Diaspora Soul

1	Manishtana 4:39
2	L' Chaim 7:52
3	Shalom Bimromav 5:38
4	Roumania, Roumania 8:46
5	Cha 4:50
6	Rock of Ages 6:41
7	Chusen Kalah Mazel Tov 3:45
8	Mazinka 4:32
9	Let My People Go 4:09
10	Ani Mamin 4:45
11	Habet Mishomayim 5:27
12	Dybbuk Dub 5:44

Barnes & Noble

Sex Mob's Steven Bernstein had an unusual process for his foray into "radical Jewish culture" for John Zorn's Tzadik label. While researching the music of New Orleans and Cuba, the trumpeter/arranger concluded they had much in common, and then -- as he writes in the liner notes, "Who loves cha-cha and mambo more than Jews?" Placing Jewish secular ("Roumania, Roumania") and religious ("Ani Mamin") themes over New Orleans R&B and Cuban rhythms, backed by a sextet and big band, he's created a seamless synthesis; melodies and rhythms fit together naturally. This is heavy, deliberate music in which the R&B element is most apparent, with raw, funky work by the tenor saxophonists and organist/electric pianist Brian Mitchell. Bernstein's heated solos draw on New Orleans and klezmer sources. True to its title, this is diaspora music, delightfully bridging Willie Bobo's Afro-Cuban boogaloo with Dave Tarras's new-world klezmer might. Harvey Pekar

All Music Guide

Trumpeter Steven Bernstein gathers an excellent cast of some of New York's more adventurous jazz musicians. Tzadik's Radical Jewish Culture series has presented an endlessly creative variety of music that incorporates elements of Jewish music traditions into new jazz, rock, and experimental contexts, and the release of Diaspora Soul means a few more styles can now be added to the list! With a sense of humor lacking any condescending irony, Bernstein throws some cha cha into his New Orleans R&B and Afro-Cuban-influenced arrangements of traditional cantorials, an Ashkenazi wedding song, a Chanukah song, and more, resulting in a sultry and grooving album. Paying tribute to these music traditions, Bernstein adopts them in a way that's heartier than mere imitation. This fun album doesn't grow old with repeated spins, and the approach is as enjoyable as Marc Ribot's take on Cuban music in Prosthetic Cubans, which also features E.J. and Robert J. Rodriguez on percussion. Other musicians on this recording include Bernstein's fellow Lounge Lizard, tenor saxophonist Michael Blake (whose Kingdom of Champa pays tribute to another world music style, creating a fresh jazz loaded with Vietnamese influence), the distinctively twisted sound of Briggan Krauss playing baritone sax, and the soulful, mean keyboard work of Brian Mitchell. Bernstein sounds strong, leading the band through upbeat arrangements that are a little closer to lounge music than the gritty drawls (and slide trumpet!) of his band Sex Mob, also with Krauss and bassist Tony Scherr. Joslyn Layne