Category: Popular entertainment

Aaron Lebedeff: Yiddish comedy super-star

By , June 11, 2012 9:25 am

Aaron Lebedeff was a Yiddish theater super star whose popularity among Jews during the 1920s and 1930s made his name a household word.  More than 80 years before performers could go viral on the internet, Lebedeff was making a name for himself by driving audiences wild with his energetic and exuberant live performances. He was a super-star, like Mick Jagger, who was able to excite audiences and leave them wanting more.

His devil-may-care free spirit, love of life and allusions to sensual delights helped to create his exciting persona.  Whether dressed in traditional Russian garb and boots or formal attire with straw hat and cane, his dynamic presence always kept him the center of attention. He understood nostalgia for the shtetl and was able use it to rouse his audiences’ emotions. His best known recording, Roumania, Roumania, was originally released in 1925. His second version, recorded with Sholem Secunda and Dave Tarras in 1941, became a best-selling Yiddish recording during the 1940s and still brings a smile to almost everyone who hears it!

Because the JSA has received more copies of this recording than any other single 78 rpm disc, we regularly play it on our vintage 1924 Victrola for guests who visit us at FAU’s Wimberly Library in Boca Raton, FL.

Hot Dogs and Knishes! is a comic ditty with a catchy chorus that even includes a barking dog. Hot dogs and knishes, romance and Coney Island ….. you can almost smell the nostalgia. Lebedeff’s output of records was prolific. He recorded for Emerson, Brunswick, and Vocalion.

Born in Homel, White Russia, in 1873, Lebedeff made his NYC debut in October 1920 at Thomashevsky’s National Theater, located at Second Avenue and Houston Street on New York’s Lower East Side.  He was an instant sensation! His success and popularity grew throughout the 1920s and 1930s. During the 1940s and into the 1950s his career continued to thrive though revivals. He continued to perform until his death in 1960.

The Judaica Sound Archives has created this special Lebedeff online collection just for you!  It contains three LPs produced by Collectors Guild and ten songs recorded on 78rpm which are in the public domain. Users of the Judaica Sound Archives Scholars Research Station have access to 186 songs on 78 rpm discs and 12 LP albums.

Click here to listen to songs in the JSA online collection by Aaron Lebedeff.

Gladys Gewirtz: Pioneer of Jewish Children’s Music Dies

By , April 18, 2012 1:28 pm

Gladys Gewirtz circa 1965

Gladys Gewirtz  touched the lives of thousands of people who never met her. Her recordings were among the first that were digitized and played on the JSA website (www.fau.edu/jsa).  Over  60 years ago, Gladys Gewirtz, had the idea of creating recordings for young Jewish children. Together with her sister, Roz Grossman who wrote the lyrics and patter between songs, she produced recordings based on familiar fairy tales and nursery rhymes. The simple sing-along tunes are endearing and bring back early childhood memories to many listeners.

Gladys attended Julliard and Columbia University. She was music director of the first Camp Ramah, and taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary where she  inspired a generation of music teachers and counselors.

The sisters’ songs deal primarily with Jewish customs and holidays, and also celebrate the newly established State of Israel. Miriam Brosseau writes, “in Gewirtz’s record Mother Goose Songs for Jewish Children and Holiday Play Songs, she and narrator Eve Lippman inject Jewish themes into familiar American children’s songs; Little Boy Blue, for instance, cannot watch over his sheep on Shabbat–he is in shul, of course. The young boys on the cover all sport kippot and Mother Goose is pictured in a matronly shawl, with a prominent Star of David around her neck.”

Through the pioneering work of Gladys Gewirtz and her sister, Roz Grossman,  Jewish life and customs became songs that even pre-schoolers could understand.  It is only now, after so many years, that we can truly appreciate the powerful influence that these simple tunes had in fostering Jewish identity and education for  generations of Jewish children.

Gladys spent a number of years at Kol Yisrael (The Voice of Israel) as a music producer.  She was married to the District Attorney of Jerusalem, Ezra Hedaya.

Together with her brother, Shimon (cantor). and his wife, Ilana (flutist and soloist), Gladys established and directed the first music service at the Hebrew Music College in Jerusalem. She also wrote various cantatas and oratorios on biblical themes. Gladys and her brother Shimon again combined their talents to write a musical  based on The Book of Ruth. entitled Your People are Mine.

Gladys was 84 when she passed away on April 14, 2012. Shimon and Roz are currently living in Israel.  All of us at the Judaica Sound Archives are saddened by her passing and offer sincere condolences to her family. Her memory is a blessing to all who knew her. Her music legacy will not be forgotten.

Click here to listen to all eight (8) of her albums from the JSA Collection.

Celebrate klezmer!

By , February 27, 2012 9:41 am

4th Annual KULTUR FESTIVAL: A Celebration of Jewish Music and Arts

March 3—11, 2012

FAU Libraries, Boca Raton, FL

Can’t make it to South Florida?

You can join in the celebration of klezmer right here at the Judaica Sound Archives!

The word “klezmer” derives from two Hebrew words meaning instruments of music. The roots of klezmer can be traced back to 15th century Eastern Europe. Klezmer music incorporates Chassidic melodies, folk tunes, and Jewish celebration dances. However, most ethno-musicologists would tell you that what we refer to as “klezmer” in 21st century America bears very little resemblance to the musical compositions of 100 or 200 years ago. Today’s “klezmer” is like a  kaleidoscopic musical mirror that captures sound bits from the Jewish experience and reflects them back in new and sometimes wildly improbable ways.

Steeped in traditional Jewish sounds and melodies, klezmer is no longer chained to the shtetl. Today’s klezmer can be heard on the internet in Jewish homes around the world. Today’s klezmer can absorb interesting new flavors as the Jewish world of music expands.

Today’s klezmer music wakes up our Jewish cultural memory and provokes us to dance, to celebrate, to be Jewish!

Early klezmorim played the violin and other stringed instruments. Around 1855 the clarinet began to gain prominence. In the USA, clarinetists Dave Tarras and Naftule Brandwein spear-headed a klezmer revolution during the 1920’s. Today klezmer music continues to evolve.  It now includes everything from traditional renditions to mind-blowing fusions.

TheJudaica Sound Archives at Florida Atlantic University Libraries invites you to enjoy klezmer music from the past and the present.

Adrianne Greenbaum – FleytMuzik Klezmer music for flute

Benny Bell – To the Bride

Effy Netzer and his band – Folk Dance in Israel Today

Harry Kandel- Kandel’s Orchestra (1917-1918) Vol. 1

The Original Klezmer jazz Band

Paul Green – Klezmer East

Rudy Tepel and his Orchestra- Lubavitch Wedding

Yiddishe Cup – Klezmer Guy

JSA Featured Performer – Judy Caplan Ginsburgh

By , February 7, 2012 2:43 pm

The Judaica Sound Archives is proud to feature the beautiful voice of Judy Caplan Ginsburgh.  Although much of her work is geared towards children’s music and holiday songs,  her  clean, clear, lyrical voice performs beautifully when singing cantorial songsromantic ballads, and folk songs.  She is a nationally recognized and multi-award winning performer.  She travels extensively to perform at a variety of different of events, appearing in concerts, educational workshops and sing-alongs .

Judy obviously has a passion and a talent for childhood education. She has innovated a number of educational performances and events which engage school-age children with music and song. One of my favorites from her collection is the  iParenting 2007 Award winner, You’re Amazing.

Judy has had great success as a recording artist since 1981. Her award-winning, best-selling recordings for Jewish families feature familiar songs which have been sung for years in Jewish schools and homes. Her interactive and educational recordings of music for general audiences have received the highest praises from teachers and parents around the globe.

The Judaica Sound Archives has 11 of her albums in our collection. I know that once you start listening to them you will be emailing me to ask where you can buy the CDs.  So before you have to ask.  I will tell you.

The Judaica Sound Archives does not sell CDs. If you are interested in purchasing this music please visit Judy Caplan Ginsburgh’s website: www.judymusic.com .

JSA Featured Performer – Laura Wetzler

By , January 18, 2012 3:03 pm

The multi-talented Laura Wetzler is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, lecturer, and recording artist. Her professional singing career began when she was only 15 years old.  Influenced  by her love of Jewish music and the famous folk singers of the 1960s, she became a popular performer at NYC clubs, synagogues and college campuses.

After her graduation from Hofstra she became a protégé of the legendary Joe Elias, master of the Ladino folk song genre. Her first CD was released to critical acclaim in 1999 and was re-issued in 2011.

A sought after concert performer, Wetzler’s popular music/lecture programs (Jewish Women in Jewish Song, Songs of the Lost Communities, Adventures in African and Asian Jewish Music and Jewels of the Diaspora, and Kabbalah Music: Songs of the Jewish Mystics ) highlight not only her talent but also her extensive knowledge of and interest in music history.

Wetzler is not only passionate about her music, she is also a passionate humanitarian. Working with Kalanu.org, she has been helping economically challenged African Jewish farmers to find health, education and basic services since 2002.

In her own words: “Music is my way of exploring the world, celebrating my heritage, and sharing with others.”

The Judaica Sound Archives is pleased to welcome her as one of our featured performers.

Old-style Record Store Opens in San Francisco

By , December 14, 2011 2:43 pm

The Judaica Sound Archives at Florida Atlantic University Libraries was delighted when our friends Josh Kun and Roger Bennett told us that they  were putting together an album of Tikva Records favorites!  As you may remember, the JSA provided many of the LP covers for their book,  And You Shall Know Us by the Trail of Our Vinyl, which was published in November 2008.

Now, as part of the Idelsohn Society, they have released the album,  Songs for the Jewish-American Jet Set: The Tikva Records Story 1950-1973. To celebrate this accomplishment they have opened a 1950′s style record store right in San Francisco’s Mission District (3191 Mission Street). The store is open for business from December 1st  through the end of Hanukkah (December 28).

Of course, we wish them great success.  So the Judaica Sound Archives sent them seven cartons of Jewish LPs (many of them on the Tikva label) to be offered at their record store.

Click here to find out more about what they are doing.

Jacqui Sussholz

By , July 5, 2011 12:47 pm

In 1990 Jacquie Sussholz produced Yiddish Is Forever, a 3-CD album composed of 48 songs. From songs of praise to songs of love, from songs of heartbreak and sorrow to songs of celebration, Yiddish songs have a special quality that pulls at the heart-strings.

Jacquie Sussholz honors his heritage and recreates an authentic yet up-to-date sound with his music. “My style is soul with passion – I express the spirit of traditional songs, but in arrangements that are modern and exciting.”

Chassidic nigunim and Yiddish popular music often provided a sound track for the lives of Jews who were born in the 20th century. Now fans of Yiddishkeit can enjoy listening to the music of Jacqui Sussholz.  The days of a vibrant Yiddish culture may be gone but the music can be preserved for the future so that it will never be lost.

Click here to listen to all 48 songs.

My favorite videos on YouTube

By , June 13, 2011 2:50 pm

Although the Judaica Sound Archives does not collect or preserve video materials we LOVE watching some of the wonderful clips on YouTube. Supporters and friends of the JSA often send us links to film clips that they think we will enjoy.  Here are some of our favorites. What are yours?

The following YouTube videos indicate that you don’t have to be Jewish to love Jewish music…..

Connie Francis released this album of Jewish songs in 1960. She talks about how much Jewish music has meant to her in this video. Click here. (3 min.)

If you haven’t heard Tom Jones singing My Yiddishe Momma you are in for a treat.  Click here. (2 min, 33 sec.)

Charles Aznavour also sings My Yiddishe Momma. He not onlymakes this rendition totally his own he also makes it powerful and totally unique.  I love this recording.  Click here. (6 min, 32 sec.)

We all love Julie Andrews.  Did you ever wonder what it would be like if she sang at a Jewish wedding?  Well, now you know! Click here. (4 min., 24 sec.)

Prof. Josh Kun discusses the meaning and importance of Hava Negila. Leonard Nimoy, Irving Fields, Harry Bellafonte and many others add their talents. Click here. (9 min.)

Sophie Tucker sings her iconic rendition of My Yiddishe Momma in this clip. Click here. (7 min., 9 sec.)

Think you’ve heard it all?  Here is a new perspectives on some old Jewish music.

Meshugga Beach Party performs Sholem Aleichem like you have never heard it before. Click here.  (2 min., 12 sec.)

KULTUR Festival 2011 at FAU Libraries

By , February 24, 2011 1:15 pm

As part of its KULTUR Festival FAU Libraries will honor and highlight some of the  JSA’s favorite performers. See below for a partial list of some of the wonderful events.

Saturday, March 5 at 7 pm

FAU Wimberly Library 5th Floor, Boca Raton, FL

Singing in the Dark starring Moyishe Oysher

This 1956 movie was Moishe Oysher’s only English-language film.

Click to hear Moishe Oysher’s online music collection.

Sunday, March 6 at 3 pm

Carole & Barry Kaye Auditorium, FAU Boca Raton Campus

Klezmerology

This main event concert features the 25-member KCO orchestra under the direction of Aaron Kula , Director of Music Collections and Performance at FAU Libraries.

Click to hear KCO’s online album.

Click to browse JSA’s online klezmer collection.

Tuesday, March 8 at 2 pm

FAU Wimberly Library 5th Floor, Boca Raton, FL

Zingen un Zogn: Songs & Stories, Phyllis Berk and Roslyn Perry

Yiddishkeit sung and told by two sisters.

Click to hear Phyllis Berk’s online album.

Click to browse JSA’s online Yiddish music collection.

Wednesday, March 9 at 2 pm

FAU Wimberly Library 5th Floor,Boca Raton, FL

Jewish Woman in Song with Helene Williams (soprano) and Leonard Lehrman (piano)

Songs and lecture that celebrate great Jewish women entertainers.

Click to hear Molly Picon’s original album online.

Thursday, March 10 at 7:30pm

Live Oak Pavilion, FAU Boca Raton Campus

Sephardic Soul: The Joe Elias Memorial Concert

The Susana Behar Sephardic Music Ensemble and the Elias Ladino Ensemble, led by Daniel Elias will honor the memory of Joe Elias, a leading American Sephardic musician of the 20th century.

Click to hear the Elias Ladino Ensemble’s online music collection.

Click to browse JSA’s online Ladino/Sephardic collection.

JSA mourns loss of Debbie Friedman

By , January 13, 2011 1:38 pm

The Judaica Sound Archives at FAU Libraries joins the rest of the worldwide Jewish community in mourning the death of Debbie Friedman.

Friedman, a beloved Jewish composer and performer, died on January 9th at the age of 59.  Her singable, folk-inspired music combined lyrics in Hebrew and English to make Jewish prayer uniquely accessible. She was deeply committed to Jewish spiritual values and bringing them to us in ways we had never heard before.

Her music is not featured on the JSA website due to copyright restrictions. However, the following 18 of her albums are in the JSA Collection which is available for researchers, scholars and students. These albums are widely available commercially.

Renewal of Spirit
Live At the Del
In the Beginning
Shirim Al Galgalim Songs On Wheels
Miracles & Wonders
And the Youth Shall See Visions
Ani Ma-Amin
Live At the Del
Sing Unto God
The World of Your dreams
Renewal of Spirit
Live At the Del
Not by Might Not by Power
Ani Ma-amin – I Believe
Debbie Friedman’s Musical Curriculum
And the Youth Shall See Visions
If Not Now, When
Sing Unto God

Related articles:

Forward: Friedman’s legacy seen in her music, and her message

Daily News: Jewish folk singer Debbie Friedman, 59, dies in California

AOL Music: Jewish folk singer Debbie Friedman dies

Washington Post: Jewish folk singer Debbie Friedman dies

Billboard: Debbie Friedman, Jewish folk artist, dies at 59

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