NESHAMA Carlebach, the singer-songwriter and eldest daughter of the late Shlomo Carlebach, has soulfully interpreted her fathers vast repertoire since his death in 1994.
Higher and Higher, her seventh CD, elevates Shlomos legacy and her own musicality to new and unexpected gospel heights with the Bronx-based Green Pastures Baptist Church Choir.
Four years ago, Avi Weiss, who invites the group to sing at his Orthodox shul every Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, suggested that Carlebach might enjoy listening to a performance.
Avi was a close friend of my father, Carlebach says from her Manhattan home, where she just returned from a walk with her three-year-old son Rafael.
Hes very cutting edge, a trend setter, and he really wanted me to hear this group.
The choir, under the direction of Rev. Roger Hambrick, had incorporated some of Shlomo Carlebachs melodies into their Christian worship without knowing anything about the legendary Jewish tour de force.
Neshama was rocked to her roots.
When Rev. Hambrick approached her the following year and suggested they collaborate on a CD, she immediately accepted.
Throughout her career, Carlebach has subtly experimented with her fathers compositions but Higher and Higher is a jolting multicultural explosion.
Songs featured on the CD include Esso Ennai, Return Again, Hine Kel, Hu Elokeinu, Ata, VShamru, Brothers and Friends, The Real and Kiva Moed.
With the exception of the The Real, composed by Neshama, David Martin and Mark Ambrosino, the collection is solid Shlomo.
The 35-year-old chanteuses deep alto voice, which takes the lead on the majority of tracks, is accompanied and amplified by choir soloists Rev. Hambrick, Vanessa Hambrick, Ajanee Hambrick, Q Smith and the gospel ensemble.
Diverse arrangements grow from strength to strength to absolute exaltation.
We chose Higher and Higher specifically for this recording, Carlebach says of one of her fathers best loved songs. Rev. Hambrick is incredibly gifted and talented, and that song is very powerful.
The groups enthusiasm, spirituality and musical orientation changed my perspective on the world, Carlebach enthuses. They transcend all borders.
There was so much love and peace and unity. I realize people talk about these things all the time, but I wish they could feel what I feel.
Carlebach says that the first time she faced the choir and began to sing, it was like singing in front of a symphony like a wave when the tide comes in.
When we were recording the rhythm tracks for Higher and Higher, I had this incredible waking dream that I could hear the whole song. I saw a little fisherman in China, a punk kid on a London subway a million snapshots in my head.
And I knew that the whole world could be transformed; that healing is possible.
Carlebachs intensity might sound like a PR pitch to drum up sales for the CD, which was recorded under the indie Sojourn label, but it penetrates like the real thing.
She credits her musicians, as always, for their contributions to the CD.
They are just very wise and enlightened,she says.
My father said we have to surround ourselves with people who are better than us. My musicians just take me along for the ride.
NESHAMA Carlebachs relationship to her father permeates everything about her. Bringing him into the conversation seems almost as natural as breathing.
Carlebach, who began taking acting and singing lessons at age five, joined Shlomo on an extensive concert tour in her late teens.
I loved my father, she says. It was never a burden being his daughter; never anything I resented. In fact, it was a source of joy.
The older I got, the more I recognized his strength, his mission. We had reached a point in our lives where we could have an adult relationship. I was proud of him, and he knew it.
She claims something extraordinary happened immediately after his sudden death at age 69.
During the shiva, I remember my mom asking me to sing something, Carlebach recollects softly. Im sitting on the floor and I open my mouth but the voice that came out was not my voice.
I had just turned 20. Before, I was a squeaky high soprano, she explains. But when I sang, my voice was much deeper the voice I have now.
My music teacher thought it was from all the crying. But I think its a gift my father gave me from the other world.
She describes the days following her fathers death with an acute immediacy tempered by time.
Getting up every morning was like walking up a steep Colorado hill, she says. Even today, there is a constant sad place in my heart that hes not around.
It was quickly decided that Carlebach should fulfill all her fathers performance dates.
My first concert was the day after the shloshim ended, she says of her first professional appearance. It was frightening. But I never saw myself as an entertainer. I see what I do as a ministry, a continuation of my fathers work and his message.
Still, I needed to figure out who I was. Thats hard to do when youre 20.
Carelbach, who is married to Steve Katchan and has since carved out her own identity, often feels the poignant tug between being an available parent and maintaining a successful career.
Despite doing 100 live shows a year and writing and recording, she manages to spend a gratifying amount of time with her family.
I am so in love with my son, she gushes, that Im guilt-ridden that I also need to have an artistic life. Its the classic dilemma of motherhood.
SOME Othodox circles criticized Shlomo Carlebach because he performed for mixed audiences and openly hugged women in attendance.
Neshama Carlebach, who is backed by an all-male band and sings before crowds of men and women, encounters her share of fierce objections for a different reason.
According to Jewish law, men are prohibited from listening to kol isha, a womans singing voice, because it is considered seductive.
Ah, kol isha, says Carlebach. Im definitely criticized for doing this.
I even get hateful letters: Your father is in hell because of you! If I didnt have a sense of humor . . . Time has healed me, for real. It doesnt bother me anymore.
A 15-year veteran of the music scene, Carlebach is a mature professional who fully accepts that she cant please everyone all the time a pivotal lesson she learned from the teacher she shared with the world.
My father always said, Friends, get out of that diaper! Grow up! she laughs.
He wanted people to get their act together, to make the world better in their own way. The moment is supposed to propel you forward, not keep you standing still.
He felt we were all on the edge of something. It doesnt matter whether you walk or swim to shul, as long as you are aware of how special you are.
Combining Shlomo Carlebachs music with the Green Pastures Baptist Choir typifies her fathers spiritual largess.
Its very humbling to see how positively the Jewish community is reacting to this collaboration, she says.
People of all faiths are resonating with it and humming along. Its an amazing time. I only wish my father were here to witness it but I know he is.