JCC’s Chanukah community event a massive success
Jewish rock performer Rick Recht, took little time in making his charismatic presence known Monday night at the Jewish Community Center’s seventh annual Chanukah community event. He had hardly taken center stage when he insisted on the 3rd through 5th grades at the Community Day School join him on stage for the first of his Jewish songs intended to celebrate the holiday that marks the determination of the Jewish people to be free.
Jewish rock performer Rick Recht with area cantors Jamie Marx, center, and Joel Colman. Not pictured cantorial solist Victoria Cohen May. (Photo Alan Smason)
Free was the operative word of the evening. The enthusiastic crowd in the main auditorium was at first filled to overflowing following a free meal of fried chicken, latkes, cole slaw Chanukah cookies and pareve chocolate gelt coins. Two long serving lines in the first floor hallway provided generous portions of the food catered by Kosher Cajun Grocery and New York Delicatessen. Families were able to enjoy their meals together for almost an hour before the program got underway shortly before 6:30.
While Recht and the band performed most of their selections alone on stage, there were notable exceptions. After the Community Day School students were in place on stage, Recht invited Nick and Jonathan May, the singer-guitarist sons of Gates of Prayer’s cantorial soloist Victoria Cohen May, to also join him with their guitars in hand. Later, in a performance of the Shema prayer set to music, Recht invited their mother to join him along with Temple Sinai Cantor Joel Colman and Touro Synagogue Cantor Jamie Marx.
Recht and his band, consisting of bass player Shlomo Ovadya and drummer Dennis Stringfield, elicited enthusiastic and spirited responses from the crowd who stood, clapped and cheered for him for an hour. Recht recalled the last time he was in New Orleans at the JCC was at the special Chanukah concert organized by Judaica sculpture artist Gary Rosenblatt in December of 2005. He announced that he was proud to have been a part of that show and proclaimed New Orleans as the greatest city in America to the delight of the crowd.
Rick Recht, left, with Nick May (Photo by Alan Smason).
A Midwesterner from St. Louis, MO, Recht developed a strong Jewish identity during his school days as a member of a Conservative synagogue, but became even more involved after joining the National Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY). It was there as a youth he was influenced by several Jewish songwriters like Debbie Friedman along with the contemporary rock groups of his generation. He matriculated from the University of Southern California (USC at Los Angeles) and also graduated from the Music Institute of Hollywood. He began a contemporary rock career, touring college campuses and doing one night stands as an opening act for groups like America, Supertramp, Government Mule, Three Dog Night and the Guess Who. But starting in 1999 he shifted his focus to one that was more Jewish centric with the release of his CD titled “Tov.” Several other Jewish releases have followed along with a line of music specifically designed to reach children. Recht is the national spokesman for the PJ Library and was named artist-in-residence at United Hebrew Congregation in his native St. Louis, where he lives with his wife and two boys. He typically tours upwards of 150 dates a year, playing at JCCs, Jewish camps and synagogues across the U.S.
Recht is a virtual one-man marketing machine. He brought with him armloads of his own CDs, DVDs and T-shirts intended for a variety of audiences from the very young to adult rockers. The Jewish Rock Radio brand is an important one to Recht. He is the founder and executive director of Recht of the internet rock radio station dedicated to continuous Jewish music, interviews with Jewish celebrities and news from across the world often told by Jewish youth about exciting experiences they have had. Jewish Rock Radio can be accessed on the Internet here and is also available through free apps for both iPhone and Android devices.
Images from the event appear below
