Electronic Press Kit

Jacob's Ladder is an internationally touring band seeking to push the boundaries of contemporary Jewish music and traditional American Roots music through Jewish communal singing and prayer. In melding these two musical worlds, they tell their story through Eastern European Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jewish traditions, but also through their American heritage and its influence on their unique musical style. Their debut album “Beit El”,  explores genre-bending across choral and cantorial traditions finding their way into communal prayer, rock, West-African styles, bluegrass, and American folk song. Jacob’s Ladder has been performing coast to coast, highlighted by their 2023 Bay Area tour, Nashville's 2nd Annual NashFest, and  Toronto as apart of the Ashkenazfest Summer Concert Series. They have performed and offered residencies to dozens of Jewish communities nationally, and continue to shed light on the conversation of identity, particularly regarding what it means to be an American Jew. 

 

Their early inspirations were drawn from bluegrass icons such as Tony Rice, J.D. Crowe, and Bill Monroe, as well as original “Jewgrass” musicians from the 70’s and 80’s, including Andy Statman, David Grisman, and Stacy Phillips. Their newest record, "Beit El" takes a step away from the more traditional bluegrass path, and taps into multiple different genres, including rock, gospel, and klezmer, packed with diverse and eclectic vocal and instrumental arrangements. 

 

With roots music as the bedrock of their expression and instrumentation, their melodies and songs are inspired by the likes of Shlomo Carlebach, Eitan Katz, Zusha, Moshav Band, and Joey Weisenberg and the Hadar Ensemble, to name a few. 

 

Jacob's Ladder is rooted in the traditional liturgy that one might find in an Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or Traditional Jewish setting. They believe that Jewish liturgical music can expand beyond traditional melodies while maintaining its essence in a traditional prayer structure. Additionally, they believe in the power of these prayers to have meaning and purpose outside of a prayer setting. These age-old lyrics are at the heart of what makes up their music, and have been at the forefront of our Jewish story for centuries. 

 

Their creative process incorporates different approaches and techniques. While all of their core band members are rooted in their own idiosyncratic musical styles and approaches, they joyfully approach the challenging process of weaving their stylistic differences into the fabric of new arrangements. Together, they strive to highlight each of their individual sources of inspiration into their ever-changing and evolving sound. At heart, Jacob's Ladder is comprised of bluegrass musicians, and they center themselves–and thus their new music—in its natural groove and language.