The Barry Sisters and Yiddish Swing, with Andy Muchin

The Barry Sisters and Yiddish Swing: How Clara and Minnie Bagelman personified and then outlasted Jewish music’s sunniest hybrid style, with Andy Muchin

Broadcaster and music writer Andy Muchin takes a deep dive into the career of The Barry Sisters and the musical mash-up they helped to popularize, Yiddish Swing. Claire and Merna Barry, born Clara and Minnie Bagelman in the Bronx, New York, were among the earliest and best-known Yiddish Swingsters with their lively renditions of Jewish music set to a jazzy beat. With their sweet, tight harmonies and consummate artistry, the sisters performed on radio and television, in nightclubs, and on concert stages for nearly 40 years, including as stars of a 1959 U.S. friendship tour of the Soviet Union. They recorded mostly Yiddish songs on numerous 78 rpm discs and LPs from the late 1930s to 1973, their style evolving with the times. Andy will explore the Barry Sisters’ brilliant careers during and after Yiddish Swing—and take a toe-tapping detour to listen to some of the best Yiddish Swing recordings from artists as diverse as klezmer clarinetist Dave Tarras and bluesy singer/instrumentalist Slim Gaillard.                                         

Andy Muchin has hosted the weekly “Sounds Jewish” radio show on Mississippi Public Broadcasting and Radio-J.com since 2010. He has written about Jewish music for “The Forward” newspaper, “Moment” magazine, “J.-The Jewish News of Northern California,” and other publications.

REGISTRATION

To reserve a space, scroll down to BOOK EVENT, click on NEXT, and complete the registration form. Registration ends the day of the event at 7am Pacific Time (Check out this time zone converter) to receive sign-in info by 8:10am PT that day. If you have not heard by then, first check your junk/spam folder, then write nu@klezcalifornia.org. Do not wait until just before the event begins to check whether you have sign-in information.

If you have not registered on time, write nu@klezcalifornia.org; we cannot promise to notice your email if you contact us after the deadline.

Registering for this event includes giving KlezCalifornia permission to take still and video images and use them for educational or other organizational purposes. If you do not agree to such use, please turn off your video when you join the event. To keep you informed of future events, we enroll registrants in our free monthly newsletter which includes klezmer and Yiddish culture events in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. You may unsubscribe at any time. KlezCalifornia does not share its lists with other organizations.

DONATIONS
This event is free. However KlezCalifornia relies on donations from participants to cover the costs of online lectures, workshops, kumzitsn, play readings, and more. Donations of $18, $36, $108 (or whatever you can afford) are needed to enable us to continue to connect you with Yiddish culture. Please consider donating at least the cost of a cup of coffee!