Debbie Friedman Passes

DEBBIE FRIEDMAN, 59, a renowned practitioner of Jewish music, died yesterday of complications from pneumonia. The Utica, NY-born performer was raised in St. Paul, MN, and recognized as “an icon who revolutionized the world of contemporary Jewish music,” named by the Jewish Daily Forward one of the 50 men and women who have “significantly impacted Jewish life.” She played Carnegie Hall three times and was the subject of the 2004 documentary A Journey of Spirit, releasing 20 albums since her 1972 debut. "From the beginning of my career, I’ve tried to help people see how prayer can be a source of comfort in both good times and bad," she said upon the release last year of her album As You Go On Your Way: Shacharit--The Morning Prayers—which she hoped would give people a means of intimate and personal prayer in coping with difficult times. (1/11a)