Hallelujahs in the House: A Celebration of Gospel and Khasidic Music

The Inspiration

World-renowned artist Yale Strom considers himself first and foremost a son of Detroit. On August 25, 2024 at 3pm, he returns to his hometown to present the concert "Hallelujahs in the House: A Celebration of Gospel and Khasidic Music" at Victory Fellowship Baptist Church (2565 Elmhurst). This building was originally Bais Aaron v'Isroel.  Known informally as the Stoliner shul, it was built for the followers of the Stoliner rebbe, Reb Yaakov Perlov, who came annually from Williamsburg, Brooklyn to lead services for a week after Passover. Among his followers were Strom's grandparents, with whom Perlov would stay, and in whose house he passed away. Strom unifies Detroit's spiritual history through the music that was once heard and is still heard in this building. The church's gospel choir, Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi, and superb local artists all will perform.

Meet the Musicians

A. Spencer Barefield is described by JazzTimes as "an extraordinary guitarist/composer.” He has performed, toured, and recorded extensively for some five decades as a ensemble leader, soloist, and with many jazz legends, such as Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, Oliver Lake, Richard Davis, Andrew Cyrille, and Reggie Workman. Over the years, he has played at hundreds of festivals and concerts throughout Europe, parts of Asia, the U.S., and Canada.

Djalla Djakate was born and raised in Detroit. He is a renowned drummer/percussionist/band leader. He can be seen performing straight-ahead jazz, bebop, avant garde, blues, R7B, reggae, Afro-beat, and techno. He has performed with many well known artists, including Kenn Cox, Harold McKinney, Charlie Gabriel, Marcus Belgrave, Wendell Harrison, and Dennis Coffey. He has toured extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The Bass speaks in the hands of Marion Hayden. Mentored by master trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, Hayden began performing jazz at the age of fifteen. She has performed with such diverse luminaries as Bobby McFerrin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Geri Allen, Regina Carter, Steve Turre, David Allen Grier, James Carter, and Nancy Wilson. A passionate educator, Hayden is the Geri Allen Collegiate Lecturer at the University of Michigan and director of jazz combos at Oakland University.

Elizabeth Schwartz has been called the "Edith Piaf of Yiddish” and “a revelation” with a superb mastery of klezmer ornamentations. As the vocalist for Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi and as a soloist, she has performed at festivals, synagogues, and concert halls on every continent except Antarctica (she’s working on that). Her myriad acclaimed recordings of Yiddish, Ladino, Hebrew, and English have been released on the Naxos World, Arc Music UK, Global Village, and Transcontinental Music record labels. 

Norbert Stachel, a saxophonist and multi-woodwind instrumentalist, is widely recognized for being a unique soloist and also for his strong ensemble contributions in all kinds of musical genres. Norbert has recorded, toured, and performed with a variety of known and established names, as well as artists deserving wider recognition. Norbert has 30+ years experience playing jazz, classical, rock, R&B, Afro Cuban/Latin, salsa, klezmer, Middle Eastern, world, and most other forms of music. 

Yale Strom is a pioneer among revivalists in conducting extensive field research in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans among the Jewish and Roma communities. Strom has become the world’s leading ethnographer-artist of klezmer music and history. His klezmer research was instrumental in helping form the repertoires of his klezmer band, Hot Pstromi in New York and San Diego.  Since Strom’s first band began in 1982, he has been composing his own New Jewish music, which combines klezmer with Khasidic nigunim, Romani, jazz, classical, Balkan and Sephardic motifs.

A Taste of the Music

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