Nomen est omen

[Alex Jacobowitz <Alex_Jacobowitz...>]

B"H Kiryas Arba

>Too many new recordings include so many vocals, that I can not
> classify them as klezmer.  
> 

Why not? They're not in Yiddish?  They teach Yiddish in "Klez Camp".
>well, there's always the possibility that "Klez Camp" is more "Camp" then
"Klez".

I have created a 5/4 time adaptation of a prayer book song that sounds
Arabic. 
>well, then, mazel tov, or whatever that adapts to in Arabic.

It has a distinct sound and beat that you could either dance or davon to,
but defies categorization.
>I assure you, I could *not daven to it, since I only daven with silence or
the davening of others
in the background. I could ask the Arabs down the road if *they could dance
or daven to it, but 
I'm fresh out of bullets and don't feel like taking the risk - no matter
how much I love music. 

How about some recommendations for categories, sub-categories and
adjectives that would not pigeon hole, stereotype, or limit our Jewish
artists and
their still-evolving music?  
>sure. And by the way, let's stop calling Bach and Beethoven "classical"
composers
(Bach was Baroque, Beethoven was Romantic)

(What ever happened to the term "fusion"?).
>what ever happened to the term "confusion"? See under "Tower of Babel"...

Gentle Steven, If you look up the Midrash, Breishis Rabba 17:4, you'll see
that Man 
was given the right to name the things in Creation, based on his ability to
discern
their "essence". 

Klezmer, too, has an "essence" which should be able to be heard and
appreciated by most listeners. And if your 5/4 Arabic prayer has an
"essence",
perhaps its essence is Arabic; just as for some people their "Jewish" music
is
Bacharach (NOT to be confused with "The Rabbi from Bachrach" by Heinrich
Heine!)

The point of reference here is based on TIME. 
"Klezmer music has traditionally been..." - past
"Klezmer music today is..."    - present
"Klezmer music is becoming..." - future

Yes, terms are evolving as concepts converge. When a musician adds "rap" to
the Polovtsian Dance
#2 by Borodin, is it Rap or is it Russian Romanticism? Well it's both - in
a way. And this cultural
mish-mash is something we all have to live with. However, let's keep our
musical stereotypes as long
as they're useful to us, and jettison them when they no longer serve our
needs. 

Classical + Klezmer = Classmer?
Jazz + Klezmer = Jazzmer, or Klazz?

Since the word KLEZMER (from Kley Zemer - Hebrew for "musical instruments)
is SO integrally 
bound to Jewish instrumental music WITHOUT vocals, kindly leave "klezmer"
out of this fray. If you 
must, do as Brave Old World does - call it "New Jewish Music" or some such,
but don't call it
what it ain't.

Typically Snide Alex