danblacksberg.com/2020/06/12/ray-musiker-living-musical-legacy-podcast/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "RAY MUSIKER LIVING MUSICAL LEGACY PODCAST"</span></a></p&g

I’m thrilled to share this very special episode of the Radiant Others Podcast with you all. On this episode: Ray Musiker. Alternative unica-web.com viagra 50 mg medication containing Sildenafil Citrate typically lasts between 4 to 5 hours from the time of uptake. Who uses such meds recreationally? Men who are not as satisfied with their sex lives like they were in the past. tadalafil buy cheap unica-web.com By itself it has a very bitter taste. generic cialis without prescriptions However when this case is supplied in chiropractic, it becomes an issue denote on its trustworthiness. viagra cheapest pharmacy Ray is a...

After a hiatus due to many great composition and performing projects, the Radiant Others Klezmer Music Podcast is back! And we are back with a great one! In today’s episode I talk to bassist, tubist, guitarist, producer, songwriter, guerrilla folklorist, and all around musical macher, Mark Rubin. Mark and I met at Klezkamp in 2002, but we really got close when we had the opportunity to work a lot together in Alan Bern’s Other Europeans from 2008-2013. We’ve toured together, been at a lot of festivals together, and generally had a great time. Many musicians are said to be “be...

After a hiatus due to many great composition and performing projects, the Radiant Others Klezmer Music Podcast is back! And we are back with a great one! In today’s episode I talk to bassist, tubist, guitarist, producer, songwriter, guerrilla folklorist, and all around musical macher, Mark Rubin. Mark and I met at Klezkamp in 2002, … <p class="link-more"><a href="http://danblacksberg.com/2019/08/16/mark-rubin-radiant-others-returns/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Mark Rubin (Radiant Others Returns!)"</span></a></p>

On Sunday, October 28th in Philadelphia, a concert took place called Soul Songs: Inspiring Women of Klezmer. It was conceived and led by the one and only Susan Watts, (check out her episode from a while back) and featured a total of 11 women and non-binary klezmer musicians. The concert had only new compositions by these amazing musicians. It was a remarkable event. Great music, great show, great sets, huge sold-out crowd. I wanted to use this episode to get Susan, one of my main klezmer partners in crime in Philadelphia, back on the podcast and give her a chance to...

On Sunday, October 28th in Philadelphia, a concert took place called Soul Songs: Inspiring Women of Klezmer. It was conceived and led by the one and only Susan Watts, (check out her episode from a while back) and featured a total of 11 women and non-binary klezmer musicians. The concert had only new compositions by … <p class="link-more"><a href="http://danblacksberg.com/2018/11/02/susan-watts-soul-songs-reflections/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Susan Watts – Soul Songs Reflections"</span></a></p>

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to another episode of Radiant Others! I’m really glad we’re rolling again with new episodes and this one is a good one. Christina Crowder is an accordionist, and an important researcher of klezmer, Romanian and Moldavian musics. She’s great to play with, and great to hang out with. We go deep into her life and her time in Europe, and coming back here afterwards in the US. I learned so much from this conversation, and I hope you will too. Many of the recordings you’ll hear on this episode are from field recordin...

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to another episode of Radiant Others! I’m really glad we’re rolling again with new episodes and this one is a good one. Christina Crowder is an accordionist, and an important researcher of klezmer, Romanian and Moldavian musics. She’s great to play with, and great to hang out with. We go deep … <p class="link-more"><a href="http://danblacksberg.com/2018/10/19/christina-crowder/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Christina Crowder"</span></a></p>