Quick Hits: Celtic (Kare Strong & Josh Goforth) and Spanish/English (Moozika) Kid's Music

Don't ever call children's music predictable because sometimes you will be surprised, astounded, or utterly impressed by elements of an unexpected release. However Kare Strong and Josh Goforth have produced an impeccably produced collected of Celtic songs aimed at kids, BENEATH THE CHERRY TREE, which is mostly what one would conjure – Kare's poetry about nature and plenty of Josh's Grammy-nominated fiddle playing.

BENEATH THE CHERRY TREE is wistful, imaginative, and perfect for the Celtic family that lives near you. There isn't a rocking guitar and rap verse anywhere on this CD, and if that spells musical heaven for you, then grab this collection from Kare and Josh's website, Amazon, or Apple Music.

If you're Jewish and you want to become a music educator, what other path is there to follow but to put out a Spanish-English children's music CD? That's the course that Brooklyn's Jesse Goldman has followed, taking his Moozika! program and shifting it sideways and putting it on disc. Jesse seeks to create an age-appropriate space for his curriculum, and if your little ones are indeed that – little ones – then Moozika could be something for you to consider. The program is highly ranked and listed as one of New York magazine's top three music classes for children.

The debut CD, MOOVE TO THE MOOZIKA! (available October 25 from his website and Soundcloud) is 14 tracks of (mostly) English and (some) basic Spanish words, on tracks such as "Burro," "Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro," and "Limpia." Ozomatli's much funkier track. In the meantimes, viva la Goldman for his consistency and hasta luego for now, muchachos.  Hailing itself as city-based adventure songs, the CD covers elements of urban dwelling with "Brooklyn Baby" and "Roly-Poly Train." Then again, I haven't seen a "Moose on the Loose" in these parts.

Here is the video for "Moove to the Moozika":