Israel Portnoy came into the studio and did what he always does鈥攎ade it feel personal.
This session has that rare kind of energy you only get when the music is happening in the room for real: everyone listening, responding, leaving space, then landing together exactly where it needs to land. It鈥檚 dynamic without trying to be. Quiet when it should be. Huge when it wants to be.
Israel鈥檚 voice sits right in the center鈥攃lear, emotional, and completely present鈥攁nd the sound around him lifts the songs without ever crowding them. You can hear the air, the push and pull, the little decisions that happen in the moment. That鈥檚 the whole point of a live session.
No gimmicks. No acting. Just an honest performance鈥攃aptured as it happened.
00:00 Intro
00:23 Don鈥檛 Hide From Me
06:07 Lemaan Achai
12:47 Gypsy Niggun
16:38 Sheyibane
21:22 Anim Zemirot
26:41 Eliyahu
32:04 Hup Cossak!
37:54 My House
Drums: Jamale Hopkins
Bass: Mitch Friedman
Guitar: Nachman Dryer
Saxophone: Avrumi Bosch
Piano/Musical Director: Mendy Portnoy
Executive Producer: Mendy Portnoy
Director/Producer/Editor: Binyamin Babayof
Director of Photography: James Kolsby
Assistant Camera: Josiah Anderson
Mixing by Tzvi Levine