Gad Elbaz Celebrates New Album

By COLlive reporter
Photos: Shimi Kutner/COLlive

Superstar Jewish singer Gad Elbaz celebrated the release of his new album at the Bedford on Park Restaurant in midtown Manhattan on Sunday.

An overflow crowd packed into the dimly-lit restaurant, sipping champagne and enjoying a full dinner while a DJ played Elbaz’s hit songs.

Fans lined up to receive signed copies of the album, and then enjoyed an intimate show with Elbaz, who was introduced by comedian Modi and sang some of his hits and told personal anecdotes to the excited crowd.

Elbaz was emotional as he thanked the larger-than-expected crowd for their support.

“In my new album, I’m communicating with the youth through contemporary music – something they might have listened to on the radio – with strong Jewish messages that are not preachy, yet are inspiring,” Elbaz said.

The new album, titled “L’Chaim,” contains 13 English songs, a new frontier for the Israeli singer who has gained popularity in the United States in recent years, after achieving stardom in Israel.

Five of the songs are already known to Elbaz’s fans, having been produced as cutting edge music videos by concert and film producer Danny Finkelman of New York.

The title of the new album was also born of the great collaborative friendship between Elbaz and Finkelman.

“The idea for the title came from the many times Gad spent Shabbat at my home,” Finkelman, who is a Lubavitcher, told COLlive. “Being that I am Chabad, Gad and I spent many a Shabbat joining for a Chasidic Farbrengen gathering, which of course, contains many “L’chaims,'” he said.

The album release party was produced by Shlomo Cohen and Victoria Zirkiev, with lighting by Master Lighting – Mendy Boaron.

The music video of the album’s title track, “L’Chaim,” will be released next week.

L’Chaim is available now on iTunes and will be available in stores in a few weeks.

Music video: Hashem Melech 2.0

Music video: Hava Nagila