The Jewish Women of Rebetika, Bronx, NYC, Dec 4
The New York Public Library's Hellenic Festival presents
THE JEWISH WOMEN of REBETIKA
Songs and Stories of the legendary Greek female singers Roza Eskenazi, Amalia Baka, Stella Haskil, and Victoria Hazan
featuring
Carol Freeman - Vocals
Haig Manoukian - Oud
Megan Weeder - Violin
Free Admission
THE BRONX
Saturday, December 4 th 2:30 pm
Baychester Branch Library
2049 Asch Loop North
Co-op City
718-379-6700
5 train to Gun Hill Road to the 28 Bus (East to Co-op City) to Asch Loop
or Co-op City Express Bus from Manhattan (New York Bus Company) to Asch
Loop
Within the provocative world of the early twentieth century urban Greek Café Amans, where flamboyant characters sang about desperate love, life and death, and the seedy side of life, there were a surprising number of celebrated Greek Jewish female vocalists. Included among them was Roza Eskenazi, one of the most renowned Greek singers of all time, and Stella Haskil, who sang together with legendary .performers such as Vasilis Tsitsanis. On this side of the Atlantic, Jewish women, notably Amalia Baka and Victoria Hazan, found center stage in the immigrant Greek nightclubs of major urban centers , as well as within the American ethnic recording industry.
Although remarkably celebrated for their musical contributions to urban Greek cafe music and Rebetika, their personal histories as Jewish women are not widely known. Using live performance and excepts from personal and family interviews, acclaimed vocalist Carol Freeman, together with virtuoso instrumentalists from the Smyrneiki Kompania, pay tribute to these Greek Jewish singers with a fascinating look into the songs and the lives of these extraordinary women.