Re: "Davka"--redefining jewish music?

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

Oops, thanks for the reality check, Alex. I absolutely did
not mean to reopen the question of "what is Jewish music".
I was more interested in the question of these particular
roots (assimilated American leading to Israel and thence 
to reading about Jewish mystics) sound anything that 
sounded like an aural assimilation of Jewish music.

It is interesting to note, not only the work of Israeli
bands such as Bustan Avraham or East-West Ensemble that
are mixing similar musical traditions (primarily Arabic
and Western Classical), but also the work of bands such
as Esta which has broader influences in the same area.
(Esta will be appearing at Toronto's Ashkenaz Festival
at the end of August, www.ashkenaz.org.). How this 
would tie up with "Jewish" per se, I couldn't answer,
but that the various streams of music, pulled together,
can produce an interesting fusion, seems apparent.

As for the option of Orthodox Jewish life, this is not
the list to discuss that. Suffice it to say (I hope)
that many Jews see a wide range of Jewish life between
the that extreme, on the one hand, or assimilation
on the other. And, in any event, that wasn't the path
followed by the musicians who make up Davka. Had they
been from Uganda, as would have been the case had they
been from Kiryat Arba (or different yet again, had it
been Kiryat Gat) the musical journey would clearly have
been different. If there was a clear question in all
that I wrote it was whether the path of Israel --> reading
Jewish mysticism in some form --> a fusion of Middle Eastern
and Western Classical music resonated with any familiarity.
So be it.

ari


Ari Davidow
ari (at) ivritype(dot)com
http://www.ivritype.com/