Re: Drawing the line

[Dick Rosenberg <mashke...>]

This is going to be a rehash of some of the earlier responses, but I put my
band together to be the band that can please both the adults (who typically
want Jewish (in various flavors, Klezmer, Israeli, dance instruction) and
American (Oldies Rock, light Jazz, Swing) and the kids (who typically want
Last Week's Greatest Hits, games, etc.). I'm obviously talking more Bnai
Mitzvot than weddings. I love playing all this music, feel that we play it
well and with respect to each genre's traditions and my own definitions of
good taste.

We are fortunate enough to have instrumentalists who have really interesting
doubles (accordion/keyboard, electric bass/trombone, clarinet/saxes/flute,
guitar/mandolin/electric bass) to that we can play Tum Balalaika with
Accordion/Clarinet/Mandolin/Bass/Drums and Jump, Jive and Wail with
Tenor/Trombone/Keyboard/Bass/Drums.

I agree that by doing this we are representing live music, but I feel more
strongly that what we do with our particular eclectic
blend is not only insuring that we can make everybody happy (from a
marketing perspective), but that we can do this within the overall context
of making this a very Jewish experience.

Dick Rosenberg


----- Original Message -----
From: <ALANEFALK (at) aol(dot)com>
To: "World music from a Jewish slant" <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2002 12:00 PM
Subject: Drawing the line


> After receiving a request recently to play "Chopin's Etude #3' for a
wedding
> service, and YMCA and the Twist at the reception - I thought this might be
an
> interesting topic for discussion (although it probably has been discussed
in
> the past (I have only been on this listing for a year or so)). So here
goes:
>     As our band's local reputation has grown, and we receive more requests
to
> play Simchas, weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs etc, we seem to be faced with
ever
> increasing dilemma, one which I am sure has been faced by most of you.
Trying
> to maintain a balance between 'aesthetic' goals and standards of
integrity,
> yet at the same time trying to attract as wide an audience and play as
often
> as possible, seems to lead inevitably to Simcha bookings. And this, in our
> case, leads to the 'dilemma'.
>     That is, where to draw the line when it comes to requests for certain
> popular musical 'standards' which have become part of the 'party'
landscape.
> I'm referring to such standard 'fodder' as 'YMCA', Electric Slide, etc,
etc.
> I understand that Jewish bands have since the 'dawn of klezmer' found it
> necessary to play the popular music of their day alongside the freylechs
and
> bulgars, but it seems to be such a musical 'chasm' nowadays between the
two -
> Mayim to "Shout" is quite a leap! Let alone Hip Hop and Techno thuds!
>     Alongside our Jewish repertoire of Klezmer, Yiddish, Israeli song and
> dance music etc, we offer classical, Big Band/Jazz era, latin and 'soft'
> (slow Dance) rock, but, "Who Let the Dog's Out?".
>     I'm interested in finding out what other bands have experienced and
how
> they deal with this situation - a general consensus perhaps? - where and
when
> to draw the line.
> Alan Falk
> Nefesh Klezmer Band
> Connecticut, USA
>
>

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