'The roadmap to world music from a Jewish slant'. We cover Klezmer and more, focusing on the edges and the sounds that express who we are now. We also provide the place for klezmorim, reputable musicians, fans, and scholars to network online.
Israeli folk-group Tapuach b'Dvash (Apple in Honey) was created in 2002. It is comprised of musicians from Ukraine and Russia, that immigrated to Israel. The ensemble presents Jewish music from all parts of the world where Jewish culture has existed and mixes various musical influences. A specialty of the band is authentic sounds and using of interesting ethnic instruments, including kaval, nei, Russian spoons, and darbuka. The experiments of sound combinations form original style of the band.
Call for Papers: "Hearing Israel: Music, Culture and History at 60"
Professors Joel Rubin and James Loeffler have issued a call for papers for a new conference:
Hearing Israel: Music, Culture and History at 60
University of Virginia
April 13-14, 2008
Deadline for submission: October 15, 2007
As the State of Israel approaches the sixtieth anniversary
of its founding in the spring of 2008, academic scholarship
continues to
focus primarily on its political life, religious and ethnic diversity,
and foreign policy. Much less attention has been devoted to the
cultural
life of Israeli society and its impact on evolving Israeli identities
across generations. One of the most dynamic yet least studied
spheres of
Israeli culture to emerge in the six decades since statehood is its
music, ranging from the worlds of pop music, rock, rap, and
musikah
mizrahit to classical, religious, and ethnic traditions. To
examine
these questions, the University of Virginia will host an historic
international conference on Israeli music on April 13 and 14,
2008.
This conference aims to generate an interdisciplinary exploration
of
Israeli music from the multiple perspectives of ethnomusicology,
history, sociology, literature, and cultural studies, among others.
We
invite all specialists in Israeli, Arabic, and Jewish culture to
submit
proposals for papers on topics related to music in Israel,
broadly
defined. Both historical and contemporary perspectives are
welcome.
Featured thematic rubrics for the conference include the role of
music
in national identity and nationalism among Israeli Jews and
Palestinian
citizens of Israel, the changing relationship between religion and
secularism, popular culture and political ideology, and the
evolution of
musikah mizrahit in Israeli society. Along with the academic
component
of the programming, the conference will also feature two
concert
performances by major Israeli artists.
Proposals for papers should include names of participants with a
brief
c.v. and a 250–350 word abstract. The Jewish Studies Program
at the
University of Virginia will provide meals and discounted lodging
for
conference participants.
Deadline for submission: October 15, 2007
Please send proposals or inquiries via e-mail or post to:
Prof. James Loeffler and/or Prof. Joel Rubin
Jewish Studies Program
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400126
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4126
From Zisl (Dmitri Slepovich), back on July 15, 2007. The delay in sharing this eulogy is entirely my fault:
I could not find strength to write you earlier. My beloved Teacher and a great friend of mine, Dr. Nina Stepanskaya passed away in Tel-Aviv after a continuos struggle with disease.
Today it is Shloyshim for Dr. Nina Stepanskaya (11.04.1954–16.06.2007), an eminent and devoted researcher of Jewish musical tradition, Professor of musicology at the Belarusian State Academy of Music. She lived and worked in Minsk, Belarus. Among her indisputable achievements are: founding an academic class on Jewish music studies in Minsk, making dozens of field recordings, including interviews and musical tradition samples in Belarus, Lithuania, and Ukraine, developing a brand new approach at understanding and systemizing Jewish musical tradition in general, and the Yiddish song and the Khazanut, in particular. Nina Stepanskaya brought up numerous generations of outstanding academic musicians and musicologists that currently are taking high ranks in world's most prestigious universities. Among her last works are the collection of articles "Evreyskaya traditsionnaya muzyka v Vostochnoy Evrope" ["Jewish Traditional Music in Eastern Europe"] (Minsk, 2006), an article "Historic and Stylistic Paradigm in Traditional Jewish Musical Culture", and an unfinished monograph "Musical Tradition of Litvak Jews". The musical heritage of Belarusian Jewry discovered by Nina Stepanskaya in expeditions and archives constitute one of the most important and large collections of Jewish musical folklore, it is also a valuable material on history of Jewish music, which cannot be underestimated.
She was loved by her students and colleagues for her delicacy, kindheartedness, wisdom, respectful attitude to others' opinion, along with ultimately high professional qualities.
Nina Stepanskaya passed away and was buried in Tel-Aviv. She was only 53.
You can read Richard's intro to the song on his blog, Tikun Olam-תקון עולם. I admire the sentiment in this new song, and hope that it presages other good things to come, but I would feel more hopeful if in the introduction to the song, he didn't feel necessary to attack a rather nice Israeli folk song of the same name, one often sung in rounds, with great feeling and camraderie. I happen not to believe that "Haveinu Shalom Aleichem" is a "tired old folk song that has outlived its usefulness"—tired, I guess because it merely makes people feel good, emphasizes bringing peace in only one language, and doesn't have a Middle Eastern melody?
Surely making peace does not need to be a subtractive process such that we must reach back to some earlier form of exclusive political correctness (current exclusive political correctness, of course, would ask "which way the prayer meeting" and sneer at anyone who isn't a fundamentalist neo-con and gung ho about tossing the liberties and constitutional protections that make this country unique, er, in the name of putting those liberties and that constitution someplace secure and locked away from everyday human protection?). I would contend quite the opposite. But that's a whole 'nother issue. So, let's start all over again, enjoy this song and its performance for the joy that it is, and if that helps us build other good things, all the better. And if people in my sukkah break out with the better known traditional form of the song, perhaps in a round, during our sukkah gathering and jam session tomorrow, why we might even go on to "Mah tovu ohalekha" or "Aleh Everyone" (once known as "aleh brider," after the first, traditional verse). To paraphrase Pete Seeger, there is a lot of good in those tired old folk songs. New ones are welcome, too!
Klezmer Brass Allstars from 2002, PLUS Gangbe Brass
Mark Rubin discovered this—the wonderful Old Town school in Chicago, breeding ground of so much damn good music—dug through their box of tapes and has begun digitizing:
Their description reads: "Another from The Vault (which I guess is what we’re calling the boxes in the basement now), this one from October 28th, 2002. An all-brass Klezmer band is a concept easy enough to get your head around (and this one is great, don’t get me wrong), but an African brass band is a mind-blower. It’s Earth, Wind & Fire meets King Sunny Ade. I kid you not. Video direction by Bob Medich."
Writer Richard Grayson reminisces about "Uncle Dave" Tarras
Many thanks to Bert Stratton, whose Yiddish Cup albums have long cheered me up when down, and who now goes the extra mile with this great spotting of a blog post by Richard Grayson about Dave Tarras:
… When I was a kid, Uncle Dave lived on Tilden Avenue in East Flatbush, just across the street from Tilden High School (closed last June and broken up into smaller schools). At one point my mother decided I should have clarinet lessons and Uncle Dave came over and gamely tried to instruct me….
I'm not sure how these folks are defining community music, but I suspect
that at least some of what goes on here fits the bill.
At any rate, I know that many of you are ethnomusicologists and I assume
that "publish or perish" is still the order of the day in academe
(It's been a while since I taught anywhere besides my shul's Hebrew
school, but I'm sure the ivory-towered salt mines haven't changed that
much),
so for your interest I enclose the notice below.
Subject: [The International Journal of Community Music
Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2007
From: Luke Roberts, luke[at]intellectbooks.com
International Journal of Community Music
Edited by Dr. David J. Elliott, Dr. Lee Higins & Dr. Kari Veblen
George Robinson posts to the Jewish-Music list in time for ראש השנה, and I just get caught up now:
Subject: [JLM] The greatest cantorial voices
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 13:23:06 -0000
To: jewishshulmusic[at]yahoogroups.com
www.operanostalgia.be September issue issue is devoted to the great
cantorial voices of yesteryear with an essay (see profiles), a photo
gallery of more than 40 often unique photos. The soundbites section
offers rare recorded material (hear Serota in opera) and there are
CD's to be won. Be quick as the sounbites are on-line for one month
only.
"A great website about the wonderful Yiddish singer and actor Aaron Lebedeff opened at the address aaronlebedeff.free.fr There is a French version and an English version. Maybe I will make a Yiddish and a Russian version. Enjoy with the lyrics, the mp3s, the complete 3-pages biography, an enormous number of pictures (available in a fews weeks), and buy the two-CD set with many songs of Lebedeff for only 25 $ (available in 2 weeks)!
Global Rhythm article on Boom Pam, exciting new Israeli Band
If there is an Israeli band that I am eager to hear, this is the one. I have missed them at least twice here in the States. Last spring, Global Rhythm did a great write-up:
Here in the States, wedding bands get a bad rap. The term is a surefire punch line and cultural shorthand for “cheesy,” conjuring up images of tuxedoed mediocrity, canned schmaltz and Adam Sandler. But Israeli surf-rockers Boom Pam are proud to wear their schmaltz on their sleeves, taking their name from a 1969 pop hit that’s become a perennial favorite at Israeli weddings—and recording a version of their own that went straight to the top of their homeland’s charts last year….
Video/Audio: Twisting Tradition: Music History and Cultural Change, LA, Spring 2007
Imagine two of the most creative people in Jewish music: Frank London and Jewlia Eisenberg on a panel moderated by their equal in cultural commentary, Josh Kun. They talk, they, sing, they play recordings. It happened at the Nextbook “Acting Jewish” festival held at UCLA in April. In a recent visit, Jewlia talked about the panel as one of the most fun event of its type in which she had participated. Listen or watch:
TWISTING TRADITION: MUSIC, HISTORY AND CULTURAL CHANGE
Musicians Jewlia Eisenberg and Frank London chat with writer Josh Kun about Jewish music, and perform live.
P.S. Pay very close attention to Jewlia talking about her new amulets project. This is very, very, very worth seeing/hearing when it comes to a location near you.
News catchup: Elaine Hoffman Watts NEA National Heritage Fellowship
Announced back in June is the delightful, and much deserved news that drummer Elaine Hoffman Watts recently won a prestigious NEA National Heritage Fellowship:
Elaine Hoffman Watts' family came to the United States from a town near
Odessa in the former Soviet Union. Her father, Jacob Hoffman, was a
prominent member of a klezmer band that was recorded in the 1920s. Elaine
received training from her father and uncles in the family's repertoire of
polkas, freilachs, mazurkas, shers, and other tunes of Eastern European
Jewish musical tradition. She became the first woman graduate in percussion
from the Curtis Institute of Music. With many opportunities before her,
Watts chose to maintain the three-generation family tradition of playing
klezmer music at weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other social events. She
points out that being a woman and a drummer often was a barrier in her
career but as one klezmer scholar observes, "Elaine is an important
role-model to young players who otherwise would have no clue that women were
indeed a part of traditional Yiddish music. Because those of us who study
traditional Yiddish culture have no homeland in Europe to which we can
return, we rely heavily on the 78-rpm recordings that were made during the
early years of the 20th century. The vast majority of musicians on those
recordings were men, and Elaine's presence is critical in redressing this
imbalance."
Review of latest Budowitz album in Songlines Magazine
Ates Temeltas, Golden Horn Baalbayis, wrote (last June):
Latest issue of Songlines magazine (July/August 2007) features a review of
the new Budowitz CD by Simon Broughton, the editor. This new album has been
selected as one of the Top of the World albums.
Here is the first and last sentence of the review:
"Budowitz are surely the best band playing old-time Jewish instrumental
music from Eastern Europe around right now....Throughout the disc the music
is raw and gutsy played with great artistry and a sense of fun."
Complete review is available at:
www.songlines.co.uk/topoftheworld/top-of-the-world.php?id=24
There are also 3 tracks from the album in the compilation CD that comes with
the magazine.
This is where you can find more info on the album:
http://www.goldenhorn.com/display.php4?content=records&page=ghp029.html
"Their star will never fade" Daoud and Saleh Al-Kuwaity
Eva Broman writes to the Jewish-Music mailing list:
In connection to the posts concerning the CD "The Diwan of The Jews from Central Yemen", I'd like to recommend another CD ("Their star will never fade") which features two very important Jewish-Iraqi musicians, Daoud and Saleh Al-Kuwaity. This is classical Arab music, composed and beautifully performed by the Al-Kuwaity brothers. I ordered my copy from israel-music.com, but I'm sure Hatikvah has it as well. Daoud's grandson, Dudu Tassa, is more of a modern rock musician, though I think that he has recorded some traditional Iraqi songs as well, like this one:
Eva continues: Here is an article from Haaretz June 5, 2006: (I have not had success finding the article on the Haaretz website now. ari)
From the King's Palace to a 'Ghetto' of Oriental Music
By: Erez Schweitzer
While Baghdad's international airport has been the scene of many unusual events, this may have been one of the strangest in its history. In 1951, a limousine burst onto the runway and blocked the path of a departing plane—not in an attempt to stop a secret shipment of weapons, fleeing spies or smuggled gold, but rather for diplomats to deliver a personal message to one of the passengers, Jewish musician Salah al Kuwaiti. Mubarak al Sabah, the ruler of neighboring Kuwait, begged him to change his mind about immigrating to Israel. According to the message, his departure would not only be a severe blow to the Kuwaiti and Iraqi culture, but it would also render the sheikh's life far less enjoyable.
"My father was determined, and they allowed the plane to take off," recounts Al Kuwaiti's son, Shlomo al Kuwaiti, who recently produced the double album "Their Star Will Never Fade," which includes his father and uncle Daoud's best works; the Al Kuwaiti brothers were among the most important and successful musicians in Iraq during the first half of the 20th century. The album, which was issued by Magda (Haozen Hashlishit - the "Third Ear") and distributed in Israel and abroad, sheds light not only on their marvelous story, but on the way in which they were erased from the cultural history of Iraq - at the behest of Saddam Hussein - and Israel, where the establishment ignored music that the immigrants had brought with them from the Arab countries.
Brothers Salah and Daoud al Kuwaiti were born in Kuwait to a family of Iraqi origin. When Salah was 10 years old and his brother was eight, they received a violin and an oud from their uncle, who had returned from a business trip to India, and began studying music. Their talent was soon discovered, and they quickly became the prodigies of Kuwaiti music. Salah began to compose, Daoud excelled in playing, and the two began to perform at events hosted by Kuwaiti high society. The first song that they wrote and performed there, "I Swear I Loved Your Beauty," is still played today on radio stations in the Persian Gulf.
"The lightning success brought the family back to Iraq, where the music market was much larger," says Shlomo al Kuwaiti. "At first the brothers returned to Basra, where they performed and recorded with great success, and later they went on to Baghdad, the major musical capital of the period, and there they became real stars. In essence, as a composer, my father founded modern Iraqi music. After years of a frozen tradition, he introduced Western elements into it, and developed the new music on the basis of the traditional makamas (a traditional form of Arabic poetry). The songs he wrote were performed by the greatest Iraqi singers, including Salima Murad and Sultana Yusuf, and were played all over the Arab world and the Persian Gulf.
"Even Umm Kulthum," continues Al Kuwaiti, "asked my father to write a song for her. That was an extraordinary event in her career. She insisted on singing only the works of Egyptian composers, but the song that he wrote for her, 'Your Heart is a Rock,' became a regular part of her repertoire. Mohammed Abdel Wahab also worked with my father. He had come to Iraq to perform, and asked to meet with him. There was immediate chemistry between them, and night after night they sat after the performances, played together and taught each other makamas from the traditions of the two countries. After the signing of the peace agreement with Egypt, in spite of the boycott imposed on Israel by artists and intellectuals, Abdel Wahab persisted and found a way to send a message of friendship to my father."
Salah and Daoud al Kuwaiti never hid the fact that they were Jewish. Although the official attitude toward Jews in Iraq was hostile, they became favorites of King Razi and were even asked to establish an orchestra for Iraqi national radio, which broadcast from the king's palace. "In effect, the Jews dominated Iraqi music. Out of 250 leading instrumentalists in Baghdad in the 1940s, only three were Muslims. There was a historical reason for this. The Ottoman government in Iraq in the 19th century was fanatic, and did not allow the Muslims to play music, claiming that it was contemptible work. The Jews then entered the vacuum that was created; they were the ones with the patience required to learn the complex Arab music. Even during the time of my father and his brother, the attitude toward the Jews was ambivalent. Officially they were discriminated against, but in everyday life they didn't feel it. In any event, thanks to music, the Al Kuwaiti brothers became favorites of the
royal family. Mubarak al Sabah of Kuwait even invited them to perform at his wedding. Actually, my father named one of his sons, my brother, Sabah, after him."
This glorious career was cut short by the brothers' decision to immigrate to Israel during the major wave of aliyah (immigration) in the early 1950s. From the moment they left Iraq, attitudes toward them changed, as they did toward the Jews altogether. "The process of erasing them from Iraqi history was gradual," says Shlomo al Kuwaiti. "During the first years, local artists, Muslims, began to appropriate some of their songs. Slowly but surely, their names disappeared from the radio programs, although the songs themselves were still played. The process came to a climax after Saddam Hussein came to power. In 1972 he established a committee in the broadcasting authority, and one of its orders was to erase the names of the Al Kuwaiti brothers from every official publication and from the curricula in the academy of music. From then on, the songs that they wrote were labeled 'of folk origin.' Incidentally, the director of the broadcasting authority during that period was Mohammed
al Sahaf
, who was the Iraqi minister of information during the period of the second American invasion of Iraq, and is remembered for his grotesque television appearances."
The Kuwaiti brothers were not treated properly in Israel, either. After undergoing a difficult absorption process, they performed on the Voice of Israel radio broadcasts in Arabic, but felt they were being forcefully pushed into a marginal ghetto of Oriental music, which the establishment treated with hostility. "They had a weekly program on the Voice of Israel in Arabic, the broadcast of a live performance that was very popular both among native Iraqis in Israel and in the neighboring countries," says Shlomo al Kuwaiti, "but they lived with an unpleasant sense of humiliation. In Iraq they had left behind a fortune, and were at home in the king's palace, and here they were treated with suspicion and arrogance.
"If that wasn't bad enough, it hurt them to hear their songs on Arab radio stations without any mention of their names, at best, and with their songs accredited to another artist, at worst. They loved Iraq, and the way they were demonized there hurt them greatly. I think that the combination of the two factors—rejection from the outside and rejection from the inside—was what led my father to forbid us, his children, to study music. He really insisted on that. I tell Dudu that he's lucky his grandfather is no longer alive, otherwise he wouldn't have allowed him to become a musician."
Dudu is singer Dudu Tasa, Daoud's grandson. Tasa performed the songs of the Al Kuwaiti brothers on the soundtrack of the film "Sof Haolam Smola" ("Turn Left at the End of the World") and exposed their works to a broad Israeli public.
The Al Kuwaiti brothers' name has only been restored in Iraq now, after their deaths (Daoud died in 1976, Salah in 1986.) The downfall of Saddam Hussein somewhat changed the cultural climate in Iraq, and researchers and media people are now trying to restore its musical heritage. About half a year ago, a television series about 20th century Iraqi music was broadcast, and the Al Kuwaiti brothers enjoyed broad coverage in it, as befits their contribution. As a result, their name began to appear again on their songs, which are basic and valued assets to Arab music. On another occasion, they won the title of "audience favorites" among the composers in their country.
Moreover, the restoration of their name has aroused a public debate in Kuwait and Iraq, with each of the countries trying to claim ownership of their legacy. "After the album was issued about two months ago," says Shlomo al Kuwaiti, "the debate began once again in the two countries. Although the CD is not being distributed in either of them, I sent it to journalists and scholars, who are arousing renewed interest in the Al Kuwaiti legacy. Interestingly, Kuwait is arguing that even though they worked mainly in Iraq, the establishment should recognize their work as part of the national heritage. In Lebanon an article was published that proves that many of the songs that are considered Arab masterpieces, and have been adopted by the Muslim world, are actually the work of Jews. In this context, it should be pointed out that my father was always opposed to mixing politics and art, although he took advantage of his status in Iraq in order to help the Jewish community in its ties with the government."
In Israel too, says Al Kuwaiti, the attitude toward the Judeo-Arab musical legacy is beginning to change: "After years of alienation, the members of the second and third generations of Iraqi immigrants are searching for a connection to their heritage and want to hear and study our music. And in general, people in Israel are more open today to listen to traditional music from various sources, perhaps because of the popularity of what is described as world music. Thanks to it, the serious Mizrahi music (of North African or Middle Eastern origin), not what is called 'Mediterranean songs,' is being increasingly accepted by the audience, although the establishment is not always a partner to the process."
An opportunity to amend the injustice will present itself in 2008, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Salah al Kuwaiti, which will be marked in Israel by a concert and the publication of a book of research. Similar events will be held in Iraq and Kuwait as well.
I recently released Like a Braided Candle: Songs for Havdalah. It is a unique collection of songs for Havdalah, in a variety of musical styles and traditions. It includes three klezmer arrangements (performed by members of The Village Klezmer Quintet), one of which is an original song called "A Gute Voch."
Rare recording of klezmer great Shloimke Beckerman uncovered. Help Living Traditions release and distribute this treasure in memory of his son, Sid Beckerman, z"l
This last April 4th, the klezmer music world lost one of its best loved and most important members, clarinetist Sid Beckerman who died at the age of 87 of the effects of Alzheimer's Disease. Sid was a beloved teacher and mentor at KlezKamp from the very first KlezKamp.
Ironically, at just about the same time, some astounding sound footage from the 1950s turned up of Sid's father and teacher Shloimke Beckerman, demonstrating what an astounding and unique musician he was, even at the age of 70. Recorded at a family gathering, the recording features Shloimke powerfully playing a wide variety of shers, bulgars, doinas and freylekhs. Sadly, Sid, who knew nothing of the home field recording, was too far affected by his illness to appreciate this amazing discovery and died without ever hearing it.
In an effort to memorialize the great contributions Sid made to our community Living Traditions is undertaking to digitally remaster and issue this astounding sound footage—plus several of Shloimke's jaw-dropping clarinet solos form the 1920s—to raise money for a scholarship fund in Sid's honor.
To this end, Sid's best friend and cornerstone of the klezmer scene, Pete Sokolow has generously contributed $1,000 to this $5,000 project. We are reaching out to the Living Traditions/KlezKamp community to join Pete to help us underwrite this critically important project. Any amount is welcome and all donations will be noted in the CD card insert. Please contribute at our website, www.livingtraditions.org (indicate that your donation is for the Beckerman Fund) or contact our office to donate by phone or by mail.
Frank London's "A Night in the Old Marketplace" premieres in Philly, Sep 29, 2007
A Night in the Old Marketplace
September 28 - October 21 2007
Book and Lyrics by Glen Berger
Music by Frank London
Conceived by Alexandra Aron
Inspired by I.L. Peretz
Klezmer giant and Grammy-winner Frank London and Emmy-winner Glen Berger spin a magic tale set to Klezmer music of spirits who come alive to right an ancient wrong in this fantastic journey to rediscover the meaning of faith.
On the importance of reading email--another reminder
For weeks I have noticed problems with serving the Klezmershack pages. But nobody complained, so I figured it was just some weirdness on my computer. I also ignored email from my ISP (internet service provider) about how they were upgrading my webserver from one version to another, and in particular, how some configuration options would change.
Ho ho ho.
At any rate, this afternoon I confirmed that the Klezmershack pages were unusable. Oops. Once I got home from work and did my homework (oh, so appropriately I am taking a course in, um, "Software Quality Assurance" this semester. Don't expect time to retrofit what I've learned here :-).), it took only a few minutes to find the error and fix it. I also discovered that the "control panel" provided by my ISP lies, lies, lies. I wasted a good half hour testing various configuration options to no effect. Well, duh. If the control panel doesn't write the changes to your disk....
Fortunately, I am a seasoned professional. I put on a bit of music by the latest new arrival, "The Lithuanian Empire" and proceeded to unscramble all. As long as I'm working on this stuff, maybe I'll make time during Sukkoth to fix font sizes and the ability to comment on posts and stuff.
I'm catching up on days of RSS and several people seem to have installed something new called "Snap Shots." I like it because it provides a preview of where a link goes—you don't just find yourself somewhere else, you can look, first. Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, MySpace profiles, IMDb profiles and Amazon products, display inline videos, RSS, MP3s, photos, stock charts and more. (Can you tell that I copied this text off the Snap Shots site? What links should really be here?)
This may get tiring, or be just another bit of interference. Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.
Those who have treasured the new "Tantshoyz" series that Pete Rushefsky has initiated in NYC, will be thrilled at the following news. Ah, if I could figure out a way to make this happen in Boston....
New Yiddish Dance Class at NY's 92 St. Y presented by Center for Traditional Music and Dance and the 92 St. Y.
CTMD announces a new partnership with Manhattan's 92 St Y to offer a series of Yiddish dance classes beginning in September led by Walter Zev Feldman and other master dance leaders.
Building on our monthly Tantshoyz (dance house) series at the JCC in Manhattan, the 92 St. Y classes will provide intermediate and advanced dancers with a more in-depth opportunity to explore classic Yiddish and coterritorial dances such as the sher, hora/zhok, freylekhs, honga, hora moldavaneasca and bulgar. Special focus will also be given to the expressive power and gestures of solo dance. Classes will feature live klezmer music performed by Jake Shulman-Ment on violin and Pete Rushefsky on tsimbl (hammered dulcimer).
Eight, three-hour sessions will be held on the following Sundays: September 30, October 21, November 18, January 20, February 17, March 30, April 27, and June 1. Cost for the series is $250 (interested participants must register for the entire series). To register or for more information, go to the 92nd St. Y website or call Pete Rushefsky at 212-571-1555 ext. 36 or E-mail Pete Rushefsky.
And stay tuned for information about a new season of Tantshoyzen and a December 9 Symposium at NYU entitled Defining Yiddish Dance: Sacred, Secular, Borrowed and Transformed.
The Center for Traditional Music and Dance's Yiddish Dance Project is supported by the Forward Association, the New York State Council on the Arts Division of Folk Arts and public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.
I cannot claim to have "gotten" Steve Goodman during his lifetime. I dug Arlo Guthrie and treasured my copy of "Hobo's Lullaby" with its recording of "The City of New Orleans." But, I'm not much of a folkie. The Jewish kid from Chicago, high school classmate of Hilary Clinton, may have spent his youth singing in his suburban Temple choir, but his musical heart and soul were in Americana--in the blues he soaked up in Chicago clubs, in the folk songs that he learned everywhere, and in his own compositions, from "My Old Man," to "Men who love women who love men" and the "Dying Cub Fan's Last Request." Like fellow Chicagoan Mike Bloomfield, Goodman may have come from Jewish ancestry, but it was not an overt part of any of his music. Nor was he overtly political. And his records, at least those I encountered during his life, never moved me.
I owned one of his LPs for several years—his second release on Asylum—the one featuring the Tom Lehrer-zany "Death of a Salesman," but it was an easy CD to pass on to another friend. Then, a few years ago, I encountered a definitive collection (No Big Surprise: Anthology) with a whole insane live disk, and the joy and craft that he brought to music began to sink in. Now Clay Eals has written the only (and definitive by any measure) biography of Goodman. At 8x10 and two inches thick (complete with accompanying CD) this is not a book to be taken lightly. As documentation of a remarkable life and incredible music, it excels. It's just one of those books worth reading because it's well-written. I suspect that it would have won Goodman even more listeners if it had been 1/3 the size, but I'm really not sure what should have been cut out. Goodman wrote incredibly good songs, performed like a demon, and until he took over making his records himself, at the very end of his very short life (he died of leukemia at 38), he made okay-to-mediocre records. Good friends and cohorts such as John Prine and Jimmy Buffet became more famous. (Think of those two in the same sentence.) But Goodman's songs remain with us—those he wrote himself, like "Chicken Cordon Bleus" or "Vegemetic" (his humorous songs are the ones the grab me hardest) and those by others, like "The Dutchman" that he first popularized. But the book isn't just about Steve, it's about a whole folk scene that gave us Goodman, Prine, and helped make Chicago a synonym for incredible folk music, along with the city's blues.
Call for Papers: Hearing Israel: Music, Culture, and History at 60
Call for Papers—Hearing Israel: Music, Culture and History at 60
University of Virginia
April 13-14, 2008
As the State of Israel approaches the sixtieth anniversary of its founding in the spring of 2008, academic scholarship continues to focus primarily on its political life, religious and ethnic diversity, and foreign policy. Much less attention has been devoted to the cultural life of Israeli society and its impact on evolving Israeli identities across generations. One of the most dynamic yet least studied spheres of Israeli culture to emerge in the six decades since statehood is its music, ranging from the worlds of pop music, rock, rap, and musikah mizrahit to classical, religious, and ethnic traditions. To examine these questions, the University of Virginia will host an historic international conference on Israeli music on April 13 and 14, 2008.
Please send proposals or inquiries via e-mail or post to:
Prof. James Loeffler and/or Prof. Joel Rubin
Jewish Studies Program
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400126
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4126 www.virginia.edu/jewishstudies
This conference aims to generate an interdisciplinary exploration of Israeli music from the multiple perspectives of ethnomusicology, history, sociology, literature, and cultural studies, among others. We invite all specialists in Israeli, Arabic, and Jewish culture to submit proposals for papers on topics related to music in Israel, broadly defined. Both historical and contemporary perspectives are welcome.
Featured thematic rubrics for the conference include the role of music in national identity and nationalism among Israeli Jews and Palestinian citizens of Israel, the changing relationship between religion and secularism, popular culture and political ideology, and the evolution of musikah mizrahit in Israeli society. Along with the academic component of the programming, the conference will also feature two concert performances by major Israeli artists.
Proposals for papers should include names of participants with a brief c.v. and a 250-350 word abstract. The Jewish Studies Program at the University of Virginia will provide meals and discounted lodging for conference participants.
Deadline for submission: October 15, 2007
Please send proposals or inquiries via e-mail or post to:
Prof. James Loeffler and/or Prof. Joel Rubin
Jewish Studies Program
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400126
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4126 www.virginia.edu/jewishstudies
This came in via email while I was at KlezKanada, from someone who signed herself as "Cool Yankee Girl". Must agree with the sentiment expressed (even if I am somewhat apprehensive at hearing about Chanukah music in Elul):
Oy Vey Channukah, an awesome cd.I remember dancing around my living room listening to that cd. I loved it and I still do. I think the cd has really corny jokes, but they are great because the corninous (if that is a real word) makes them hilarious. The klezmer music is great and fun. Oy Vey Channukah is the best cd ever! It totally Rocks!
Yale Strom kicks off "Great Day on Eldridge Street," Oct 11, 2007
The Eldridge Street Project brings together more than 75 klezmer musicians from around the globe for "a great day on eldridge street"
Unprecedented Gathering of Klezmer Legends and the World’s Most Influential Klezmorim For Photo Shoot Inspired by the Iconic "Great Day in Harlem" Photo
October 12 Procession and Photograph on the Steps of the Landmark Eldridge Street Synagogue Kicks Off Statewide "Great Day" Tour
NEW YORK, NY (Sept. 15, 2007)—The Eldridge Street Project will assemble more than 75 of the world’s most influential klezmer musicians for “A Great Day on Eldridge Street,” an unprecedented, ten-day series of concerts, lectures and educational events that will kick-off on October 12 with a march through the streets of the Lower East Side and an historic photo shoot on the steps of the National Historic Landmark Eldridge Street Synagogue. The photo is inspired by “A Great Day in Harlem,” the iconic 1958 photograph of renowned jazz musicians, including Thelonius Monk, Dizzie Gillespie and Count Basie.
This unique gathering of international musicians is conceived and led by Yale Strom, a klezmer virtuoso and the world’s leading ethnographer of klezmer culture and history. “I was influenced by the film A Great Day in Harlem and wanted to do something similar for klezmer culture,” says Strom. “The Lower East Side is the birthplace of Eastern European Jewish culture in America. And Eldridge Street is the oldest East European Orthodox synagogue, and an important site of traditional Jewish culture. I can’t think of a more appropriate place to take this photograph.”
The ten-day celebration will highlight klezmer, the wedding and folk music predominantly played by Eastern European Jews. Derived from Near Eastern and East European music sources, and influenced by the regions’ classical and folk traditions, klezmer is a decidedly multi-cultural musical form. Brought to the United States by Eastern European Jewish immigrants, its popularity waned by the 1950s as Jews looked to American musical sources. But klezmer experienced a revival beginning in the 1970s when young musicians interested in their East European Jewish roots reclaimed this musical tradition, incorporating American jazz and rock influences.
“Klezmer music is a remarkable, vital art form that spans countries, backgrounds and generations,” said Bonnie Dimun, executive director of the Eldridge Street Project. “Our hope is that this celebration will bring about a renewed appreciation for klezmer, both as a wonderful form of entertainment and an important aspect of Jewish culture.”
Musicians participating in A Great Day on Eldridge Street will travel to the Lower East Side from across the United States and around the world, including Canada, Israel, Europe and the former Soviet Union. They include pioneers of the klezmer renaissance, such as David Krakauer, Frank London and Andy Statman, guiding figures including folk singer and actor Theodore Bikel and MacArthur Award winner John Zorn, and more recent practitioners of the genre. Other featured participants are Don Byron, the world-famous African American jazz clarinetist who is an original member of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, as well as leading female klezmorim Adrienne Cooper and Alicia Svigals. International figures include Moshe Berlin, the famed Israeli clarinetist who will be performing for the first time in America, and members of the aptly named Amsterdam klezmer revival band Di Gojim—none of whom is Jewish.
The participants range in age from nineteen year old Stephanie Tarras great-granddaughter to David Tarras) to octogenarians Mina Bern and Shifra Lehrer, grand dames of Yiddish theatre. A number of the Great Day on Eldridge Street participants come from a long, esteemed line of klezmorim, including Sy Tarras, son of the late great klezmer clarinetist David Tarras, Ray Muziker, Peter Sokolow, Eleanor Reissa, Adrienne Cooper, Joel Rubin, Elizabeth Schwartz, etc.
The events of this multi-faceted cultural, performance and documentation project will include:
Thursday, October 11: Educational workshop with select group of musicians and second grade students at local Chinatown public school P.S. 1
Friday, October 12: Procession 11:30am from the Eldridge St. Synagogue to Seward Park featuring the musicians as they march down the streets of the Lower East Side. Photographer Leo Sorel will then take a portrait of the group at 9am.
Saturday, October 12th: Major evening concert at Elebash recital hall at the CUNY graduate center. Located 365 5th Ave. and 34th St. 8pm. FREE. Michael Alpert, Bob Cohen (Budpaest), Di Gojim (Holland), Phyllis Berk, Zalman Mlotek, Judy Bressler, etc. The evenings host will be NPR’s Ellen Kushner.
Sunday, October 14: Major evening concert at Symphony Space (96th St. and Broadway) in Manhattan. 8pm. Call: 212 864- 1414. Theo Bikel, Don Byron, Elizabeth Schwartz, Michael Alpert, Andy Statman, Hankus Netsky, etc. The evening’s host will be actor/director Isaiah Sheffer.
October 15-21: Statewide Great Day Tour with performances and educational workshops at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeeepsie (October 16), The 1891 Fredonia Opera House (October 18), Buffalo State Performance Arts Center (October 20) and the 1890 Performance Hall at Hochstein in Rochester (October 22)
The Great Day Tour will feature a select group of thirteen renowned klezmer musicians: Moshe Berlin, Paul Brody, Robert Cohen, Arkady Gendler, Rachel Lemisch, David Licht, Barry Mitterhoff, Leon Pollack, Elizabeth Schwartz, Norbert Stachel, Peter Stan, Jim Whitney and Yale Strom.
GOT MUSIC? November 1 DEADLINE for submissions to Shalshelet's Third International Festival.
Shalshelet: The Foundation for New Jewish Liturgical Music is currently accepting submissions for its Third International Festival of New Jewish Liturgical Music.
Guidelines and applications are available at www.shalshelet.org/submission.html. November 1, 2007 is the postmark deadline. The Shalshelet Music Review Committee will announce results on March 1, 2008. The Festival takes place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 13 to 16, 2008. Questions: E-mail Shalshelet
L'shanah tovah tikatevu—It sounds like Chanukah already!
I participate in an online forum called The WELL. Every year about this time, someone opens a topic in one of the general discussion areas about early sightings (and hearing) of music and decorations relating to the brand X holiday that occurs around the winter solstice. I have always felt smugly secure, because I have never walked into a store in August, or even September (when most of us have other things on our minds) and heard "I have a little Dreidl."
That is changing. Once upon a time, Chanukah was noted for simple kids' songs—the aforementioned one, "Dreidl, Dreidl, Dreidl," or for the more culturally aware, "Ocho Kandelikos." For adults, there was always a rockin' version of "Ma'oz Tzur." to enjoy. And then Adam Sandler changed the world.
The whole concept of Chanukah song changed! We no longer have to put up with tepid songs about dreidls, latkes and the Maccabees (remember them?) We have a whole new field of songs about "Chanukah-ness"! The concept was forcefully brought home by the delightful The Levees with their songs about "My Goyish Friends" and "Apple sauce or Sour Cream," or by songs off recent fund-raising anthologies about "Chanukah in Boston" and the like.
But where was I? Oh yes, the idea of hearing about Chanukah when I am smack in the middle of thinking about the High Holidays almost upon us, and this year's entry into "Chanukah-ness," a band called "Poppa's Kitchen". They mark the year's first entry in the "sounds like Chanukah" contest. They didn't wait until Thanksgiving. They didn't wait until Halloween. Nope, it's in my email box now. Do with it what you will.
The band has a website, as well, www.arockinhanukkah.com. Maybe these will be the folks to take us beyond Adam Sandler. With so many people talking about how there aren't any good songs about Chanukah, surely one of them will catch on. Or, maybe a holiday dedicated to the power of oil (from the lamp to the latkes) will have to limp by with a gambling franchise (ever tried to bet on spinning Christmas tree bulbs?), cholesterol-destroying food, and the pyromaniac in all of us.
Jewish Songs at an Exhibition, SF Bay Area, Sep 5-9
They Called Me Mayer July: Painted Memories of a Jewish Childhood in Poland Before the Holocaust, the result of 40-year collaboration between Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, and her father, Mayer Kirshenblatt, has appeared! www.mayerjuly.com
CONCERT
Yiddish Songs at an Exhibition
JCC, East Bay
1414 Walnut Street, Berkeley
Saturday, September 8th: preconcert talk at 8:00 pm, concert at 8:30 pm
http://www.jewishmusicfestival.org/article/jewish-songs-at-an-exhibition">www.jewishmusicfestival.org/article/jewish-songs-at-an-exhibition
Yiddish singer Sharon Bernstein (voice & piano) and klezmer pioneers Stu Brotman (bass & percussion) and jazz mainstay Sheldon Brown (reeds) join forces in a unique performance set to paintings by self-taught Toronto artist Mayer Kirshenblatt. Kirshenblatt's vibrant portraits of his home town Apt, Poland before the Holocaust inspire a rich blend of traditional song and contemporary sound.
EXHIBITION OPENING
September 9th
11:30-2:00 Members Only Preview Event
2:00-4:00 Open to the public: Conversation with Mayer Kirshenblatt and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett
2911 Russell Street, Berkeley, CA 94705
Contact:Lauren Karas 510-549-6950 ext. 340.
The exhibition will run through January 13, 2008. It is open to the public Sun-Wed 11-4, Th 11-8. www.magnes.org
They Called Me Mayer July is being co-presented at the MAGNES with The Museum of Craft and Folk Art, San Francisco and the Holocaust Center of Northern California. This project has been made possible through a grant from the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture and the generosity of Jean and Sandy Colen, Varda and Irving Rabin, and Katie and Amnon Rodan.
David Krakauer to lead April workshops at Carnegie Hall; Applications open Sept 15, 2007
Each year, The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall presents several Professional Training Workshops which offer a unique opportunity for young musicians to be coached and trained by today's master artists in an intimate setting.
Renowned klezmer musician David Krakauer will lead a workshop exploring both the traditional and experimental sides of klezmer this season. The workshop will take place in April 2008. Interested musicians may apply beginning on September 15.
Further information about this workshop and an online application will be available by September 15, 2007 at www.weillmusicinstitute.org/workshops. To receive updates on this and other Professional Training Workshops, please call 212-903-9733.
Beginning on September 15, The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall will be accepting applications for the David Krakauer Workshop: Exploring Klezmer, which will take place in New York City from April 8 to 13, 2008. Mr. Krakauer, an internationally acclaimed clarinetist and one of the foremost musicians in the new wave of klezmer music, leads a five-day workshop exploring both the traditional and experimental sides of klezmer. Renowned klezmer musicians Alicia Svigals (fiddle), Michael Alpert (voice/accordion/violin/guitar/percussion), and SoCalled (digital sampling/DJ) join Mr. Krakauer as guest faculty and offer instruction in their various areas of expertise. The workshop culminates in a public performance by the participants in Zankel Hall.
Musicians between the ages of 18 and 30 with backgrounds in classical, jazz, or klezmer music are invited to apply. The workshop is open to musicians applying individually and in pre-formed ensembles. Approximately 20 musicians will be selected.
Further information about this workshop and an online application will be available by September 15, 2007 at www.weillmusicinstitute.org/workshops. To receive updates on this and other Professional Training Workshops, please call 212-903-9733.
From Israel: Check out new cd "From Grey To Blue With Itzik Manger" with Yiddish Songs
and Klezmer music!
From Zisl (Dmitri Slepovich), back on July 15, 2007. The delay in sharing this eulogy is entirely my fault:
Many thanks to 
Subject: [JLM] The greatest cantorial voices
If there is an Israeli band that I am eager to hear, this is the one. I have missed them at least twice here in the States. Last spring, Global Rhythm did a great write-up:
Elaine's profile from 
Latest issue of Songlines magazine (July/August 2007) features a review of
the new Budowitz CD by Simon Broughton, the editor. This new album has been
selected as one of the Top of the World albums.
I recently released Like a Braided Candle: Songs for Havdalah. It is a unique collection of songs for Havdalah, in a variety of musical styles and traditions. It includes three klezmer arrangements (performed by members of 
Rare recording of klezmer great Shloimke Beckerman uncovered.
A Night in the Old Marketplace
I cannot claim to have "gotten" Steve Goodman during his lifetime. I dug Arlo Guthrie and treasured my copy of "Hobo's Lullaby" with its recording of "The City of New Orleans." But, I'm not much of a folkie. The Jewish kid from Chicago, high school classmate of Hilary Clinton, may have spent his youth singing in his suburban Temple choir, but his musical heart and soul were in Americana--in the blues he soaked up in Chicago clubs, in the folk songs that he learned everywhere, and in his own compositions, from "My Old Man," to "Men who love women who love men" and the "Dying Cub Fan's Last Request." Like fellow Chicagoan Mike Bloomfield, Goodman may have come from Jewish ancestry, but it was not an overt part of any of his music. Nor was he overtly political. And his records, at least those I encountered during his life, never moved me.
) with a whole insane live disk, and the joy and craft that he brought to music began to sink in. Now Clay Eals has written the only (and definitive by any measure) biography of Goodman. At 8x10 and two inches thick (complete with accompanying CD) this is not a book to be taken lightly. As documentation of a remarkable life and incredible music, it excels. It's just one of those books worth reading because it's well-written. I suspect that it would have won Goodman even more listeners if it had been 1/3 the size, but I'm really not sure what should have been cut out. Goodman wrote incredibly good songs, performed like a demon, and until he took over making his records himself, at the very end of his very short life (he died of leukemia at 38), he made okay-to-mediocre records. Good friends and cohorts such as John Prine and Jimmy Buffet became more famous. (Think of those two in the same sentence.) But Goodman's songs remain with us—those he wrote himself, like "Chicken Cordon Bleus" or "Vegemetic" (his humorous songs are the ones the grab me hardest) and those by others, like "The Dutchman" that he first popularized. But the book isn't just about Steve, it's about a whole folk scene that gave us Goodman, Prine, and helped make Chicago a synonym for incredible folk music, along with the city's blues.
Steve Goodman: Facing the music
Shalshelet: The Foundation for New Jewish Liturgical Music is currently accepting submissions for its Third International Festival of New Jewish Liturgical Music.
They Called Me Mayer July: Painted Memories of a Jewish Childhood in Poland Before the Holocaust, the result of 40-year collaboration between Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, and her father, Mayer Kirshenblatt, has appeared!