CD Review - Shabbat Shaboom! With Mama Doni & The Mama Doni Band

About the CD
The inimitable Mama Doni brings her special brand of “funky music with a Jewish twist” to a new “Challah-Day” album, with the March 22 release of Shabbat Shaboom (Mama Doni Productions, $15, run time 42 minutes, all ages).

Doni Zasloff Thomas, aka Mama Doni, is the lead singer/songwriter in The Mama Doni Band.   Doni’s “wacky, Jewish indie-rock band for kids” won the Simcha Award for Inspiring Joy Through Music in competition with more than 100 bands from 15 different countries at the 2008 International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam.   Quirky, zany, offbeat, and unpredictable, The Mama Doni Band expands the horizons of traditional Jewish music with a contagious and unexpected blend of reggae, rock, disco, Latin, klezmer and “Jewgrass” – all woven together with a hip Jewish sensibility.

The original songs and stories on Shabbat Shaboom transport listeners to a place where the album’s warmly sincere pop-rock title track happily melds with a Gloria Estefan-meets-Fiddler on the Roof conga line tune, "Challah-Day,” where the reggae-influenced “Mazel Tov” meets a disco ditty, “Sabbath Queen.”  Shabbat Shaboom touches on such aspects as lighting candles, being with family (mishpocha), celebrating bat mitzvahs, and even the “workout” that Mama Doni mischievously terms "synagoguersizing."

Shabbat Shaboom marks the first Mama Doni CD to showcase the entire Mama Doni Band.  Says Doni, “Shabbat Shaboom is really an evolution for us.  It’s a little less shticky than my previous CDs.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s still fun!  But this album has a slightly different vibe.  It’s more sophisticated musically than my earlier work, a bit more soulful, you might say.”

The raison d'être of Mama Doni’s presentation goes deeper than surface “shtick.”  What’s important to Doni is the idea of giving children their own current and positive musical voice.  Doni lays out her mission: “I want to share with kids of all ages and backgrounds the humor and richness that effervesces throughout Yiddish language and Jewish culture. Through my music I hope that they can access the joy in this culture in a new way and have a rockin‘ good time in the process!”

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MAMA DONI & THE MAMA DONI BAND in Performance Highlights – Winter/Spring 2011

January 16                  Morristown Jewish Center                                          Morristown, NJ
February 6                  JCC of Greater Washington                                         Rockville, MD
February 20                Congregation Emanu El                                               Houston, TX
March 5                       Congregation Beth Or                                                  Maple Glen, PA
March 6                       Young Limmud Philly/Gershman YMHA                     Philadelphia, PA
March 20                     Museum of Jewish Heritage                                        New York, NY
April 3                          Congregation Keneseth Israel                                    Elkins Park, PA
April 22                        Friedberg JCC/Mid-Island YJCC                                 Oceanside, NY
May 10                         Weinstein JCC                                                              Richmond, VA
May 11                         Simon JCC                                                                    Virginia Beach, VA

http://mamadoni.com

My Take on the CD
This CD along with the other CD's from Mama Doni are simply hilarious. I have heard some of her music in the past and I and my kids think they are great. Not that we are Jewish, but the way she shares her culture puts a smile on our faces and sometimes even makes us roll on the floor in side stitching fun.

Her music reminds me something of Weird Al Yankovic with his light banter and humorous lyrics. Sometimes Mama Doni does seem a bit self-deprecating, but for me, it was definitely funny and definitely a band that I would recommend to all that are looking for a laugh and witty lyrics. You will not be disappointed!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions. 

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