Hi everybody!I am originally from Prague, and live now in Toronto, Canada. I've been working as a Yiddish and world singer at festivals and concerts for some years now, either solo, or with my duo partner Brian Katz (New York, November, 2007; Switzerland, 2007; Hobart, Australia, January, 2006; England, September, 2006; Prague, July 2005; Dresden, November, 2004; Vienna, Klezmore Festival, July, 2005;Toronto, Ashkenaz Festival, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006).Recordings: 3 solo CDs to date: Deep Inside (1999), produced by the Juno-award winner Ken Whiteley, combines Yiddish tunes with my own original songs in English. The second CD, Open The Gate (2003), produced by Levon Ichkhanian, is a collection of original songs in English and French. The latest baby is Pashtes [simplicity] (2006) - for this I set to music a cycle of new Yiddish poems, in collaboration with Brian Katz. We are very lucky to be receiving a large number of excellent reviews for Pashtes (pls see my website for that). The CD is getting worldwide airplay, and has been subject of several radio programs: Radio Sefarad, Madrid; CBC Radio, Arts Tonight; Yiddish Forward Radio, New York; Radio Shalom, Montreal; the Magic Carpet, Radio Vltava, Prague, Czech Republic.Artistic collaboration: I am fortunate to work with a number of Toronto’s leading world and jazz musicians: as duo with Brian Katz, and with artists such as Ernie Tollar, George Koller, and Levon Ichkhanian.I am also very lucky to be the bandleader for Sisters of Sheynville (check out our myspace page!) - a very HAPPENING all-female swing, klezmer, jazz and original six-piece band. Check out our new CD "Sheynville Express" on CD Baby!Bits of reviews:MOE Jazz Magazine, Florida, April/May 2007(review Pashtes)"...Lichtenberg and Katz crafted music that allows even non-Yiddish speakers to appreciate the beauty of the words. ..they infuse the music with such a joy for living that it crosses linguistic and cultural borders....Bob Pomeroy, Ink 19 :: Jazz and Traditions.The Rootless Cosmopolitan, March/April 2007: ...The effervescent music she’s written for Simchovitch’s poems lifts them in a way that is still sensitive to their brooding undercurrent, while exÂpressing her own vision of a greater theme... Rachael Kaffrisen.Philadelphia Jewish Radio WNWR AM 1540 March 1, 2007 (review Pashtes)"You've done it again! Another brilliant CD with a wonderful new sound. Pashtes is filled with soul and emotion and lots of Yiddishkeit." Barry Reisman, Program Host.The Wholenote Magazine : November 2006 (review Pashtes)
…deliciously melancholy…boasts an A-List of guest artists…«Pashtes [Simplicity] is a delight. Prague-born vocalist Lenka Lichtenberg has a lovely, confectionary, gamin-like quality. Her soprano voice sails above and around the notes with perfect control, weaving a luminous mystical web..." Lesley Mitchell-Clarke.Spin The Globe: world music News December 15, 2006 (review Pashtes)
"... Irrepressibly Jewish, the music (and words, if you understand them or read the tri-lingual album notes) speaks through an eloquent dynamic. It swings through emotional highs and lows -- often in the same song (as on the title track). Lichtenberg's powerful voice takes us on a tour of a mystical land of joys and sorrows...." Scott Allan Stevens, Earball Media, Washington....
The Live Music Report, January, 2007 (review Pashtes)
“…beautifully produced…managed to generate a new sound…Lichtenberg’s style is cabaret recitative, melismatic, as authentic as a “knaidleâ€, and bubbles with emotion… with purity and colour control in her vocalizations…maybe you never heard anything quite like this album! Stanley Feferman.
The New York Jewish Week December, 2006 (review Pashtes)
…There is an emerging group of Toronto-based Jewish jazz divas - Theresa Tova is another – and Lichtenberg is moving towards the head of the class quickly, if her new CD is any indication. …Lichtenberg focuses her attention on a single Yiddish poet, here Simcha Simchovitch whose words she has set quite ably. Accompanied by guitarist Katz and a terrific rhythm section, she creates a wonderfully variagated collection that ranges from avant-garde jazz to Brazilian funk, all the while showcasing Simchovitch's poetry to great effect. Rating **** 1/2 stars George Robinson, New York.
