There are only a few albums that are wholly satisfying whether it’s the music, the vocals or accompaniment, the selection or arrangements. One new album that nicely fits the bill is the Suvenir Kantigas en Ladino recently released on CD by Betty Klein of Jerusalem. It’s simple: It’s beautiful. On much of this album are newly composed songs to newly composed Ladino poetry. Klein sings and plays variously guitar, celtic harp, piano, keyboard, accordion, bouzouki, mandolin, flute, recorder, oud, percussion, as well as writing the compositions and making the arrangements. Both the texts and the collaborations read like a ‘who’s who’ of poets, Ladino teachers and experts throughout Israel, the US and elsewhere. This recording is not the relic of some long dying culture, but a showcase of a vibrant society still active amongst a large population in Israel and abroad. To get more information, visit www.myspace.com/kleinbettymusic