Hadassah Magazine Features Klezmer

A terrific picture by Jean Fruth of Cookie Segelstein, klezmer violinist, graces the front cover of Hadassah Magazine this month with a feature article on traditional klezmer music, written by George Robinson. There are lots of photos including Cookie, Josh Horowitz, Stu Brotman, Andy Statman, Alicia Svigals, Pete Rushefsky, Joel Rubin, Michael Winograd, Yale Strom, and others. George does a good job of explaining the branch of klezmer that focuses on traditional folk and how it differs from other groups. Cookie, Josh and Stu have a group called Veretzki Pass, which is an amazing group, especially to hear in person. It might be noted, as his article touches on the topic of sources, that we owe a debt of gratitude to klezmer musicians such as Josh Horowitz and Bob Cohen for years and years of dedicated research in Europe on recovering as much authentic music as possible. Josh has also transcribed some of his findings in a book which was briefly reviewed on this site Sephardisches Liederbuch (The Sephardic Songbook): 51 Judenspanische Lieder (51 Judeo-Spanish Songs) back in 2002. [ http://www.jmwc.org/jmwc_bookandscore_reviews.html. ] George also gives a "must haves" listing for this style of klezmer music in the article. To find out even more details about recordings and klezmer music and the musicians in this Hadassah Magazine feature, visit the Klezmershack. http://www.klezmershack.com, the world's premiere website devoted to klezmer music with over 12 years of materials, commentary and reviews of recordings, listings of bands, articles and just about anything one would like to know about klezmer music.

If you're not a member of Hadassah and don't get the magazine at home, you can find out about subscription inquiries to get a copy at 800 664-5646 or look at the Hadassah website at http://www.hadassah.org

Shma features Alicia Svigals article

Shma magazine online featured an article on the klezmer scene by Alicia Svigals. http://www.shma.com/dec_07/queen_klezmer.htm

Teapacks TONIGHT at OYHOO also article in Forward

They're on TONIGHT AT 8pm. Highline Ballroom · 08:00PM · Tickets: $30 NYC. Stop reading this, and get tickets here:
http://www.oyhoo.com/events/oyhoo-2007

Of interest: "Teapacks Push the Envelope" article in the Forward.
http://www.forward.com/articles/11806/

All About Women Cantors

The Journal of Synagogue Music Fall 2007 issue features articles celebrating 25 years of women as Conservative cantors. There are articles about, by, and for women and Jewish music in this issue (vol. 32) and will be of interest to many who may want to know more women and Jewish music. There are many excellent articles of interest, including a biographical sketch of Barbara Ostfeld by Bruce Ruben (readers are also invited to take a look at my article on Barbara in Encyclopedia Judaica), histories of women in the cantorate, a history of the Khazntes, (women who sang cantorial music albeit not in synagogue), issues of Kol Isha, and an especially interesting piece by Victor Tunkel on the music of the first women composer, Leonora Duarte (1610-1678). (I'm sure someone will want to take up that score, perform it and bring it to life.) There's also a wonderful article on the Songs of Naomi Shemer by Sam Weiss, an article about the piyyut craze of Mizrahi songs in Israel by Galeet Dardashti, and another on contemporary Ashkenazic synagogue music in Israel by Amalia Kedem..and several good reviews. The Journal of Synagogue Music is published by the Cantors Assembly.

DYB tells the story their way

This might not be the way some musicologists might tell the story, but those invested in this topic should read it.
Here's the pitch and how they tell it::

" What do Matisyahu, Blue Fringe, Klezmatics, Moshav Band, and Soul Farm all have in common?

Their direct connection to The Diaspora Yeshiva Band, the band that invented Jewish Rock!

The Diaspora Yeshiva Band¹s recordings signify, perhaps, the most influential change in modern Jewish music history. Here is an exclusive, fascinating and informative article about a history-making group, and the major fore-runners of today¹s Jewish music by one of the original founding members.

A fascinating article about the history of modern Jewish music and the influence of The Diaspora Yeshiva Band on most of today¹s Jewish music groups can be found by clicking on this link:
http://www.jewishmag.com/114mag/band/band.htm "

Nine Luminaries of Jewish Liturgical Song published by Klezmershack

Cantor Sam Weiss has published a series of articles called "Nine Luminaries of Jewish Liturgical Song" on the Klezmershack. This articles outline biographical sketches of some famous cantors along with song leaders --all together "the biographies tell the story of how the role of cantor in American public life has changed over the century, and of the new musical influences on the Shaliach Tsibur leading traditional prayers." http://www.klezmershack.com/articles/weiss_s/luminaries/

IndiePulse Article on Reboot Stereophonic

“The project is grounded in a belief that music creates conversations otherwise impossible in daily life,” says Katznelson. “The mission of the label is to trigger a new conversation about the present by listening anew to the Jewish past.” So quotes an article : online in indiepulse . We find out that the music holds the message. Reboot Stereophonic is a non-profit record label dedicated to finding all sorts of Jewish music from the past and interviewing the musicians examining "generational changes in identity, community and meaning." Part of the object of this project has been rereleases of of old recordings such as the Irving Field "Bagels and Bongos"

CALL FOR PAPERS: JEWISH CULTURAL STUDIES­PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Inaugural volume in book series on Jewish Cultural Studies, edited by Simon J. Bronner, Distinguished University Professor, The Pennsylvania State University, USA

Publisher: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, Oxford, UK

Format and Guidelines: 8,000-word essays in English, prepared electronically in Word, following Oxford Guide to Style (humanistic style with endnotes)
Deadline: May 1, 2006

Contact: Professor Simon J. Bronner, School of Humanities, The Pennsylvania State University, 777 West Harrisburg Pike, Middletown, PA 17057-4898, USA, sbronner@psu.edu

Papers are sought for an exciting new book series, JEWISH CULTURAL STUDIES, published by Littman Library of Jewish Civilization (see http://www.littman.co.uk). The inaugural volume will be on "Jewish Cultural Studies: Past, Present, and Future." The editorial board seeks contributions that explore Jewish culture as a subject of inquiry. Topics of interest for the volume include, but are not limited to, historiography of Jewish cultural studies with social psychological interpretations of figures and movements such as Yiddish nationalism, identity politics, and Jewish cultural revitalization; connections and breaks between cultural studies, religious studies, folklore and ethnology studies, and Jewish studies; uses of folklore and ethnology in the intellectual construction of Jewish culture in different countries and historic periods; models for interpreting emergent Jewish cultural movements in the twenty-first century; ideas of race, gender, and class in the perception and iconography of Jewish culture; relations between folk and popular culture, textual and visual culture, and domestic and public culture in conceptualization of Jewish culture.

The purpose of the series is to present thematic volumes interpreting Jewish cultures ethnographically and historically around the globe, and exploring the idea of Jewish culture as it has been constructed, symbolized, produced, communicated, and consumed in diverse contexts. Themes of volumes will be interdisciplinary, drawing particularly on research in folklore studies, anthropology, and cultural history and sociology. Future volumes being planned include themes of Jewish memorialization and museology, ritual and festival, consumerism and traditional culture, bodylore, and domestic Jewish life. The format of the volumes will be similar to the successful book series Polin, also published by Littman (see http://www.littman.co.uk/polin/). It typically contains 10 to 12 essays of 8000 words anchored by an introduction addressing the theme, and a section (usually 3 or 4 essays) called "New Views" of original research on Jewish studies not on the theme. Unlike many publications on Judaica studies, the Jewish cultural studies series will be exploring the secular as well as religious spheres, and the intersections of the two, with attention to the diversity of traditions and customs in the Jewish world—and particularly their significance and meaning. The publication is sponsored by the Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Section of the American Folklore Society in cooperation with the Council on the Anthropology of Jews and Judaism of the American Anthropological Association.

Essays will be peer-reviewed by an international editorial board, including:

Haya Bar-Itzhak, Haifa University, Israel
Dan Ben-Amos, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Matti Bunzl, University of Illinois, USA
Mikhail Chlenov, State Jewish Maimonides Academy, Russia
Sander Gilman, Emory University, USA
Harvey Goldberg, Hebrew University, Israel
Karl Grözinger, University of Potsdam, Germany
Ruth Ellen Gruber, Independent Scholar, Italy
Felicitas Heimann-Jellinek, Jewish Museum, Vienna, Austria
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, New York University, USA
Mikel Koven, University of Wales, UK
Suzanne D. Rutland, University of Sydney, Australia
Joachim Schlör, University of Potsdam, Germany
Laurence Sigal, Museum of Jewish Art and History, Paris, France
Steven Siporin, Utah State University, USA
Edward van Voolen, Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Jonathan Webber, University of Birmingham, UK
Jenna Weissman Joselit, Princeton University, USA

Littman Library of Jewish Civilization has been publishing books in Jewish studies since 1965 and has acquired a reputation as a leader in scholarly publishing in the field. Based in Oxford, England, Littman exhibits its publications in conferences all around the world and markets its books globally. Littman's books are published at a high standard of production, and prides itself on publishing works that are definitive and well written. Registered as a charitable foundation, profits from sales are reinvested into the production of new titles.

Members of the Jewish folklore and ethnology section of the American Folklore Society receive volumes as a benefit of membership. For more information, see http://www.afsnet.org/membership/membership.cfm

For more information, contact the editor Simon J. Bronner at sbronner@psu.edu.

Journal of Synagogue Music Fall 2005 Issue on Congregational Singing

We've just received the library issue of The Journal of Synagogue Music, published by the Cantor's Assembly and it looks like a particularly special issue: Vol. 30, No. 1, for Fall, 2005. There are theoretical articles by Samuel Rosenbaum, Max Wohlberg (excerpt from a talk from 1980), Geoffrey Goldberg, Akiva Zimmermann, Benjie Ellen Schiller and Boaz Tarsi, ... and that's just the first section. Better get your copy.

European Association for Jewish Culture Online

Review of the performances of new compositions commissioned by the European Association for Jewish Culture are in the latest edition of their Review bulletin available in pdf format. It includes 'Destination Unknown' by Adam Heidemann in Krakow, 'Stenclmusic' by Rachel Stott in London, 'Alphabet Music' by Giovanni Mancuso in Venice and others, as well as reports of new drama and films. A 16-page illustrated Review is available at: http://www.jewishcultureineurope.org/newsletter.htm

DONA FEST-2005 success in February

Polina Shepherd writes to us about the Dona-Fest just held in Moscow:

February 17-20 The Shalom Theater hosted a gala concert of the first Moscow International Festival-Seminar of Jewish music DONA FEST-2005.

The leading Jewish bands from Russia and the CIS countries, as well as European stars, clarinetist Merlin Shepherd, composer and choir leader Polina Achkinazi-Shepherd and violinist Mark Kovnatsky, took part in the festival.

European Klezmer stars and Russian and CIS leading Jewish bands, folk quartet Askenazim, The Kharkov Klezmer Band, Dona, Klezmasters, Arkady Gendler, Alina Ivakh, Psoi Korolenko, and many others took part in the gala concert. The book "The Yiddishkait Music" book was presented at the concert. The East European Jewish wedding music, Klezmer, was forgotten for a long time. It comes back to Russia today. "Such festivals accompanied by educational seminars letting music teachers share their experience were already held in Russia and the CIS. Now it is time to implement this project in Moscow," said Anatoly Pinsky, chairman of the DONA FEST-2005 organizing committee.

Neil Sedaka interview in Hadassah Magazine

Hadassah Magazine has an article about Neil Sedaka and his new Yiddish album and his upcoming concert at Carnegie Hall with the Klezmatics. http://www.hadassah.org/pageframe.asp?section=news&page=per.html&header=per&size=50 If you can't read this online, it's in available in the May, 2004 issue of Hadassah Magazine.

Jewish musicians from Poland

Ada Holtzman has begun a wonderful webpage dedicated to Jewish musicians from Poland before World War II.

Ada Holtzman has created a wonderful table of contents to the Isaachar Fater book (in Yiddish, Polish and Hebrew) "Jewish Musicians in Poland between the Two World Wars". There's a biography of Fater and several musicians taken from the book. She's translating chapters from the Hebrew version to English. The book was originally written in Yiddish. http://www.zchor.org/fater/musicians.htm http://www.zchor.org/fater/lexicon.htm

Hadassah Magazine on Jewish Fusion

Hadassah Magazine January 2004 issue has a great article this month called "Jewish fusion is Here" by Samantha Shapiro.... The lead reads "Imagine Molly Picon in a catsuit, Hallel with a bolero beat."

Hadassah Magazine, which is actually a really pretty good magazine for American Jewish arts these last number of years, discusses the new music trends... Tzadik label having now released 80 CDs, Golem, and Margo Leverett with the Klezmer Mountain Boys, Paul Shapiro, and Roberto Juan Rodriguez...(Great pic of Margot and group, and a full page pic of Roberto Juan Rodriguez with band). Mainstream media has caught on that there's really something pretty special going on in Jewish music. And let's put something into perspective: Zorn has produced about 80 albums of new Jewish music.... the Milken Archive will be releasing 50 albums of older Jewish American music. The star burst of creative energies in Jewish music is an expanding universe and growing by the hour... It's amazing, exciting, invigorating and wonderful. Stay tuned.