Embedded Files
Violins of Hope
Violins of Hope
by Deborah Noble
by Deborah Noble
for Jife SGPV
March 2, 2021
Janice Mautner-Markham, the violinist for klezmer-rock band Mostly Kosher and director of the Jewish Federation’s Jewish Youth Orchestra, has deep family roots in music and connections that branch out all over the Los Angeles arts scene. Her collaborations range from klezmer to classical, folk-rock and jazz ensembles, and Mostly Kosher performances range from house concerts to the Skirball Museum and Disneyland.
Janice Mautner-Markham, the violinist for klezmer-rock band Mostly Kosher and director of the Jewish Federation’s Jewish Youth Orchestra, has deep family roots in music and connections that branch out all over the Los Angeles arts scene. Her collaborations range from klezmer to classical, folk-rock and jazz ensembles, and Mostly Kosher performances range from house concerts to the Skirball Museum and Disneyland.
In November, Markham was one of only three LA violinists invited to play at the Soraya Performing Arts Center at Cal State University Northridge on one of the Violins of Hope, a traveling collection of instruments that survived the Holocaust and have been restored by master luthier Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshi in Tel Aviv.
In November, Markham was one of only three LA violinists invited to play at the Soraya Performing Arts Center at Cal State University Northridge on one of the Violins of Hope, a traveling collection of instruments that survived the Holocaust and have been restored by master luthier Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshi in Tel Aviv.
The Soraya had borrowed some 30 violins for a series of high-profile concerts and outreach events set for March and April across Los Angeles, with headlining artists like Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman as well as artist-in-residence Niv Ashkenazi, who had worked with Violins of Hope before. Markham, who knew Ashkenazi through musicians’ circles, says she began working with LA’s Violins of Hope project chair Suzanne Reyto in 2019 to promote the series at Mostly Kosher’s performances.
The Soraya had borrowed some 30 violins for a series of high-profile concerts and outreach events set for March and April across Los Angeles, with headlining artists like Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman as well as artist-in-residence Niv Ashkenazi, who had worked with Violins of Hope before. Markham, who knew Ashkenazi through musicians’ circles, says she began working with LA’s Violins of Hope project chair Suzanne Reyto in 2019 to promote the series at Mostly Kosher’s performances.
Jewish folk band to host workshop at music school to illuminate klezmer music
Jewish folk band to host workshop at music school to illuminate klezmer music
by Yasmin Madjidi
for The Daily Bruin
February 9, 2020
“Mostly Kosher” was founded on a white lie about its entire existence 10 years ago.
The group originally formed when a woman assumed co-founder Leeav Sofer had a klezmer band due to his Jewish heritage. Aiming to book more gigs, Sofer contacted a number of Jewish musicians, eventually forming “Mostly Kosher.” The group is now hosting a workshop at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music on Feb. 9 to explain how it integrates traditional klezmer and Yiddish music with modern Latin, rock and folk. Janice Mautner Markham, the group’s co-founder and violinist, said the style utilizes emotional instrumentals and lyrics to document Jewish stories.
“It has been wonderful for us in terms of looking at the roots of where we started,” Markham said. “Layer upon layer, we are able to tell our stories and use our modern genres that we feel very connected to and cross genres.”
Mostly Kosher is Klezmer Music to Heal the Soul
Mostly Kosher is Klezmer Music to Heal the Soul
by Susan Hornik
for the LA Weekly
January 20, 2018
With so much hate being spewed by a Trump presidency, you need music that enriches your soul and awakens your spirit. Mostly Kosher can do just that, fusing traditional Judaic sounds with high energy rock, jazz and Latin Klezmer. Klezmer music is essentially the love songs, fight songs and heart wrenching stories of a long heritage of the Jewish people.
“Some say the interest in world music is a backlash from some of the xenophobia we see in society,” said Janice Mautner Markham, Mostly Kosher's violinist. “We see our Jewish cultural music really fitting under the larger tent of world music, as Jews have lived all over the globe.”
“Our music is far from a one-size-fits-all — Jewish cultural music in Spain is different from that in Iraq, which is different from that in Austin, Texas. But the common denominator is it comes from the core of Jewish cultural heritage, we just pick it up from whatever country of origin we find it, and then drive it to a whole new destination.”
Your Brain on Jazz
by Susan Hornik
for Brainworld Magazine
September 16, 2017
Janice Mautner Markham, Jazz Teacher And Violinist, Mostly Kosher, On Novelty:
Janice Mautner Markham, Jazz Teacher And Violinist, Mostly Kosher, On Novelty:
“The magic of jazz is the spontaneous nature of the art. When I am teaching and ask the kids to improvise, at first there is often this intellectual and emotional fear — a fear of failing and of the unknown. But, to leap in as a musician and a listener means you can be open to a new experience, and this is such a healthy emotional place to be. I often hear of music and art therapists playing jazz for their patients, and I think this is because there is a new page to turn in each phrase — a new feeling to feel and emotion to experience that is unpredictable. I think ultimately jazz can feed the soul and add to a sense of joy and fearlessness. These are welcome qualities as a musician and a listener.”
Ron and Laura Take Back America Rocks NYC
Ron and Laura Take Back America Rocks NYC
by Xaque Gruber
for the Huffington Post
March 23, 2016
Get ready New York City - Ron and Laura Grawsill of Bakersfield, California are going to be taking over for the next week. Fresh from a run in Los Angeles and winning 16 awards and nominations on the festival circuit, Ron and Laura Take Back America, the year's funniest political mockumentary, will be screening at Cinema Village (22 East 12th St) beginning March 25.
Mel England (Ron) and Janice Markham (Laura) play the awkwardly lovable, titular two person army desperately clinging to their far right wing values ready to take down Obamacare, immigration reform, gay marriage, and much more. Both actors have backgrounds in improv and live theatre, and brought much to the mockumentary table including an encyclopedic passion of Christopher Guest's films, Portlandia, and the Granddaddy of politcially incorrect situation comedies, All In The Family. I had the pleasure of chatting with these two comedy talents who not only star in the film, but co-wrote and co-directed it.
Boyle Heights and City Terrace: Musical bridge to East L.A.
Boyle Heights and City Terrace: Musical bridge to East L.A.
by Edmon Rodman
for THE JEWISH JOURNAL
August 19, 2015
As the Los Angeles-based klezmer band Mostly Kosher began a summer afternoon concert at the Skirball Cultural Center on Aug. 9, few in the audience knew that what they were about to experience had roots in the Jewish neighborhoods of Boyle Heights and City Terrace going back more than 75 years.
As Janice Mautner Markham, the band’s violinist and self-described yenta, comically set the scene by appearing with a shmatte covering her head and a circa-1930s radio by her side, she could have been tuning in to the era of her grandparents Eugene and Celia Mautner, who bought their first home in City Terrace in 1934.
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