From left, singer Jake Ehrenreich and jazz musician Roger Kellaway on piano perform in "A Treasury Of Jewish Christmas Songs" on December 16 at Aventura Arts And Cultural Cente.
Singer Jake Ehrenreich, known for his many South Florida performances of his one man play "A Jew Grows In Brooklyn" over the last decade, stars in "A Treasury Of Jewish Christmas Songs" on Sunday, Dec. 16 at 3 and 7 p.m. at Aventura Arts And Cultural Center.
What is ironic about the show is that Ehrenreich, acclaimed for sharing his Jewish identity and memories of his Holocaust survivor parents on stage in "A Jew Grows In Brooklyn," never celebrated Christmas in his home.
"Although I am not Christian and did not grow up with Christmas in my home, I had a secret love affair with Christmas music that was reinforced once I learned that some of the best loved Christmas songs were written by Jews, such as Irving Berlin and Mel Torme," said the 62-year-old Ehrenreich.
"I wanted to record Christmas music for a decade and teamed with jazz musician Roger Kellaway for the CD 'A Treasury Of Jewish Christmas Songs' in 2017, which evolved into the show which we perform with other jazz musicians this week," said Ehrenreich.
Singer Jake Ehrenreich stars in "A Treasury Of Jewish Christmas Songs" on December 16 at Aventura Arts And Cultural Center.
The CD earned positive reviews from jazz music critics, with many noting the similar vocal styling and phrasing of Ehrenreich to singer Tony Bennett.
Ehrenreich performed "A Treasury Of Jewish Christmas Songs" earlier this week at the Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center in Boca Raton on Sunday, Dec. 9 and at the Kravis Center For The Performing Arts In West Palm Beach on Wednesday, Dec. 12.
Ehrenreich sang 13 Christmas songs from his CD in the 90 minute show, highlighted by the songs "Home For The Holidays," "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," "The Christmas Song" and "White Christmas".
Within the show are videos of Jewish composers Alan and Marilyn Bergman, (who wrote hit songs for Barbra Streisand), Sheldon Harnick (who composed the music for "Fiddler On The Roof") and Charles Strauss (who wrote the music for "Annie"), all who share anecdotes about being Jewish and writing Christmas songs.
Tickets for the Sunday, Dec.16 shows range from $45-75, and are available at Aventura Arts And Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188th Street in Aventura. For more information, call 305-466-8002 or go to aventuracenter.org.
