Shlomo Ari Gaisin
Gaisin (left) performing with Zusha in 2019.
Background information
BornSilver Spring, Maryland
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • saxophone
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active2004–present
Member ofZusha
Formerly ofJudaBlue

Shlomo Ari Gaisin is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer for the Jewish rock band JudaBlue and the Hasidic folk group Zusha.

Early life

Gaisin grew up in Kemp Mill, Maryland, the youngest of seven children.[1][2] His parents, who both became baalei teshuva before he was born,[3] were founding members of the Kemp Mill Synagogue, a local Modern Orthodox shul.[4] They also played instruments at home and exposed him to classical music early on.[1][5] He studied jazz for seven years as a child.[6]

Gaisin attended Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy through high school, graduating in 2009.[1] After spending a year in Jerusalem at Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh, he attended Yeshiva University, though he later left to study nutrition.[6][7][8] As a student, he experienced difficulty reading and writing and often required extra time on tests.[9]

Career

JudaBlue (2004–2013)

While in seventh grade at Berman, Gaisin met classmate Yaniv Hoffman, a fellow music enthusiast, and began playing with him. They formed JudaBlue in 2004, although they didn't begin rehearsing regularly until 2007.

The band released its debut EP, Forty Days, on January 19, 2010, shortly before going on hiatus to allow Gaisin and Hoffman to study in Israel. When they returned, the band released three more songs, "Falling", "Change", and "Oneness", before Hoffman returned to Israel in 2011 to serve in the IDF.

Zusha (2013–present)

Gaisin moved to Washington Heights in Manhattan, where he met fellow musicians Elisha Mlotek and Zachariah Goldschmiedt through a mutual friend. The three began playing together and formed Zusha in 2013. Their self-titled debut EP, released on November 28, 2014, reached No. 9 on Billboard's World Albums chart.

Other activities

Outside of music, Gaisin is a certified mashgiach and provided kosher supervision to a Chinese restaurant in Washington Heights.[10] He has led prayer services at Beth Hamedrash Hagodol[7] and Chevra Ahavas Yisroel.[9] He contributes essays and original music to the Jewish media website Hevria.[11]

Personal life

Gaisin was engaged to Chanalee Elhyani in September 2019,[2] and the couple married in January 2020.[3] When announcing the birth of his second daughter in November 2022 via Zusha's Instagram, it was remarked that Gaisin now had "almost as many kids as albums".[10] Gaisin's father passed away in 2019, and his death influenced the Zusha album When the Sea Splits.[11]

Gaisin has been a follower of Hasidism since high school[6] and appeared on the Winter 2014 cover of Jewish Action promoting an article about neo-Hasidism.[12] He has expressed a broad admiration for all strains of Hasidism, stating that "there exists in each one a complete form of the holy Baal Shem Tov."[8]

Discography

With JudaBlue
  • Forty Days EP (2010)
With Zusha
  • Zusha EP (2014)
  • Kavana (2016)
  • A Colorful World (2017)
  • When the Sea Split (2019)
  • Open the Gates (2022)

References

  1. 1 2 3 Traiger, Lisa (May 13, 2015). "Neshama Carlebach brings music festival audience to its feet". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 Shlomo Gaisin (July 15, 2015). "We Don't Know High Until We Know Low". Hevria. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  3. 1 2 Mottle Wolfe (Feb 4, 2015). "Zusha: The Jewish Hipsters Who Just Rocked Into Billboard's Top 10" (video interview). Voice of Israel. YouTube. Retrieved 27 November 2015. Note: Skip to 13:15.
  4. ↑ "Kemp Mill Synagogue Honors Shlomo Gaisin". AdJournal.com. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Blumberg, Antonia (October 26, 2014). "The Hasidic Hipsters Of Zusha Are Here To Rock The World Of Jewish Music". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Codik, Emily (May 4, 2015). "This Washington Native Wants to Make Jewish Music More Universal than Ever Before". Washingtonian. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  7. 1 2 Rukhl Schaechter (Sep 27, 2015). "Home Newcomers Transform Dying Upper Manhattan Synagogues Into Hot Spots". The Forward. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  8. 1 2 "An Exclusive Interview With Zechariah Goldschmied and Shlomo Gaisin From ZUSHA". The Jewish Vues. 2019-09-10. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  9. 1 2 Shlomo Gaisin (June 18, 2015). "The Beauty Of Going Slow". Hevria. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  10. 1 2 Wojno, Rebecca (December 7, 2014). "Wordless melodies to soothe the soul". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Shlomo Gaisin". Hevria. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  12. ↑ Cover of Winter 2014 Jewish Action, archived at Issuu.
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