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This year, we are delighted that Christmas Day coincides with the first night of Chanukah! As the city shuts down on December 25th, the Museum at Eldridge Street on Manhattan’s historic Lower East Side comes to life for an afternoon of Chanukah fun for all ages! Come jam with The Jazzukkah Project, and be a part of a special candle lighting ceremony with historic menorahs from the remarkable Aharon Ben Zalman Collection on display in the Museum’s 1887 Sanctuary.

The Jazzukkah Project is an ensemble that’s putting a sonic, er, spin on the beloved canon of Chanukah classics. They take songs like Ma’oz Tzur and I Have a Little Dreidel and ignite them with jazz flair, creating a familiar holiday sound that both kids and adults will love.

Musicians: Gilad Abro (co-creator, bassist), Elana Rosenfeld (vocals), Tom Oren (keys), Alon Benjamini (percussion), Gil Shefler (producer, creator, songwriter).

Winter Concert Tickets:
Adult $25 (at-the-door $30)
Student/Senior $20 (at-the-door $25)
Child 5-17 $15 (at-the-door $20)
Child Under 5 FREE
Cool Culture Pass / SNAP Benefits $5

There are no assigned seats.

About the Band:

The Jazzukkah Project is an ensemble of artists striving to create the ultimate holiday playlist. Jazzukkah is reimagining songs like Ma’oz Tzur as a slow jam, giving I Have A Little Dreidel a much needed bepop hop and penning one or two original pieces.

The Project took inspiration from the Christmas playlist that takes over the airwaves every season. So many Yuletide hits were created by Jewish artists: Irving Berlin (“White Christmas”), Mel Torme (“The Christmas Song”), Johnny Marks (“Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”), to name a few.

Jazzukkah wondered: Could we give Chanukah a musical makeover the way some of those legendary songwriters did for Christmas? Is there a Chanukah holiday sound that we’re missing?

Ever since, the band has been experimenting with the rich catalog of Chanukah songs, giving them a distinct jazz touch, and even adding a tune or two of their own to the repertoire like Hanukkah Blues.

About the Artists:

Gilad Abro is an award-winning classically trained bassist and educator. He plays with Israel’s top talent like Berry Sakharoff and Marina Maximillian Blumin.

Elana Rosenfeld is a singer-songwriter, cantor, and educator. She has a BFA from the Tisch School Of The Arts at NYU and serves as High Holy Day cantor at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City.

Tom Oren is the winner of the 2018 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition (currently the Herbie Hancock Institute).

Alon Benjamini is a drummer and composer and a graduate of the jazz department at Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts, and The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music. He lives in New York and is a regular for musicians like Reggie Workman, Avishai Cohen, Gilad Hekselman, Takeshi Ohbayashi, Yotam Silberstein, and many others.

Gil Shefler is a songwriter and the creator of The Jazzukkah Project.

Image Credit: Museum at Eldridge Street, Scott Brevda 2023.