|
|
|
|
| |
|
Jewish
Jazz to Stylish Swing ...
Klezmer
"Jewish" music had by 1890 developed from
the folk idiom into a form of early jazz which had largely
concentrated itself in the seedy Moldavanka quarter
of Odessa. Here amongst the bars, cafes, dance halls
and dens an earthy improvised music was played featuring
a trumpet and clarinet attack, backed by a rhythm section.
Following the abortive Russian Revolution of 1905 and
the upheavals encountered by the Jewish Community, many
of the Klezmer musicians made their way to New York,
where in a veritable explosion of creativity, Jewish
music blended with the current American influences,
and the legendary 'Tin Pan Alley" was formed -
home predominantly to Jewish songwriters and lyricists.
It was here that the "greats" such as Irving
Berlin, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen and George Gershwin
plied their trade; and drew substantially on their Klezmer
roots for inspiration. |
|
|
| |
Photo
by Christa Stadtler |
|
|
|
|
|
It was out of this fusion of musical cultures that the amazing
phenomenon of "Showbiz" burst into being after 1919;
and where Jewish composers and librettists found fertile ground.
By 1927 with the first film talkie "The Jazz Singer",
American Art was beginning to define itself primarily in Jewish
terms; and in consort with the exciting black inspired Blues
movement that travelled from New Orleans to Chicago the Jazz
Age was born. The world has since never been the same.
During the years of prohibition (1919-1929) the Jewish gangster
chiefs, many of whom had heralded from Odessa, were busy in
their own right and set up the Dives and 'speakeasies' that
had been a feature of life in downtown Moldavanka. A curious
sociological phenomenon had occurred - Jewish Odessa had grafted
itself onto New York; and with the creation of the Jewish
manned "Murder Incorporated" ( a deadly organisation
that carried out much of the executions in the underworld)
a further fusion of art was mirrored in the outpourings of
jazz and gangster films of the 1930's. The unashamedly romantic
treatment of this violent era has nevertheless endowed itself
as much a mirror image of American culture as the "Western".
The purer "old" Klezmer music had meanwhile continued
in its own right which, with such exponents as Naphtali Brandwein
and Dave Tarras, it was now recognised as "Yiddish"
music. Great band leaders such as Abe Schwartz, Abe Ellstein
and Alexander Olshanetsky acted as a further link, and out
of their experimentation by 1939 with Klezmer jazz a pivotal
area of advance was expressed by the giant band leaders Artie
Shaw and Benny Goodman who Brought Klezmer influence into
'Swing" by the Andrews Sisters and Barry Sisters, the
two art forms had coalesced.
The credibility of Jewish influence on American Jazz, Showbiz
and popular song was perhaps best described by Cole Porter
who attributed his success to the fact that he wrote "Jewish
music", although not Jewish himself. The Klezmer Swingers
trace this development and perform in a variety of styles
taking the music into the 1940's. They perform some originals
which again has as its basis is Klezmer/Jazz ethos.
© WALLACE FIELDS 1995
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Wallace Fields
Mobile: 07961- 365 - 084
e-mail: luporoso@aol.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
