Jews and Jazz, with Henry Sapoznik

Lecture #49 in Joshua Horowitz’s series, The Promiscuous World of Jewish Music

JEWS AND JAZZ:  From before the Beginning, a presentation by Henry Sapoznik

Monday, May 31, 11am Pacific Time/2pm New York/ 7pm London/ 8pm Paris/ 9pm Tel Aviv. Please confirm the local time.

Length: 1 – 2 hours

Donations to Josh Horowitz are accepted and appreciated, but not required.

Zoom Meeting ID: 967 8901 9038
Password: 156230

There is a Zoom limit of 100 participants. You do not need to register; simply use the sign-in info above.I

When one thinks of “Jews and jazz,” names come to mind such as Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Ziggy Elman, Stan Getz, Mezz Mezzrow, etc. American-born all. But what of the earlier generation of European born Jewish musicians — klezmorim — who, upon arrival, were obliged to learn two new languages: English and jazz? How did they navigate through a new challenging soundscape in an effort to become viable parts of their new land? By examining the nascent “jazz” offerings of pioneering recording klezmorim like Lt. Joseph Frankel, Harry Kandel, Joseph Cherniavsky, Dave Tarras, Harry Raderman and Sammy Musiker, among others, we witness for the first time how that first generation took to jazz as both a social and musical gateway to speed up and encourage their – and their audience’s — acculturation in transition from old world to new.  

About Joshua Horowitz»

This project has been made possible in part by a grant from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, in partnership with the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Grants for the Arts, and The California Endowment.