Re: Bukhara Jews

[Pete Rushefsky <klezbanjo...>]

Am sure there are others on the list who are more expert on this subject, but 
would recommend looking for Theodore Levin's work-- there's the CD on 
Smithsonian Folkways by Shashmaqam which comes with a nice set of liner notes 
by Levin.  There's another CD of Bukharan Jewish music on Smithsonian-- I think 
Hatikvah Music carries it.  Also Levin wrote an excellent musical travelogue of 
Uzbekistan/Tadjikistan called The Hundred Thousand Fools of God: Musical 
Travels in Central Asia (and Queens, New York.  
Also here's a web site:http://members.dancris.com/~byblos/bukhara.htm
Jews were central to the music culture Central Asia-- I'm not sure to what 
degree Jews had a different repertoire (outside of liturgical settings) of 
music and dance from "mainstream" Uzbek/Tadjik music-- rather they were 
integral in the development and advancement of this "mainstream" music and 
dance.  
Levin is at Dartmouth College.  You could also try reaching Zev Feldman.  Think 
list member Carol Freeman has done quite a bit of work in the Queens Bukharan 
community as well.
Best of luck, Pete Rushefsky
 Ashkenazim <ashkenaz (at) mi(dot)ru> wrote:Hello,is there somebody who can 
help me to find out who the Bukhara Jews are?I've got a video from a dance 
group from Tashkent, Uzbekistan as an artistic leader of the Competition of 
Jewish performers that we have every spring in Kazan (Tatarstan, a part of 
Russia). Now I need to decide if we invite them for the competition or not. The 
dances seem to be absolutely Uzbek, and the music they use sounds not Jewish at 
all. They say, they're the Bukhara Jews with their large cultural traditions. 
Where can I find information about this part of Jewish culture? Paulina 
Achkinazi


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