For a Joan Baez-like sound, there's Cantor Linda Hirschhorn and Vocolot's a cappella "Circle Chant," a Passover-themed song about peace and liberation. Pianist Jon Simon's "Eliyahu" celebrates the Jewish heritage with George Winston's jazzy touch. Prefer James Taylor? There's Rick Recht's "Avadim Hayinu," a tender guitar-backed pop piece recalling the Pharoah's slaves in Egypt. Israeli master musician Shlomo Gronich's "Motherless Child," is a stirring black spiritual given vocal punch by the Sheba Choir, a group made up primarily of Ethiopian Jewish children living in Israel.
This disk is for anyone with broad musical tastes, and those who don't mind giving their Passover a provocative twist.