Yaakov Chesed | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Long Island, New York |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2006 (2006)–2010, 2019–present |
| Labels | Sameach |
| Member of | Ohr |
| Members | Jake Polansky |
| Past members | Michael Shapiro Aryeh Kunstler Michael Moskowitz Dovi Salamon Ben Wallick |
Yaakov Chesed is an AmericanJewish rock band fromLong Island, New York. Formed in 2006, the group won Battle of the Bands competitions atYeshiva University andLander College before recording two studio albums,Rise Above (2007) andThe Passage (2009). Their name is a quote from theUva letzion prayer inShacharis.[1]
Yaakov Chesed formed in the summer of 2006 with lead singer Jake Polansky, guitarist Michael Shapiro, bassist Dovi Salamon, and drummer Michael Moskowitz. They would often meet at Polansky's house for rehearsals onMotza'ei Shabbat.[1] After Salamon left to attendYeshivat Sha'alvim in Israel,Aryeh Kunstler was chosen to replace him as bassist.
In March 2007, the band co-headlined aPurim concert at theKnitting Factory with the bandHeedoosh.[2] That same year, they wonLander College andYeshiva University's Battle of the Bands contests[3][4] and gave anNCSY-sponsoredSukkot concert inSavannah, Georgia.[5] Their debut album,Rise Above, was produced by Jake Antelis and released on December 11, 2007 by Sameach Music. The band performed at the 2008Celebrate Israel Parade's Summer Stage inCentral Park alongside thePiamenta Band, among others. This was followed by heavy touring across North America, with shows in Calgary, Washington D.C., Detroit, Miami, Boca Raton, San Diego, and Portland, OR. They also regularly performed at Jewish high schools and several universities.[6] Their second album,The Passage, co-produced by Kunstler and Antelis, was released by Sameach on November 30, 2009.
In July 2019, after a long absence, Polansky announced viaInstagram that he was reviving Yaakov Chesed as a solo project and working on a new album, using thehashtag #yaakovchesedisback.[7] Later in the year he released two singles, "Crush Me" and "Ani L'dodi"; the former premiered with a music video filmed at770 Eastern Parkway, the headquarters ofChabad. In 2020 he released another single, "Nothing But You (Ein Od)", a collaboration with his cousin Tani Polansky, who performs as Tefeelah. After several more singles in 2020 and 2021, Polansky reunited the other band members for the first time in over a decade for 2022'sReimagined EP, which saw them revisiting and rerecording several of their old songs.
On May 16, 2010, the band was recruited to play at thebat mitzvah of Alix Klein atTemple Beth Shmuel inMiami Beach. Per Klein's request, the concert benefitedALYN Hospital inJerusalem.[8]
In 2013, Kunstler and Polansky, along withThe Maccabeats' Immanuel Shalev and recording artistSimcha Leiner, were judges at V'Ata Banim Shiru, an annuala cappella competition atTorah Academy of Bergen County that benefits theKoby Mandell Foundation.[9]
BassistAryeh Kunstler has released two albums as a solo artist and has contributed guitar, vocals, songwriting, and production to several artists. Another former bassist, Ben Wallick-Tanowitz, has played for the Ruach Hakodesh wedding band and is the founder of Ben Wallick Music Productions, formerly Sonic Itch Productions.
Lead singer Jake Polansky debuted afolk rock solo project called ohr in late 2016. The project's debut EP,Side by Side, was mixed by Kunstler and mastered by Antelis and was released in 2017.[10]