Klezmer: Café Jew Zoo (Naxos World)

Elizabeth Schwartz with Mama Labushnik

“It is her voice that captivated the audience. Schwartz's smoky tones could single-handedly revive the magic of Yiddish songs. Like the pied-piper, she draws you in to the nuances and beauty of the music.”

-San Diego Jewish Journal

BORSHT WITH BREAD, BROTHERS
(ARC Music)

...Amazing. Strom's ensemble includes the passionate vocal talents of Elizabeth Schwartz... (and) the gut-wrenching passion Schwartz's voice adds to his ensemble.
- Dirty Linen

It doesn't hurt that Strom can tap the soulful vocals of Elizabeth Schwartz. ...brilliant.
- Global Rhythm Magazine

I was captivated by the powerful voice of Elizabeth Schwartz.
- New Age Retailer

The album features the soulful Yiddish vocals of Elizabeth Schwartz.
- The Forward

"Vocalist Elizabeth Schwartz displays a wonderful appreciation for the nuances inherent in the interpretations of this music. Her mastery of the ornamentations is superb on selections like the movingly ethereal Hungarian Jewish folk song “Szol a Kakas Mar (The Rooster Crows Already)” and an extended version of the Czarist protest song “Vemen Veln Mir Dinen, Brider (Whom Shall We Serve Brothers?). She also gives an inspired performance of “Ver es Keseyder Tseyln (Who Can Count in Order?) that wonderfully portrays both the cantorial and badkhen (wedding jester rhymer) underpinnings to this music".
-All About Jazz, Dec. 2007

"...seriously soulful vocals by Elizabeth Schwartz."
-Spin The Globe World Music News, Nov. 2007

"Intense and riveting CD. And, of course, another factor at play here is the awesome virtuosity and versatility of the various musicians in Hot Pstromi: guitarist Fred Benedetti; David Licht, a former Klezmatic, on percussion; bassists Jeff Pekarek and Sprocket Royer; reed players Tripp Sprague and Norbert Stachel; accordionist Peter Stan; and vocalist Elizabeth Schwartz.

Picking favourite tracks from the dozen here is almost impossible, but I’ll call special attention to “Szol A Kakos Mar,” a Hasidic song from Hungary sung in Hungarian and Hebrew, with a vocal performance from Schwartz and perfect accompaniment from the band, that almost reminds me of Edith Piaf at her best. Another that must be singled out is “Vemen Veln Mir Dinen, Brider,” a Yiddish protest song that laments being forced to serve in the czar’s army.

This is a very special Klezmer album."
-Sing Out! Magazine

Garden of Yidn
(Naxos World)

The revelation of the album is vocalist Elizabeth Schwartz. Heard here on recording for the first time, Schwartz boasts a deep, dark, rich vocal instrument, with enough versatility to pull off an Arabic taksim, a cantorial wedding blessing, and a jazz waltz version of “Moscow Nights.” For the final number, a Gypsy-influenced doina, Schwartz reclaims the free-metered, improvisational lament for the singer, in whom its origin lies. Schwartz channels her wide-ranging background in musical theater, blues, rock and jazz into a vivid, contemporary Yiddish idiom that needs no translation.
- Sing Out! Magazine
Winter 2002 Vol. 45 #4

I've never heard A Finf un Tzvantziker sound more like a strutting Czarist march; Papirossen more like a cabaret plea for the reality of the street; and the Sheva B'Rachot more ethereal and actually timeless. Even the unklezmatic Moscow Nights has the silk of early ‘60's jazz. Here is a plate for everything. Elizabeth Schwartz's Yiddish is just right.
-Folk Roots Magazine

Four Stars.
- Applaus Magazine