Re: Klezmer is dead

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

At 04:42 PM 2/18/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Klez-is-dead evidence:  
>
>1.Simon said his klezmer records don't sell as well as his Ladino albums.

But they never did. And Simon defines klezmer very narrowly, to boot!

>2.Yesterday, at a Cleveland Jewish bookstore, the owner said to me, 
>"Klezmer and Yiddish are on the way out." 
> 
>4. Henry Sapoznik's terrific klez book came out in Dec., and not a word on
>it yet in the major print media. (And not much talk about it on this list
>either, for that matter).

And let's not confuse poor promotion of a lively (and apparently
already either out of print or generally unavailable) memoir/history
with anything but poor promotion and/or availability.

What is certainly true, and has been for several years, is that the 
klezmer revival is over. The patient is alive and has grandchildren
(as I like to see, perhaps too often). But playing klezmer is no longer
being on the edge or reviving something dying. It is a Jewish music,
now often played by non-Jews, as well, and for us Jews, it is one 
music among many, and this one, too, we transform as we go.

But, Bert, you're right. I think it's time for us to try something
new and on the edge. Skiffle anyone?

(Or take a listen to this Italian album I'm listening to at the moment,
"Heavy Metal Klezmer," which, in its own way, is living up to its name.)

ari


Ari Davidow
ari (at) ivritype(dot)com
list owner, jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
the klezmer shack: http://www.klezmershack.com/

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