Soulful: Lockwood and Ziegler reinterpreted ?Melodies I Have Seen.? Image by Courtesy of Jeremiah Lockwood

While doing my research for the third installment of The Nigun Project, I discovered a melody in a Yiddish chapbook that was published in New York City in 1947. The book bears the striking title “Yiddish Nigunim I Have Heard…and Seen.” This magical little book, compiled by Moshe Gutman, constitutes a kind of testimonial and tribute to the author’s village in Europe, newly relegated to the rubble of memory by the devastation of the war. The soulful and rich melodies transcribed by Gutman from the memories of his youth bespeak a rich and complex world. The melodies communicate both the workaday melancholy and commonplace pleasures of life.

For this piece I had the great privilege of working with Itamar Ziegler, an incredibly talented musician whose work will be familiar to readers from his recordings as bass player with Balkan Beat Box. I first encountered Itamar through his work with the Brooklyn-based avant-garde rock band Pink Noise and later fell in love with his accomplished and extremely funky solo albums. His third solo effort is about to be released in Israel and Europe, and will also be available online stateside.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

On this track, entitled “Melodies I Have Seen,” Itamar is on bass moog synthesizer and drum programming, and we both weigh in with guitars and vocals.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount