Israel Portnoy came into the studio and did what he always doesโ€”made it feel personal.

This session has that rare kind of energy you only get when the music is happening in the room for real: everyone listening, responding, leaving space, then landing together exactly where it needs to land. Itโ€™s dynamic without trying to be. Quiet when it should be. Huge when it wants to be.

Israelโ€™s voice sits right in the centerโ€”clear, emotional, and completely presentโ€”and the sound around him lifts the songs without ever crowding them. You can hear the air, the push and pull, the little decisions that happen in the moment. Thatโ€™s the whole point of a live session.

No gimmicks. No acting. Just an honest performanceโ€”captured as it happened.

00:00 Intro
00:23 Donโ€™t Hide From Me
06:07 Lemaan Achai
12:47 Gypsy Niggun
16:38 Sheyibane
21:22 Anim Zemirot
26:41 Eliyahu
32:04 Hup Cossak!
37:54 My House

Drums: Jamale Hopkins
Bass: Mitch Friedman
Guitar: Nachman Dryer
Saxophone: Avrumi Bosch
Piano/Musical Director: Mendy Portnoy

Executive Producer: Mendy Portnoy
Director/Producer/Editor: Binyamin Babayof
Director of Photography: James Kolsby
Assistant Camera: Josiah Anderson
Mixing by Tzvi Levine