Domestic shipping: $3 for one CD plus $1.50 for each additional CD.
Washington state residents will be charged 8.4% sales tax.
International shipping: $6 for one CD plus $3 for each additional CD.
Hints of classical music pervade Millie and the Mentshns' arrangements, leading to an abundance of intricate harmonies and counterpoint. Amidst the Yiddish Theater, Ladino, Israeli, and Yiddish folk songs and traditional Klezmer music, listen for strains of Prokofiev, Rodrigo, Piazzolla, Strauss, and Lecuona. The distinct sounds of country western and Tin Pan Alley jazz even appear. The Mentshn (plural for mentsh which is Yiddish for "a person of good character") are dedicated, yet playful musicians who love to explore the history behind the music-the cultures, the composers, and the events occurring when the music was popular. We always are excited to share the stories and music with audiences.
"Another di Mentshn" - Whatcom Independent Article
"I defy anyone to listen to Millie and the Mentshn's new CD and try to write an objective review. The amazing Bellingham klezmer band could stir passions in a stone statue, so I won't pretend to be anything other than a fan, in the truest sense of that word."
"There doesn't seem to be any limits to what this talented aggregation can do. In 'Another di Mentshn,' they boldly go...well, you know."
Christopher Key
Whatcom Independent
Domestic shipping: $3 for one CD plus $1.50 for each additional CD.
Washington state residents will be charged 8.4% sales tax.
International shipping: $6 for one CD plus $3 for each additional CD.
Features: CD includes extensive liner notes with story about each song and complete lyrics in Yiddish and English.
Millie and the Mentshn create original musical arrangements to suit their unique instrumentation and “chamber klezmer” style. The music captures changes in mood; the lyrics convey daily life, love, school, work, children, wars, immigration, and the struggle to hold on to tradition. Overall, the songs reveal the powerful will to survive in the soul of the Jewish people. There is something special about sharing stories from the past and there is something comforting in knowing where you come from and passing it on fun dor tsu dor (from generation to generation).
"Special Mentshn" - Whatcom Independent Article
"This is Millie Johnson's show. Her soprano voice is as fresh and clear as spring water, and she is a master musician and an enchanting storyteller."
"Mentshn It!, by Millie and the Mentshn, is a terrific album, in fact, it is downright addictive."
Jack Frymire
Whatcom Independent
Domestic shipping: $3 for one CD plus $1.50 for each additional CD.
Washington state residents will be charged 8.4% sales tax.
International shipping: $6 for one CD plus $3 for each additional CD.
Morris Tenenbaum, born in 1896, was part of the Kalechovskys who lived in the tiny, most segregated village (100% Jewish) of Visoko-Litovsk, Russian Lithuania. Before Morris passed away, he wrote and illustrated a lengthy journal of his life in Russian Lithuania, his family's immigration to America, and his early life in the United States.
Fascinated by the stories, Millie (of Millie & The Mentshn and granddaughter of Morris' cousin) arranged several musical programs interspersed with Morris' stories. The first program described life in the late 1800's in the village - including the union of Morris' parents Chaya and Hershal (resulting from bargaining with a "very competent shotchen"), the holidays, the family wool processing and dyeing business, the shul, the market place, and the Russian authorities. This CD contains the second program in the series, which follows the immigration of the Tenenbaums to America. Recorded live, Millie reads selections from cousin Morris' diary to set the mood and some context for the music. We hope you will relax, let your mind slip into the past, and enjoy the stories and the music. Mayn harts, vu s'iz dort mayn heym!
The production of this unique CD has been a labor of love in that there are few individuals still alive who made this or a similar journey in the early 1900's. The CD was recorded at a live performance of Millie & The Mentshn, a classically-trained group that includes vocals (Millie Johnson), oboe (Ken Bronstein), viola (Eric Kean), piano (Lou Lippman), and percussion (Warren Palken).
"There is something quite captivating about what you've done. It's like it manages to be folksy and high art nostalgic and contemporary all at the same time. All that, plus there's some kind of depth to your singing and an earnestness and simplicity about Morris' words....This contributes to its being compelling."
Barbara Davis
Taijiquan Journal
"[The CD] compiles 10 readings from Tenenbaum's journal with 10 traditional Russian and Yiddish tunes...what drives the disc, though, are its music tracks...the CD is a neat history lesson."
Tony Stasiek, Music Critic
Take Five, The Bellingham Herald
