Archive: Arts & Entertainment

On Sunday, December 10, RESONATE will present music from their new CD, Listen! at the Carriage House Cafe Loft, 305 Stewart Avenue, Ithaca.

The need for excellent music and lyrics that speak to the issues of our day has never been greater. Enter Ithaca band RESONATE, founded by musician and activist Will Fudeman and Cantor Abbe Lyons, bringing together a multifaith group of local musicians. RESONATE infuses Middle Eastern and cantorial music into folk, rock, blues and jazz sounds. This combination of Eastern and Western influences and instruments, along with tasteful vocal harmonies, delights and surprises, creating a rich sound while lifting Lyons' soaring lead vocals even higher.

By enlivening both Biblical texts and contemporary lyrics, RESONATE's songs inspire spiritual growth intertwined with social action. Rabbi Arthur Waskow of The Shalom Center, whose beautifully crafted, accessible and powerful translations of texts from Isaiah and Deuteronomy sparked the creation of RESONATE's new CD Listen!, says that the band's "extraordinary chant and music...enormously enrich the text." Author, educator and environmentalist Bill McKibben of 350.org characterizes Listen! as "deep, witty, tuneful--music for our moment and for the long haul."

Listen! features original music and lyrics by Will Fudeman, Abbe Lyons and John Simon as well as Bay Area musician Gerry Tenney, Rabbi Waskow and "Velveteen Rabbi" blogger, poet (and rabbi) Rachel Barenblat. Joining RESONATE founders Abbe (lead vocals, guitar, shofar) and Will (mandola, guitar, vocals) are Ithaca musicians Mahmud Burton (oud, hand drums, ney, guitar), David Frumkin (violin, guitar, vocals), Jon Hilton (bass) and John Simon (vocals, guitar). Local artist Andrea Staffield was inspired by the music to create her cover art reflecting the themes of listening, opening our hearts, speaking in the prophetic voice and singing in harmony.

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