Harif (pronounce the "H" with a slight guttural) is the spice mix giving felafel its flavor.
We were the "house band" at Congregation B'nai Amoona in St. Louis, from 2009 through 2019.
Harif was the brainchild of B'nai Amoona's cantor, Sharon Nathanson.
About a year after we moved to St. Louis, she recognized in BelleAnne and me the missing ingredients of a group she'd been wanting to form,
mainly to play for Friday-evening (Kabalat Shabbat) services.
We formed in early 2009. At first, our bass player was Dave Simon, but after a few months he bowed out due to family and work commitments.
We replaced Dave with Steve Elfanbaum, a smart and nice guy who has been successful in the software business.
Some time later, Steve moved to guitar, and I moved to bass.
When Dan and Heidi Friedman moved to Chicago, we recruited Marilyn Humiston and Jackie Gross to play violin.
Harif is now disbanded, mostly due to the pandemic.
Our members:
 Rabbi Josef Davidson, Trumpet |
 Dan Friedman, Violin |
 Cantor Sharon Nathanson, Vocals and Violin |
 Steve Elfanbaum, Bass, Guitar |
 BelleAnne Curry, Vocals & Percussion |
 Andy Curry, Guitar, Bass, Vocals, & Arrangements |
 Celia Eidex Ciemnoczolowski, Clarinet |
 Heidi Friedman, Baritone horn |
| Marilyn Humiston, Violin | Jackie Gross, Violin |
This band was very enjoyable for me, as the arranging is a lot of fun and the musicians make the arrangements sound good.
Here are some pictures of us at Purim in 2011, in the B'nai Amoona sanctuary:
Here we are at the Kansas City Kosherfest in June 2010:
Here is an article from the St. Louis Jewish Light about a fundraiser we played for in 2011:
Copyright 2011,2013 by Andrew Curry