Kosher Gospel, Joshua Nelson November 13, 2005

He has sung for presidents and prime ministers, in synagogues and churches, with Wynton Marsalis and Aretha Franklin, even on "Oprah." At his best, he sounds like he's channeling the legendary Mahalia Jackson, with whom he fell in love as an 8-year-old growing up in Newark. But at the heart of every song Joshua Nelson, 28, performs is the simple desire to bring people closer to God. A Jewish African-American (he calls himself "the KKK's worst nightmare"), the Grammy-nominated gospel singer brings his combination of African-American spiritual styles and Jewish liturgical music to the East Midwood Jewish Center on Sunday, November 13th, at 4:00 PM.