Jazz Shabbat Service
Friday, April 24, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Temple Ramat Zion
Presented by Temple Ramat Zion
Join us for an extraordinary evening where the beauty of Shabbat meets the soulful spirit of jazz.
This special service features music by acclaimed composer Aminadav Aloni, brought to life by an extraordinary ensemble of artists. Maestra Noreen Green will conduct Kol Ha’Am: Voice of the People, a program of the LAJS, joining Hazzan Daniel Friedman and a jazz combo led by Bob Remstein on piano.
This is an evening of music, meaning, and togetherness that you won’t want to miss. Tickets are free, so reserve yours now!
FEATURED COMPOSER
An accomplished classical and jazz pianist, musical theater composer and arranger, Aminadav Aloni was, above all, a prolific synagogue composer who created Jewish sacred musical works of distinction. The uniqueness of these compositions was guided by his familiarity with sacred texts, his devotion to classic and modern Hebrew literature, prose and poetry, and his love for contemporary Israeli and Broadway idioms.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1928, Aloni immigrated to the United States in 1945 to study piano, theory, composition and conducting at Los Angeles City College. He then moved to New York to pursue advanced piano studies at Juilliard. Upon returning to Los Angeles, he taught piano, performed in jazz clubs and improvised accompaniments for the dance companies of noted choreographers.
In 1966, Hazzan Samuel Fordis, cantor of Valley Beth Shalom Synagogue, invited Aloni to accompany worship services there. This eventually led to his appointment as choir director and composer-in-residence, a role he held for almost thirty years. The creation and performance of Aloni’s Chassidic Sabbath Service, Hallel, Yizkor, Torah Service, Ruth, Aleynu Leshabeiach – A Jazz Service, and Koheleth and Or HaAm (Light of a Nation) – both for large orchestra, soloists and chorus –sprang from this key period in his composing career.
In 1970, he began studying musical theater and co-authored nine complete musicals, several on biblical themes. Aloni’s theatrical lyricism can be heard in many of the melodies that he constructed for synagogue prayer text settings. During this time, he composed numerous scores for both cinema and television.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, Hazzan Daniel Eli Friedman was drawn to singing and the Cantorial Arts at a young age. Upon graduating from UCLA with a BA in Theatre Arts and a minor in music, Friedman embarked on a 15-year career in such luminous Broadway National tours and NYC productions as Les Misérables, CATS, Forever Plaid, Laughter on the Second Floor, and Falsettos. While contracted with Forever Plaid in Las Vegas, he found himself at a crossroads and realized there was a spiritual void in his life. It was at this time that Friedman left behind the world of theatre and began preparing for a life on the bimah.
Prior to moving back to Los Angeles, Friedman held the position of Cantor for the 650-family Conservative congregation Temple Beth Sholom of Las Vegas for ten years. In 2017, he earned his master’s degree in Sacred Music at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California (AJRCA). Friedman is a member of the Guild of Temple Musicians, Cantors Assembly and is currently serving a three-year term on the Executive Council of the Cantors Assembly. He is ordained by AJRCA and holds a Hazzan-Minister of the Jewish Faith Commission from the Cantors Assembly.
Bob Remstein has composed nearly 50 Jewish liturgical works, including a complete Sacred Service, the Sermon in Song, “Moses and the Rock,” and “A Heart of Wisdom,” a song he later arranged for full orchestra and chorus.
A founding member of the Helfman Institute composers’ group, Remstein wrote his “Hashkiveinu” for their opening concert, as well as two pieces for the Institute’s David’s Quilt concert in 2017 and one for the Amazed concert held in 2022, honoring the memory of Abraham Joshua Heschel. In 2021, he composed a setting of “Hanerot Halalu” for the Judaic Sacred Music Foundation. An active pianist and keyboardist, he serves as the staff accompanist for the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale. Remstein has scored video games for SceneIt, arranged music for the hit film Little Miss Sunshine, and, as co-leader of the lounge/electronica group Supercasanova, has produced tracks used on many TV shows.
OUR PARTNERS
