The voice from the Belz

Lemmer initially worried about whether a career on a major label could even be possible, given the restrictions upon him, such as not being able to perform on Shabbat or singing with a woman. How would his existence as a pious, modest man who had only ever sung Jewish music for his community tally with the life of a globe-trotting star, rubbing shoulders with the likes of label mates Drake, Eminem and Andrea Bocelli?

“Once they started drafting the contract I said, ‘I don’t know how realistic this is. I’m an Orthodox, Hasidic, Jew. I have my limitations that I won’t do certain things.’ They asked, ‘What do you mean? What kind of things?’”

He met with several Rabbis to discuss and pre-empt potentially tricky situations in performances and recordings. “We were able to get in the contract that I can say no to anything that doesn’t align with the values I have. With that being said, the consensus of whoever I asked was, ‘Ok great, then you can do this’.”

You imagine it to have been one of the more complex contracts that Parker had ever drawn up. “It was relatively straight-forward actually”, he says, laughing. “I’ve done much more complicated deals!”

The first thing that struck Parker when the two met was how slim and fresh-faced the now 28-year-old looked. “He doesn’t look like your regular Belz Hasid — he’s very trendy, well-dressed and slim; he takes care of himself and eats well.”

With a crossover album in mind, what Parker first wanted to know, was whether Lemmer would sing in English. Lemmer said: “Of course”.

Just two straight-up Jewish songs make it onto the album: ‘Avinu Malkeinu’ and ‘Jerusalem of Gold’. Alongside these are popular numbers as diverse as the lullaby ‘Hushabye Mountain’, from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, ‘What a Wonderful World’, a gospel track featuring an all-male choir and a new song by Don Black.

The really complex process was selecting songs with lyrics that didn’t collide with Jewish law.

So far two singles have been released: ‘Jerusalem of Gold’ and classic weepie ‘Bring Him Home’, from Les Miserables — and it took an entire year after Lemmer was signed for them to be made available to the public. Every song was carefully scrutinised by Lemmer and his manager. “It was very carefully done. We felt that every step of the way no-one could be offended by what he did”, says Parker. “It was about how his community would embrace the signing from a commercial record label and wouldn’t reject him.”

He was nothing but embraced by the community. Months later, Lemmer is still humbled by the enthusiastic response of Belz members who approach him “all the time. Everyone is super proud and excited.”

“I’m so so grateful to Universal for believing in me and also giving me the opportunity and encouraging me to say who I am”, he says. “Who I believe what I am — that comes first and I wouldn’t compromise on that or anything.

“This has given me a platform which I have dreamed of — the platform to reach as many people as possible with the right message and be connected with the music.”

The right message being a distinctively positive message, he says, which was kept firmly in mind in choosing the songs.

“We were looking for songs that had a very positive, happy message, of hope and peace that would resonate with anyone with any background from anywhere in the world.”

Parker adds: “They all have this very uplifting message of hope and inspiration and it’s the idea that his voice can transcend one community and go to a wider community.”

It’s a message that serves as balm for politically divisive times — although Lemmer prefers to see it as important at all times, whatever the political climate. “There are always people personally that need that message of hope and encouragement. Any time is a perfect time.”

And his music has already transcended the Jewish community, thanks to performances such as singing the national anthem at a major football match — a San Francisco Giants game in August — and posting his own music videos on YouTube.

Online, Lemmer discovered feedback from people of all different backgrounds, countries and religions, telling him how much they have been inspired by his music and thanking him for sharing it. Apparently he has a significant following of black Christians in America.

“Someone said they went through something so bad and this is the only thing that gave them the strength to go forward”, says Lemmer.

“All these messages really make you think, ‘Wow, there’s something bigger’ — responsibility — and maybe this is a calling. This is what people tell me: ‘You came down to do this’. I truly feel blessed that it has an effect on them.”

It was certainly a goal for Parker, who was hoping the sheer power of his music would reach beyond a Jewish audience. When Parker first heard Lemmer’s soulful, expressive voice, he was blown away. “I couldn’t quite believe what voice was coming out of this guy. He has an extraordinary gift, and really knows how to use it.”

Lemmer’s heartfelt singing of traditional Jewish songs and universally recognised classics marries his musical upbringing, when he would listen to his father’s favourite cantorial music and the general contemporary Jewish music that his parents played at home.

“This is where the two worlds that I was growing up with are brought together”, says Lemmer.

“It has the emotion and soulfulness, and the connection to the lyrics, as in cantorial music, and it’s much more melodic.”

His impressive singing voice became well-known in the community and he was invited to sing at family events from bar mitzvahs to weddings.

Aside from the odd lesson along the way, Lemmer honed his vocals while singing along to his parents’ music and YouTube videos. He also dabbled in guitar and played the drum set given to him and his older brother — who shares his birthday — as an Afikomen gift one Pesach. “We both kind of gave out our energy on that drum and we taught ourselves, playing along with Jewish music.”

His brother’s training as a cantor influenced him to take singing more seriously later into his teenage years. “I figured this is what I want to do”.

In Israel, where he lived for six years and studied, he was invited to sing on an album and on joining the New York-based Shira Choir, he was quickly made a soloist.

He has loved performing live since he was a child. “When you perform, you transform people. I remember, even when I was eight or nine, you get up and start singing and everyone has a smile on their face. As I grew older people told me that they listened to this song that I recorded and it made them feel emotional or happy.

“It’s the ultimate push and makes you want to do that even more if you have such an effect on other people.”

He was also introduced to more secular artists further along his musical path: Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban and Luciano Pavarotti, whose “O Sole Mio” was a instant favourite. “I fell in love with it right away. It was like a magnet.

“From then on, I was listening to opera then crossover. Having artists bridging that gap, like Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli, was very refreshing. That brought the cantorial and the contemporary music together for the first time for me.”

As a father of three children, aged four, two and six-months, ‘Bring Him Home’ has a special resonance for him. “I do love the underlying message of what a parent would do for their child.”

Does he sing to his children? “Yeah, all the time. When I get a chance.”

With a young family, a major record label deal, a job in marketing for a start up company, and being the go-to singer for the community — he was preparing as a cantor for the Yom Kippur service when he took my call — Lemmer is a busy man. “You know what they say,” he counters. “If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life, so the same thing goes for being at home and helping out.”

Things are, well, just like the title of his album: The Perfect Dream.

“The perfect dream is also to chase your dreams without compromising who you are and what you believe in. You have to stay true to who you are. That’s the perfect dream.”