Re: What Is Jewish Music?

[robert wiener <wiener...>]

Alex and Wolf have given us some intriguing insights that lead me to
wonder whether, if in fact, Jews have an affinity for some
professions, such as diamonds and music, whether this affinity is
necessarily reflected in their work.   (Alex, I like the cutting
diamonds/records reference.)

Is there such a thing as a Jewish cut of diamond?  To apply a
variation of a test that we have occasionally used for Jewish music,
would I know a diamond cut by a Jew if I saw it?  Are there Jewish
aesthetics that have affected the valuation of diamonds?

Also, the Jewish relationship to professions discussed over the last
several days seems to revolve around diaspora Judaism.  For example,
Seth emphasized the role of the Jew in music as the outsider and Wolf
alluded to the transportability of diamonds and access of Jews to the
trade.

Does that mean that if Jews gain more access to other professions and
become more a part of the mainstream culture they will become less
well-equipped to make a unique contribution to society (e.g., music)?

If that is true, we might expect it to become more and more difficult
to identify Jewish music in their work.  (This might occur in other
fields such as literature as well.  In fact, others might begin to
right about Jewish topics -- see Updike.)  Is that happening?
(Perhaps this is yet another reason to emphasize nusach in religious
music -- so that we can continue to make a special contribution to
secular music.)

If it is happening, if there is less and less identifiably Jewish
material in these fields, such as popular music, then listing Jewish
composers become more of an Adam Sandler exercise of labeling (Yeah,
team!) than of gaining insight in what role Judaism might have in
their creative impulses and expression.

And what of Israeli composers?  If the creative spark of Jewish music
is outsider status, we might conclude that Israelis cannot compose
Jewish music.

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: Kame'a Media <media (at) kamea(dot)com>
To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Date: Sunday, June 27, 1999 8:11 PM
Subject: Re: What Is Jewish Music?


>
>
>Alex J. Lubet wrote:
>
>> Good question about why we cut so many records as well as diamonds.
>
>The phonograph was invented by a Jew named Berliner, who didn't have
the money or
>connections to bring his invention to market.  So ol' Thom. Edison
got the glory
>and, along with the revenues from his other inventions, became
fabulously wealthy.
>
>Re: diamonds --  precious gems occupy a special place in Jewish
mystical
>(kabalistic) thought.  Many esoteric  mysteries and powers -- too
detailed to go
>into here -- are attributed to them.   (How many folks had an elderly
auntie or
>grandma that used to put their diamond rings in a glass of water
overnight, and
>then drink the water in the morning?)
>
>The Rambam and his brother dealt in precious gems for livelihood.
One of them (I
>forget which) drowned in the Indian Ocean while on a business
journey.  Their great
>value coupled with their compactness /mobility/ease of
concealment/storage, etc.
>made them an ideal commercial commodity.
>No shipping, no warehousing, no spoilage, etc.
>
>> Some of the
>> reasons could be the same or similar.  Like so many businesses Jews
made it in
>> in the early 20th century, show business was one from which we
weren't de facto
>> excluded or restricted and it was risky/speculative (especially the
early movie
>> industry) and Jews have tended to be willing to take chances
investing where
>> more settled and accepted peoples were less likely to venture.
>
>Well put.
>Most people are aware that the early motion picture pioneers and
later movie moguls
>were Jews (Jesse Lasky, Louis B.Mayer, Sam Goldwyn, Harry Cohn, etc.)
>Same holds true for the radio industry (General Sarnoff) and
television
>(William Paley).  These men, of course,  employed their
co-religionists at a time
>when other industries were rife with anti-Semitism and a Jew had to
conceal his
>identity to be considerd for employment.
>
>Over time, these men's success bred opportunity for others, and so
creative and
>practical Jews looked to Broadway, Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood for
<parnose> and to
>make their mark.
>
>In Germany, Austria and Poland, the early film and recording
industries ( and their
>related crafts) had a very strong Jewish presence.
>  The great Yiddish poet, Itzik Manger worked for a time in the some
of these film
>studios.
>
>Must be something in the <kugel>.
>
>Wolf  Krakowski
>www.kamea.com
>
>>
>>
>> I also think that the wordplay that informs so many great American
pop songs by
>> writers like Berlin, Hart, and Ira Gershwin is a very old
fascination for Jews,
>> including the use of anagrams in sacred texts (none of which I can
recall right
>> now, darn it!).
>
>> I did a lot more speculation of this nature in my lecture
>> series.  My Polish students were very interested, but they were
certainly not
>> able to make informed contributions about this literature.  They
can now,
>> however, sing Puttin' on the Ritz and Dayenu (among other items)
and have a
>> pretty good idea what they mean.
>>
>> > Alex,
>> >
>> > I hope that Bacharach is not the last of the list.  How about
Randy
>> > Newman?  Anyone for Alan Menken?
>> >
>> > I imagine that convincing historical arguments can be advanced
for
>> > Jews in the diamond cutting business (e.g., that this profession
does
>> > not require land ownership once unavailable to Jews in Europe and
took
>> > advantage of trusting business relationships Jews developed with
Jews
>> > in different countries).  What would you advance as a reason why
Jews
>> > seem to have been statistically overrepresented in this field?
And if
>> > you think that the representation is declining, why do you think
that
>> > is?
>> >
>> > Bob
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Alex J. Lubet <lubet001 (at) maroon(dot)tc(dot)umn(dot)edu>
>> > To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>> > Date: Sunday, June 27, 1999 12:38 PM
>> > Subject: Re: What Is Jewish Music?
>> >
>> >
>> > >Responding to the message of <37759B97(dot)51217A87 (at) kamea(dot)com>
>> > >from jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org:
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >> Klezcorner (at) aol(dot)com wrote:
>> > >>
>> > >> > In a message dated 6/23/99 6:05:19 AM, media (at) kamea(dot)com
writes:
>> > >> >
>> > >> > <<
>> > >> > > I would be interested in a justification
>> > >> > > of the CD "Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach" on Tzadik.
>> > >> > > >>
>> > >> >
>> > >> > THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS CD!
>> > >>
>> > >> Right on, Simon.  Thank you for your candor.
>> > >>
>> > >> For decades in America,  Jewish entertainers went to great
pains to
>> > hide
>> > >> their Jewish origins, changing names and noses in their quest
for
>> > the
>> > >> "bitch goddess" Success.
>> > >>
>> > >> With the ascendency of the Jewish upper middle class, it's now
cool
>> > to be
>> > >> Jewish.  But not "too Jewish".  That would tend to make
audiences
>> > >> uncomfortable because it would demand an awareness and
cultural
>> > literacy
>> > >> beyond the "bagels and lox" <yidishkayt>  being marketed by
the
>> > >> multinational corporations that control the culture industry;
>> > those that
>> > >> foist and strongly promote the "big sellers".
>> > >>
>> > >> The grandchildren of those who abandoned their culture flock
to
>> > "Jewish
>> > >> Music" programs, hungry to fill the  bottomless void of having
>> > grown up
>> > >> in the plastic, shake 'n bake,  cultural and spiritual slums
of
>> > monied,
>> > >> privileged suburban America.
>> > >>
>> > >> What Sartre so elegantly called "nostalgie de la boue"
(literally:
>> > >> nostalgia for mud).
>> > >>
>> > >>  For  the  Bacharach CD to actually be presented in the
marketplace
>> > as
>> > >> "Jewish Music" is an  insult to the intelligent.
>> > >>
>> > >> Since the recently-departed Mel Torme, a Jew, wrote "The
Christmas
>> > Song"
>> > >> ("Chestnuts roasting on the open fire...")
>> > >> this fact would make that song "Jewish Music", too, since the
>> > writer was
>> > >> Jewish and an "outsider".  Please.
>> > >>
>> > >> Does the expression "reductio ad absurdum" come to mind?
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >> Wolf Krakowski
>> > >> www.kamea.com
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> >
**********************************************************************
>> > ********
>> > >> *****
>> > >>
>> > >> "Only the violence and duration
>> > >> of your hardened dream can resist
>> > >> the hideous mechanical civilization
>> > >> that is your enemy."
>> > >>
>> > >>             Salvador Dali
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >> >
>> > >> >
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >> .  I recently gave a series of lectures (at a Polish
university)
>> > entitled
>> > >'Jewish Contributions to American Musical Culture.'  The
criteria for
>> > who I
>> > >included were that the artists--composers, lyricists, or
performers
>> > who create
>> > >their own material--had to be Jewish and they had to have had
>> > significant
>> > >influence on at least some some part of American culture.
Beyond
>> > that, I would
>> > >always discuss whether I thought there was anything Jewish about
>> > their work and,
>> > >if so, what.  (Dave Tarras and Wolf Krakowski were represented
by
>> > more examples
>> > >than anyone else).
>> > >
>> > >Time constraints prevented me from giving the lectures I'd
prepared
>> > on jazz and
>> > >rock/pop.  Regarding the latter, I did include among others, in
my
>> > undelivered
>> > >text such songwriters as Lieber and Stoller and Bacharach.  No,
I
>> > don't think
>> > >there's much if anything Jewish in their work, no matter how
hard one
>> > searches.
>> > >Perhaps part of my rationale has the minority pride in those
among us
>> > who have
>> > >done, something noted in an earlier posting.
>> > >
>> > >My sense is that more of us on this list would proudly claim
Lieber
>> > and Stoller
>> > >than Bacharach as members of the tribe.  I despised Bacharach
when I
>> > was
>> > >younger, because those songs struck me as the essence of
everything
>> > supeficial
>> > >and insincere:  he was the opposite of Dylan.  Now that I'm a
lot
>> > older and I
>> > >earn most of my living teaching college-level music theory, I'm
able
>> > to
>> > >appreciate his craft as a composer. Keep in mind that Bacharach
isn't
>> > a lyricist
>> > >and that the lyrics were most of what bothered me and, I
suspect,
>> > most of us,
>> > >although I can appreciate the craft of his collaborators without
>> > buying into the
>> > >subject matter.  (I never liked the production values or singing
>> > styles of the
>> > >artists who recorded him in the 60's-70's either.)  He is a Jew
and
>> > there is
>> > >something to appreciate about his craft, although it's not
something
>> > Jewish.
>> > >
>> > >On the other hand, Bacharach is part of (maybe the last of) a
class
>> > of
>> > >(non-performing) professional songwriters and producers in which
Jews
>> > are
>> > >extremely well represented.  It includes many contributors to
>> > Broadway, Tin Pan
>> > >Alley, the Brill Building, and Hollywood.  I find that
interesting.
>> > The best
>> > >work in these genres is literate, articulate, and urbane,
qualities I
>> > associate
>> > >(not exclusively) with Jews.
>> > >
>> > >Perhaps though, this kind of songwriting, is more like diamond
>> > cutting, a
>> > >business in which many Jews have succeeded and a lineage has
thus
>> > been created,
>> > >without the industry having any inherently Jewish
characteristics.
>> > >
>> > >Thoughts?
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >Perhaps, though
>> > >
>> > >Alex Lubet, Ph. D.
>> > >Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music
>> > >Adjunct Professor of American Studies
>> > >University of Minnesota
>> > >2106 4th St. S
>> > >Minneapolis, MN 55455
>> > >612 624-7840 612 626-2200 (fax)
>> > >
>> > >----------------------
>> > jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+
>> > >