Jewish music is as varied as the people that make up the diaspora. Depending on where you're tuning in, the music might be traditional or it might lean toward funk, jazz, metal, punk, orchestral or even spaghetti western. The Jewish guitar power trio, though, remains elusive. There is, of course, Yossi Piamenta, who some call the "Hasidic Hendrix." His ability to wail out ancient Jewish tunes and prayer melodies on a Stratocaster is legendary . . . well, around Brooklyn, anyway. And good luck finding any of his albums.
Fortunately, we now have "Rashanim," the readily available debut of a power trio led by guitarist Jon Madof. Madof, who lives in Brooklyn, flavors the Jewish and Middle Eastern-influenced tunes on this album with jazzy improvisations and a rock attitude. But as he said in a recent interview, jazz is one thing, but rock is something he tried to keep out of his music for a long time: "I used to listen to punk, I used to listen to rock, but [I said to myself] 'Now I'm a jazz player. I'm not going to play with distortion -- I'm going to play with a clean sound straight into an amp.' "
Fortunately, Madof's career as a jazz snob didn't last long and he learned to comfortably integrate, rather than suppress, his early rock influences. As a result, "Rashanim" contains tunes such as "Der Khusid Geyt Tantsn," where the drummer and bassist thrash like a metal band behind Madof's sizzling tone. Or "Chroma," on which, after a clean intro, Madof lights up and blazes through a searing solo.