Re: Fwd: A new klezmermusical in Berlin

[Kame'a Media <media...>]

"Paul M. Gifford" wrote:

> "Kame'a Media" <media (at) kamea(dot)com> wrote:
> >
> > I don't think this is correct.  Minstrel shows were not "satires" as you 
> > claim.
> >
> > They were more of an indication of the lack of commercial white musical
> > creativity in this era and area.  The white entertainer,  latching
> > on to a good (marketable) thing when he saw it,  sought to "cover"
> > black repertoire and style, but the racist and conformist
> > social climate of the times made it  extremely unseemly for a white man to
> > comport himself in the manner of a black man (by performing his
> > all-too-emotional and earthy music).
> >
> > There was also the issue of blacks not being tolerated in all-white 
> > settings,
> > including performance venues.  Racist white people were more at ease
> > with a white man in blackface than the real thing.  And, as paralleled today
> > with Jewish music,  most people couldn't tell the difference (in
> > performance quality) seldom, if ever, having been exposed to the
> > authentic music or language. >
>
> Sorry if this is off-topic, but I had to respond. On the contrary---
> in the U.S. prior to 1820 or 1830, fiddlers for dances were usually
> black.  And in later years, musicians at dances and parties held in

> urban white homes were often black.

I assume you have the references and stats to back this up ,
"Usually" and "often" can be very vague.
If I were to tell you I "usually" exercise and "often" play guitar,
you would not have a clue as to the frequency of either.

You will see that my comments stressed "performance venues",
(as in, stages with paid admission) not "parties".

> Society orchestras frequently
> consissted of black musicians. Perhaps the best-known was Francis
> Johnson, of Philadelphia, who played the keyed bugle and led his own
> orchestra in the 1830s and later. This tradition was still true in
> the early 20th century. Farmer's Orchestra, of Detroit, was just one
> of many. Wolf's statement is way off base here.

Your information about these specific musicians is no doubt correct,
but that doesn't make what I wrote,  wrong or "off base".

My comments were directed towards the phenomenon of blackface
minstrelry.You have chosen to take what appears to be an apologist
position for a racist era, arguing that some blacks did indeed  perform
in white settings.  =a glik hot zey getrofn=.  Of course SOME did.
How many do you think never got the gig because of racism?

Only the most  profitable black performers were given access
to A-list vaudeville stages; it is historical fact
that  blacks were  not welcome in white settings,
--especially commercial venues--  leading to
the establishment of the all-black theatre circuit (TOBA).

When Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman hired black musicians, they
were met with extreme hostility and all manner of threats.
Black performers could not sleep in the hotels they performed in,
and had to use the back entrance.

The great Billie Holiday was not allowed to sit on the bandstand
between her songs.  Duke Ellington hired his own railroad cars,
so as not to put up with racist bullshit.

> Since whites thought blacks had "natural rhythm," and because dancing
> was often thought as sinful or sexual, playing for dancing was one
> niche acceptable for blacks. Same for minstrel shows, except that it
> incorporated an exotic element.

?  I would like to know more regarding this last statement, given your
scholarship.

> This attitude is still around today,
> in a different form---not "natural rhythm,"but "authenticity," etc.

> The same niche offered opportunities for Gypsies, Jews and other

> minorities in Islamic cultures and, in a different way, in Eastern

> Europe.

To equate the racist "natural rhythm" stereotype
with "authenticity" as you have, is facile and jejune.
I admit I am rather taken aback by such a statement
coming from you.

I am puzzled by  people who would deride "authenticity",
or the concept of "authenticity",
and I think this derision  comes from a place of
insecurity or fear of some personal exposure.

 Next time you're hurt physically,
call an actor who's played a doctor on TV.
Or, when you're hungry, --
dig into a photograph of a sandwich.

Wolf



>
>
> Paul Gifford
>

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