This is the Forward’s coverage of Jewish music, including klezmer and other traditions.
Music
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The Schmooze Gilberto Gil’s Party in the Park
Crossposted from Haaretz One of Gilberto Gil’s first hits is called “Domingo no Parque” — Sunday in the park. Gil sang it in 1967 during a televised music festival with the fabulous Os Mutantes, and although another song won first place, “Domingo no Parque” launched the Brazilian’s career and became the signature tune of Tropicalia,…
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The Schmooze Monday Music: Traveling the ‘Czechgrass’ Trail
Courtesy of Druha Trava I’ve just spent two days in a Prague studio helping record the vocal tracks for a new CD by the Czech country/bluegrass/fusion group Druha Trava. Founded 20 years ago, DT has brought out more than a dozen albums, including several in English. The new CD is the first that will primarily…
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The Schmooze Mourning Amy Winehouse’s Lost Jewish Future
On July 23, London police were called to Amy Winehouse’s Camden apartment where they found the bluesy singer-songwriter dead. In addition to the sadness of losing such a talented musician early in her career, there’s a more prosaic tragedy as well. Talking to a Perth newspaper in 2007, the troubled Winehouse said that she dreamed…
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The Schmooze Paul Simon Wows Crowd in Tel Aviv
Crossposted from Haaretz It didn’t matter where you sat, stood or danced at Thursday night’s Paul Simon concert in Tel Aviv, the music swirled around you and swept you up. For such a large venue, there was an intimacy normally associated with club gigs, which emanated directly from the artist and extended right to the…
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The Schmooze Amy Winehouse, a Jewish Addition to the ‘Forever 27 Club’?
Amy Winehouse, the British, Jewish, hard-living soul singer was found dead today in her North London apartment. She was 27. Given her age, Winehouse is already being compared to other singers and musicians who died at 27, otherwise known as the “Forever 27 Club.” These include Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones (found dead at the…
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The Schmooze Jazz for Thinking People
Crossposted from Haaretz Jonathan Greenstein is a young saxophone player who lives and performs in Tel Aviv. His debut album “Thinking,” on the Spanish label Fresh Sound, takes him elegantly from the category of promising jazz musician to that of jazz musician who is keeping his promise, and it’s a pleasure to be an ear…
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The Schmooze Yehuda Poliker’s Promising Mix of Beat and Sadness
Crossposted from Haaretz Yehuda Poliker sang his new song, “Fuma, fuma,” not once, but twice at his concert in Caesarea last Thursday. The first time, toward the middle of the concert, the attention focused on the image of the small Romanian (“half a raisin”) that Poliker meets in south Tel Aviv, the person who offers…
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The Schmooze Monday Music: Swedish Fleshquartet Plays Steve Reich in Jerusalem
Nikita Pavlov Steve Reich’s 1988 composition “Different Trains” is immediately recognizable, even to those with just a passing interest in modern music. The piece has technical virtuosity, a melody intricately constructed using archival speech recordings, and indisputable aesthetic soundness. Beyond these virtues, one senses that deeply personal undertones inform the work. These include Reich’s peripatetic…
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