[HANASHIR:13658] Grammys and the Blues

[Cantor Brad Hyman <cantorb...>]

Wow!

That was a wonderful, eloquent, worthy-of-Dennis-Miller rant about the
Grammy Awards. Sadly, it was also right on the money. Ditto to the follow-up
remarks about the great talent that has never received a "bronze euphonium."
The Grammy's are all about the industry, and how the industry sells
records(if we can even call them that...insert audible sigh). I did watch.
Why did I watch? Like a deer in the high beams, I couldn't change the
channel. What the hell was that in between the great B.B. King and Herbie
Hancock?? "Scroll back one more time... don't I look good?" There were only
11 televised awards in a "three-hour tour" spectacular-spectacular that
included a nod to nostalgia with our Beatrice-cized Simon and Garfunkel(will
they reunite to sell more records, or have they healed their infamous rift
to repair the world, one folkie at a time?), James Taylor (who, by the way,
publicly stated that he doesn't care if he won or lost...he's "past it
all"), and let us not forget that Nora Jones comes from the fine stock of
Ravi Shankar, who is clearly beyond anything we can comprehend with our
Western ears.
I will also echo the 19-year-old Joy Newman, at my wife's alma mater U of
Ra-cha-cha, who reminds us that Jewish music is in our hands...for now.
Let's continue learn from the Grammy's as a warning of what can happen if we
are swayed solely by record sales, and popularity games. Thank God for
Transcontinental, Soundswrite, and other venues to sell our wares. Many of
us would not know about the "new stuff" if it weren't for them and their
marketing. But are we relying on this alone to spread music, or do the
"music masters" who surf this listserv and fight in the trenches every week
still primarily drive it? Jewish music is not about what is "hot," or what
is the "most selling Jewish music [insert category here] album ever," but
rather it is about what is accessible in its time and place. That's why we
can bring ourselves to let our rich musical heritage that Jeff, Danny, and
Debbie were running from in the late '60's slip through our fingers with the
bath water. This music, of which I dare-not-speak-its-name, too, lives
inside us and needs to be respected much like our Simon and Garfunkels and
James Taylors. In its time and place. Perhaps that's why a good ol' rousing
rendition of Sulzer's "Shema" is still heard at services in the most
contemporary Jewish musical bastions.
I hope the "new guard" of Jewish composers are listening, and will continue
to push the envelope. I happen to love watching NFTY go crazy for Danny
Nichols, Rick Recht, Beth Schafer, and Noam Katz. Heck... I go crazy for
their stuff, but not necessarily for the same reason the kids do. We need to
continue creating (re-creating?) Jewish musical heroes. These heroes are the
likes responsible for me (and others I suspect) wanting to learn more, and
eventually making a return to chazzanut. Isn't that the irony?? The harder
Jeff ran, he still became a learned cantor, Danny became a rabbi (though we
all know he can sing with the best of 'em), and Debbie still shudders at her
earlier usage of Hebrew grammar. Carlebach was a chacham first! We need to
constantly learn more, and what better way to learn than by studying our
past. As soon as we can dig up ol' Solomon Sulzer from his European resting
place, and teach him to write music again that sounds like...hmmmm...
Russian folk music, '60's protest songs, Dave Mathews riffs, Rusted Root-ian
drum circle jams, with a Harry Chapin lyric (God, I wish he were alive to
comment on the state of the world...more audible sighs) and a smidgen of
Torah text to wash it down, I'm sure we'll all be right as rain.

Me? I'm gonna sing the Blues....

Cantor Brad Hyman
Temple Sinai of Glendale
1212 N. Pacific Avenue
Glendale, CA 91202
(818) 246-8101 phone
(818) 246-9372 fax
(818) 244-2547 The "Bat Phone"


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