Pinchas Wolf "Shirei Pinchas" Z Report Interview with Yossi Zweig

with me via telephone all the way from Detroit Michigan he is uh in his 70s this is his first radio interview to my knowledge he just released his debut album please welcome the one and only wolf hello hello Yosi it's a great pleasure to be on your show and uh first of all first but not least I want to thank Hashem ISB for enabling me and giving me the and the to compose the ability to compose and uh to share uh share my n with the world um on the album Shas and uh I I want to thank all the all the singers um that are on the album Benny fredman y green davle Shapiro and the Y P shimy weberman did such a beautiful beautiful job singing that he definitely did by the way how are you today fine um I'm uh I'm I I I'm I'm trying to get some sleep because I didn't sleep much and of course right and I believe that every day you has to be the every day I no definitely definitely so P A 50-year Journey For You how does it feel now that the album's finally in store is available everywhere well how it feels it I I I feel actually I'm going to use the word relieved relieved because for many many many years for so many years um I I did not release my nunim to to to to to to the world mhm and uh it's a long story but you know when I I believe I may have mentioned this story to you when I was a b i i I started composing when I was 10 years old and um and when I was a b i I ate shabos by a I'm not going to mention a name no l whatsoever uh and and I composed the in chabas at his table the niggan was taken he was he he ran a camp and he took the niggan to the camp and and and he he taught it to the children and a year later this goes back almost 50 years ago I bought a record those days they didn't have uh uh CDs DVDs whatever they had the The Long play records and uh I I played the record and and I hear my nigan and uh the composer was someone else I was very upset and I made another I will never never release my my NE to to to the public but I kept composing and composing composing and well well over 100 maybe 150 already and um then uh nine years ago I became very ill and uh my my wife was told that I have 10 days left I got rushed to a wow University Hospital an Harbor they cured me very quickly and two years ago again I was ill again I had surgery and um and again uh they had to call the codes you know I was gone already to the I was already in as they brought me back and I realized that uh what Hashem wants me to do is released by and so I had had you know and well every year you do at tus nador right of course we do at tus nador but uh for some reason I I I kept that NE and uh several couple of years ago when when said call nidre I said to myself that said you know and uh began to uh sing my n all over the place and I have to thank you because I contacted you I think it was a year and a half ago and discussed with you about riding a safer hyon and uh you talk me out of it and I I'm so thankful for that U with the the idea may have not been a good idea you know to ride a sa for in musical notes and how many people are going to be able to read it and and and hear it and so on it and you mentioned that I'd be better off just putting him on albums and here I am but you read them first and that was before I heard any of the songs now now that I hear them I would say are you crazy you weren't going to release these to the world that's what your early greenf told me see people know Talent when they see it you know I I agree I agree but you know I I didn't know which route to go and uh and thank I thank a for for steering me in the right direction and I thank you also for helping me uh go in the right direction ah my pleasure we're we're all just tools anyways with me via telephone Pinas wolf all the way from Detroit Michigan talking about his debut album first album ever Shir penas 11 beautiful tracks and uh from rumors that I've been hearing and from stuff that I know behind the scenes uh you already have another song recorded and you're you're starting to work on a second album in the next few months yeah after the begin with with another album so it seems that this album lit like a fire in you I mean you're you're you're getting enjoyment out of seeing your nunam produced the way I guess you envisioned or maybe maybe some of them even being surprised at the production of how how they're coming out maybe you didn't Envision them quite that way but uh I I guess you're really happy with the results penas I am very happy with the results and um and uh hopefully you know with the blessings of a I'll be happy with the results coming in the next album and many more and uh as long as they have the K and uh and you have to be healthy 100% um I'll continue well we are looking forward to it as a matter of fact the album released just last week and uh a week later not even a week later Anie M coming in at number two on the top nine at n it had a staggering amount of votes you know and this is a song that we both discussed that that would probably be huge but you know again we didn't know what people are going to think what people are going to hear and the funny thing is I was playing it last night and I I was getting uh request and asked from listeners is this a new song is it an old song Just redone and we're like no you know P wol songs have have never never been recorded and it's it's it's truly a beautiful haunting song yle's voice does an amazing Justice was unbelievable um and um he he just he he sang it exactly the way I wrote it nothing was changed uh this found imom in several years ago I was watching a clip with with the Eden were walking to the to the crematoriums and they wen't singing on Imam in there was a was a some music and and and a choir singing on Imam and as and as they were shown the clip and I said to myself I for a long time I want even before I saw the clip uh something words I didn't know what words to use to memorialize the six millionen that that that that that that went to the to the gas Chambers I didn't know what to use I saw the clip and I heard Al IM singing uh playing and singing as they were walking to the gas Chambers I I broke down I said this is what I have to do and minutes later you know I it just came to me the Nan came to me and and I and I I didn't want you know when a Negan comes to me they usually come with the words it's amazing I I don't come up with with some kind of music or niggan uh without the words they they come together to with the words MH almost every niggan once in a while I I I sing a niggan without words uh and it stays that way and I and and I call those v um but 99% of the my compos they they they they come to me from with the words it's amazing and so I recorded quickly so I shouldn't forget what I'm doing on recorder and then uh then I wrote down the notes and um and uh it's the that you heard and that's on it's it's a beautiful and and I can't believe that they both come to you the same time because the one question composers get over the years is what comes first you know the niggan or the or the lyrics the lyrics or the niggan and and you contrary to what most composers say say that you you're lucky enough to have both come at the same time well I learn I learned how to improvise MH a very young age from Sher a very very famous kin was in Montreal and I was introduced to him when I was 12 years old by uh cin in Montreal right in Montreal there was also all and he was tremendous tremendous a of the youngest in Montreal I sang in his choir for for two years Y and um and then I was uh I was at y V's house for many many many many days during the week and he was a tremendous tremendous impro improviser and if you heard him DAV he was unbelievable and he taught me how to improvise how did he teach me to improvise whatever comes to you head he said just do it like for example I D for the the second day during the H and it was all improvisation and and then I sang the n and over and over again during and the began to learn the N right there and then shed and you know and and it comes to me with the words and nothing to tweak or nothing to correct it just comes that way amazing you know that hasem gave me the the inspiration like this I'm so thankful well I know that we are extremely happy that you're there so the allstar album includes some of the biggest names in Jewish music uh going through them right now I see shimmy angle ear Greenfield Benny fredman schlomo Sim D gab Charles solo shimi weberman and newcomer morai Shapiro now um you know from our discussions and from hearing some of your stuff you know people think uh you know you're you're probably writing cantoral pieces and slow pieces but there's some really nice fast stuff on the album especially morai Shapiro's Gil aren is a very very up to-date M Shapiro's Gil arena is something very very very special and um he did he did a number unbelievable job with it and needs to hear it um it's an incredible incredible incredible interpretation uh it's a fast song it can be done byus and I believe it's going to be very very very popular um um and he he it's it's there's a lot of variation in this album because every song is different and Gina is a little bit a little bit of a modern twist that it has to it no definitely does and last week we played Benny Freeman with t Calo Al also a beautiful niggan yeah hopefully the children the children will will learn it it's a easy niggan to learn and then the children will sing it okay well the AL the album is Shir penas for song penas wolf it's available on it iTunes Google play Amazon music if you want you can get it in stores you can download it through nanm music.com there really is no excuse why you don't have the album because it's available everywhere right penas that is correct yes it's available before I yeah wherever there's a wherever they sell the they sell the albums every bookstore I have a listener here listener Ru and he says I must tell you this man must be a tremendous sadic I'm really impressed with him in this interview there should only be more people in his madrea that's what listener Ruan says right now about you yeah yes Before I Let You Go I want to play a wedding song because now that shu is over you know weddings are back into full swing until we hit the three weeks now so uh which wedding song would I play do I play gilina I was gonna play I was going to play yeah yeah well it's between G and and by the way gave me a lot of when I when I spoke to him for the first time and actually uh the song on on on the on the album was actually composed in the car on the Spot while we were driving Toler Studio and uh by the way I need to thank 100% the album was produced tremendous job you know and he put a lot of in the particulars and on every little little particular that that I wanted to you know to all the all the nuances as they say right all the nuances that that's the right I'm from the old school a l i I started speaking English when I was like 12 13 years old you you you wouldn't know it today but yeah natal schnitzler produced and and arranged the entire album as it says in the album music by naali schnitzler and of course features the MIM choir on it which I know you were thrilled with I know you had a good time with them in the studio of P yes I I surely did and they did such a wonderful wonderful job um I sat there actually sat there when they recorded the sh uh Nai and um I I was I was amazed you know they did they did so so well with it I want to wish you and a wonderful summer and we we can't wait to see what new is coming out from you thank you thank you very much and you will hear again in the near future after the I'll be dedicated uh to uh to release uh series number two I don't know what you want to call it but we'll call it number two well if you had two names if your name was P Pim you can call the second one anyways yeah the sh but but even tomorrow that we should all sing and dance together ladies and gentlemen P wolf