Re: African-American musicians and Yiddish/Jewish m.

[robert wiener <wiener...>]

Ingemar,

Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on the "Mishuganah Mambo".  Does it
have any "Jewish" relevance either in its English lyrics, its
melodies, or its instrumentation?  Or is it just a crazy mambo?
(Did it make you want to get up and dance?)

Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: Ingemar Johansson <hebanon (at) swipnet(dot)se>
To: World music from a Jewish slant. <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Date: Thursday, March 11, 1999 7:08 PM
Subject: Re: African-American musicians and Yiddish/Jewish m.


>Thanks Robert,
>
>In an earlier mail I mentioned "Mishuganah Mambo", which I suspected
could
>have some Yiddish overtones. However, since then I've come across a
CD with
>that number on it and must state that wherever the title comes from,
>there's just plain English in it. In the liner notes to this CD -
which I
>just acquired some days ago ("Laughing in Rhythm" - Verve)  - it's
however
>stated that "Fascinated with the music of all kinds of speech, Slim
heard
>many foreign languages in New York and Los Angeles and made up his
own
>approximations, which sounded like them but weren't". So. perhaps the
>question still remains: did Slim Gaillard actually speak Yiddish?
>
>This is not to say that Slim didn't have some knowledge of Yiddish.
But
>certainly he mixed his findings. We have Jack Kerouac's testimony
from "On
>the road", too:
>
>"Slim sits down at the piano and hits two notes, two C's, then two
more,
>then one, then two, and suddenly the big burly bass-player wakes up
from a
>reverie and realizes Slim is playing 'C-Jam Blues' and he slugs in
his big
>forefinger on the string and the big
>booming beat begins and everybody starts rocking and Slim looks just
as sad
>as ever, and they blow jazz for half an hour, and then Slim goes mad
and
>grabs the bongos and plays tremendous rapid Cubana beats and yells
crazy
>things in Spanish, in Arabic, in Peruvian dialect, in Egyptian, in
every
>language he knows, and he knows innumerable languages".
>
>This is, more or less, perfectly mirrored in "Opera in Vout (Grove
Juice
>Symphony)", issued on the CD mentioned above (according to the liner
notes
>Slim's only existing live recording).
>
>With the help of a friend I hope to be able to furnish some
information on
>"Dunkin' Bagel" here tomorrow, or so.
>
>As Slim's and Leo's musical comrade Harry "The Hipster" once sang:
>
>Alright, dancin' in the lights tonight.
>
>Ingemar
>
>----------
>> From: Robert Cohen <rlcm17 (at) hotmail(dot)com>
>> Tol: World music from a Jewish slant. <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>> Subject: Re:  African-American musicians and Yiddish/Jewish m.
>> Date:  March 11 1999 03:42
>>
>> Slim Gaillard also recorded a delightful and charming jump blues
number
>> called "Matzo Balls" (on SLIM AND SLAM [Stewart], a Swedish label,
>> apparently, recorded in NYC on 10/11/39), w/ lyrics:  "Matzo balls,
>> gefilte fish/best ol' dish I ever, ever had/Matzo balls and gefilte
>> fish/(it) makes you order up an extra dish/Now you put a little
horse
>> radish on it (on the side) and make it very mellow/because it
really
>> knocks you {right on out?}."  A gevalt!--obviously performed with,
well,
>> relish.  My (I think very knowledgeable) source advises that he
indeed
>> recorded a song w/ the title, as she remembered or knows it,
"Dunkin'
>> Bagel--Splat in the Coffee," but neither she nor I have any access
to
>> that record...Leo Watson recorded Ot Azoi (or, as there spelled,
Utt Da
>> Zay) (..."sings the tailor...") in the phrase of Yiddish and almost
all
>> English--as did Cab Calloway, whose recording, I (not very
>> knowledgeably) assume, is the more well known.  Watson's is on LEO
>> WATSON;  THE SCAT MAN, 1937-1946, on Swingtime; recorded NYC,
8/22/39,
>> w/ the song evidently attributed (!) to Buck Ram--I assume the same
guy
>> who wrote, I think, and/or produced many Platters songs in the
50s--and
>> Irving Mills.  Hope this is of interest to those ... for whom it's
of
>> interest.
>>
>>
>> >From: "Ingemar Johansson" <hebanon (at) swipnet(dot)se>
>> >Reply-To: jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
>> >To: World music from a Jewish slant. <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>> >Subject: SV: African-American musicians and Yiddish
>> >Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 12:23:39 +0100
>> >
>> >Somewhere I've read that singer and drummer Leo Watson sometimes
>> excelled
>> >in Yiddish too. Unfortunately I can't find the reference now and I
know
>> of
>> >no records proving this (could be some in "The Spirits of Rhythm"
>> >collection, though), but it sounds plausible as he moved around in
the
>> >circles of Slim Gaillard ("the jive-idiom" of these artists would
be
>> worth
>> >a close study, I think).
>> >
>> >Ingemar
>> >
>> >----------
>> >> Från: robert wiener <wiener (at) mindspring(dot)com>
>> >> Till: World music from a Jewish slant.
<jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>> >> Ämne: African-American musicians and Yiddish
>> >> Datum:  den 5 mars 1999 01:55
>> >>
>> >> I have heard from a reliable source that several
African-American
>> >> musicians (other than Cab Calloway) who grew up in neighborhoods
>> where
>> >> Yiddish was often spoken spoke some Yiddish themselves.  I
supoose
>> >> that this shouldn't be too surprising -- remember our thread on
Jimmy
>> >> Cagney speaking Yiddish in movies?  He mentioned Willie the Lion
>> >> Smith, Dinah Washington, and Slim Gaillard.  Does anyone know of
>> >> recordings of these (or other) African-American musicians that
>> reflect
>> >> this cross-cultural phenomenon?
>> >>
>> >> Bob
>
>----------------------
jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+
>