Re: Integrating Jewish Music / Culture into the Establishment

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

Hi Pete,

>However-- distinct lack of Jewish cultural programming.  The only thing
>that came close was a concert by the Israeli pop star Noa (most of her
>tunes didn't sound particularly Jewish, even when sung in Hebrew).  
>
>Also in some unscientific sampling done amongst delegates, I don't think
>even 25% of the people I spoke to had ever heard of klezmer music.  
>
>I have had similar experiences with the folks here in the Buffalo Jewish
>community in terms of lack of awareness of what delightful things are
>happening in the New Yiddish Culture movement / klezmer revival / etc.  

I think that there is a general lack of knowledge of Jewish
culture. Outside the Orthodox community, which is, in many ways,
its own world, there really =is= a lot of ignorance. 

On the other hand, one thing that the klezmer revival signified
is that the Jewish community, in general, is ready to explore
Jewish culture and is open both to reconnecting to older traditions
and to exploring new forms of Jewish culture. And yet, to take on
the role of Tevye, on yet another hand, the number of Jews actively
exploring Jewish culture is still a minuscule part of the 
community. It may be an order of magnitude greater than it
seemed to be when I was growing up 20 years ago, but the numbers
are still small.

It =is= going to be an ongoing education process. I think Cantor
Singer put his finger right on the issue. And I think it is very
important that as many Jewish cultural events as possible ensure
that there is local Jewish entertainment. I'm not at all opposed
to the occasional import from Israel (especially if someone
brings over one of =my= favorite Israeli artists), but it's
probably important to focus on supporting local artists--not
just for the immediate gig, but because most local bands are
damn good, and the word should get out that there is good
Jewish entertainment available locally, in an awful lot of 
"locally"s. For there to be a national gathering in a major
metropolitan area with so little Jewish entertainment seems
unfortunate.

Time to get on those committees!

I've actually been floundering here in the Boston area trying
to think out how to do a monthly dance and/or a broader Jewish
music festival. It amazes me that Toronto can do a week of Yiddish
culture once every couple of years, but that Boston can't even do
a day. Maybe it's up to us in our "copious" spare time.

ari


Ari Davidow
The klezmer shack: http://www.well.com/user/ari/klez/
owner: jewish-music mailing list
e-mail: ari (at) ivritype(dot)com