Thoughts on ethnic music after reading certain recent posts

[elliott_simon <elliott_simon...>]

The thing I love about ethnic music whether it is Jewish or not is its 
honesty. I just reviewed a new CD by Dino Saluzzi an Argentinian 
bandoneon player who also recently appeared on ?If? by Miriam Alter, he 
was able to express that same honesty in his wonderful playing that I 
hear in Jewish music?did it remind me of my grandmother?no?.but it is 
probably no accident that tango and jewish music have had a fruitful 
association. These days I think it is important to celebrate the 
similarities in the various world musics while also celebrating the 
differences. Last week I travelled to Washington, Pa to see my in laws 
who are Slovak?there is an incredible Polish/Slovak community there 
with at least 3 ethnic music radio stations?festivals every weekend?and 
in the polkas on these stations there was also this honesty?One of my 
best memories over the past year happened at the Frank London BOB 
concert in NYC. The two young Serbs on either side of me had come to 
see Boban Markovic and had no clue from klezmer let alone Frank London?
by the end of the night we were all holding hands to both bands and 
singing?..no one concerned whether we were listening to Serbian or 
Jewish?.at KlezK watching the video of the Polish TV program that 
showed 10,000 people rocking to Shtreiml and HHK in the streets of 
Poland and Michael Alpert singing ?was that the Polish National Anthem?
?.with ..was that the Polish Prime Minister??.aside from music and the 
arts these days there ain?t much else with that kind of power?best to 
all for the coming holidays?.Elliott

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