Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish music, including klezmer and other traditions.
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The Schmooze Monday Music: John Zorn Goes Beyond Collage With ‘Interzone’
In 2006, when the MacArthur Foundation bestowed its “Genius” award on John Zorn, the panel of judges only underscored what many fans already knew. Zorn’s extensive output as a composer of avant-garde music, a first-rate saxophone player, and a leader of a group of downtown New York musicians, has been vastly important and influential. His…
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The Schmooze The Long and Indie Road
Crossposted from Haaretz “Would you like to see what I have in my bag?” asks Noga Shalev at the start of our meeting in a bustling Tel Aviv bar before pulling a flute out and starting to play. Perhaps because of the noise, no one in the bar notices, but even if they did notice,…
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News ‘Help Us! Help Us! Help Us Now!’
Composer Elizabeth Swados has dramatized tragedy before, but never the fear that rises from the gut when flames are sweeping nearby and escape is far away. In creating the music for the most terrifying moments in an original oratorio for the centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, Swados turned to raw instinct. “I didn’t…
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News Triangle Factory Employee’s Great-Granddaughter Crafts a Tribute
Like all other mornings, on March 25, 1911, Rose Bernstein had planned to arrive at 245 Greene Street, in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, and begin working. Instead, a sibling fell ill, so she stayed home — thus avoiding the tragic fate of other colleagues who died or were injured in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire later…
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Food Shabbat Meals: Joan Nathan’s Apple Cake
The first time I went to my mother-in-law’s apartment in the Bronx, she brought out her famous apple cake to be served with tea at the end of our Shabbat meal. To this day, my husband Allan continues to choose this simple, nostalgic taste of his childhood over any other fancy dessert I prepare. It…
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The Schmooze Being a Jewish Musician in Belarus
Image by Ivan Dribas. Courtesy of Minsker Kapelye. There is a story in my family about my paternal great-grandfather Yosl (Yeysef), who served as a clarinetist in the Russian Army military band. During World War I, he was captured as a prisoner of war and was held in Germany until a year after the war…
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The Schmooze How Good is Gogol Bordello?
Crossposted from Haaretz Before you read any further: If you weren’t at Gogol Bordello’s first two performances this week and you don’t have tickets for tonight — get them now. This is the sort of event for which the words “don’t miss” were invented. The question with regard to Gogol Bordello, as opposed to most…
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The Schmooze Remembering Influential Orthodox Songwriter Moshe Yess
The English-speaking Haredi Jewish community produces an awful lot of original Jewish music, though critics might consider it a lot of awful original Jewish music. With rare exceptions, the lyrics of popular songs in English — as opposed to settings of liturgical texts or Yiddish lyrics — come in just a few flavors, ranging from…
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