Jews have been resident in the United States since the colonial period of the 17th. century, although they were initially small in numbers, having mainly immigrated from Spain and Portugal. These early immigrants were almost exclusively Sephardic Jews. The biggest group until 1830 was the Jewish community of Charleston, South Carolina. Large scale immigration began in the 19th. century with the arrival of many Ashkenazi Jews from Germany, most of whom became merchants and shop-owners. By 1880 the number of Jews in the USA had escalated to around 250,000, many of whom were well educated secular German Jews, although a minority of the older Sephardic Jewish families remained influential.
Over 2 million Jews immigrated to the United States between the late 19th. century and 1924. This included a distinct wave of Yiddish speaking Ashkenazi Jews from the poor rural Jewish populations of the Russian Empire which consisted of Poland, Lithunia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and the Russian-controlled part of the former Duchy of Warsaw. A large number of these Yiddish speaking Jews settled in New York City and the New Jersey area thus establishing one of the world's biggest major concentrations of the Jewish population.
The newly arrived Jews in the United States developed their own support networks which consisted of many small synagogues and Ashkenazi Jewish 'Territorial Associations' (Landsmannschaften) for Jews from the same town or village. Most of them became increasingly assimilated into the American culture and 500.000 comprising half the American male population between the ages of 18 and 50 fought in World War II. After the second World War many of them joined the American trend towards suburbanization as a result of which there was a greater tendency to intermarriage and secularization.
At the same time this was occuring, new centres of Jewish communities became established and Jewish School enrollment doubled between the end of World War II and the mid-1950s. Jewish affiliation with synagogues increased from 20% in 1930 to 60% in 1960.
The 20th. century wave of immigration which followed the Holocaust that destroyed most of the European Jewish community, resulted in the United States becoming home of the largest Jewish population in the world during the 20th. century. Whereas at the beginning of the 20th. century there were approximately a million Jews in the United States, by the end of the century there was a population of nearly 6 million. It is estimated that the current intermarriage rate for Jews in the United States is in excess of 50%.
In the 21st. century, where we are now (I think?), the American Jews have become widely diffused in major metropolitan areas in New York, South Florida, Philadelphia, California, New England, Ohio and Illinois.
All the above account may be seen as forming a backdrop to the development and transition of klezmer from its roots in the Middle Eastern and Eastern European music to what it has now become, a musical genre in its own right. It was inevitable that when they immigrated to the United States the Jews took their culture and music with them. This was also the case when they immigrated to other parts of the world and so klezmer music was to become something which could be enjoyed all over the globe. To begin with not a great deal of klezmer music was maintained by the American Jews but there were a few Yiddish singers who kept the vocal music tradition alive.
In the 1920s the clarinetists Dave Tarras and Naftule Brandwein evoked a brief, influential revival of klezmer music. Very few of the performers of this time regarded themselves as klezmorim (performers of klezmer) and the term cannot be found in any Jewish instrumental recordings of the time. As the Jews became assimilated into the American culture, the popularity of klezmer declined slowly and Jewish celebrations tended to become more and more accompanied by non-Jewish music.
Dovid Tarraschuck, generally known as Dave Tarras, was born in 1897 in the small town of Ternovka near the Ukranian city of Uman. He was exposed to klezmer music early in his childhood because his father performed as a klezmer trombonist and batkhn. The wedding jester, or batkn was the bandleader, master of ceremonies, comedian and storyteller, all rolled into one. As he grew up, Dave played for a while in his father's family kapelye (band), performing on balalaika, cobza, guitar, mandolin and flute. In 1915, by which time he was also playing clarinet, Dave was conscripted into the Czar's army. His skills enabled him, like many klezorim before him, to serve in the military band, which was infinitely better than the trenches. A combination of the Russian Revolution, pogroms and an unfavourable economic environment forced Tarras to immigrate to New York City in 1921. On arrival he worked first in a clothes factory and then as a caretaker. He suffered from an inferiority complex, thinking he was not good enough to become a professional musician. He soon had a reality check and discovered that he was better than most of the musicians he heard and he subsequently earned a lot more money by playing the clarinet than doing other work.
Dave's ability to transpose and read music fluently made him a much sought-after player, launching his career as well as a long term rivalry with his colleague and fellow clarinetist Naftule Brandwein. In time Dave's sight reading skills and placid disposition won him Brandwein's place in Joseph Cherniavsky's ensemble, the Yiddish American Jazz Band. He eventually died in 1989.
Dave Tarras
Naftule Brandwein, sometimes spelled Naftuli Brandwine, (1884-1963) was a Jewish clarinetist who beacme perhaps one of the most influential figures in the history of Klezmer music. He was born in Przemyslany, Galicia (now Ukraine), into a family of klezmer musicians, who were also part of the Strettener Hasidic dynasty of Rabbi Yehuda Husch Brandwein of Stratyn. His father Peysekhe played violin and was an improvising badhkn. He had thirteen sons, Moyshe played
violin, French horn and valve trombone, Mendel played piano, Leyzer played drums and Azriel played cornet. Azriel became Naftule's first music teacher and had a lasting impact on his playing. This is an unusual case of a father being taught music by his son, usually it's the other way round.
Brandwein emigrated to the United States in 1908 at the age of 19 and once there he soon became a star of the 78 rpm record era, (really the first proper recording era) and he then proclaimed himself to be the 'King of Jewish Music'. He may thus be considered to be among the first wave of American klezmer artists, those who were trained in the Old World, as opposed to the second generation who learned the art of klezmer whilst actually having become resident in America.
Between 1922 and 1927 Brandwein produced 24 records, first as a member of Abe Scwartz's orchestra and then as a solo artist from 1923 onwards.
Naftule Brandwein was renowned for his colourful personality as well as for his musical talent. He often appeared to perform with a neon sign round his neck which read 'Naftule Brandwein Orchestra'. He would also perform with his back to the audience so that they could not pick up on his fingering tricks. In this way he can be seen as a forerunner of contemporary pop and rock artists who frequently indulge in unusual light displays and different ways of holding and playing their instruments. Sometimes it became a dangerous game, as when he wore plugged-in Christmas lights as part of his costume. These once shorted out when he perspired too freely, almost electrocuting him!
Naftule Brandwein
Although traditional performances may have declined, many Jewish composers who had secured success as clssical composers, such as Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland, continued to be influenced by the klezmeric idioms which they had heard when they were young and in their formative years. Gustav Mahler also shows evidence of the influence of klezmer in his composition. Some have even suggested that Gershwin was influenced by the Yiddish of his youth and that this is evident in the opening clarinet solo of Rhapsody in Blue. Played in the right way this magical opening can appear to be improvised rather than being lifted from the musical score. The musical playing style of the jazz clarinetist Beeny Goodman may be seen as somthing akin to klezmer.
While all this was going on, some non-Jewish composers were also showing the influence of klezmer in their composition. Dmitri Shostakovich was a great admirer of klezmer music because of its ability to embrace both the ecstasy and the despair of life. Several klezmer musical borrowings can be seen in the Piano Quintet in G minor, op. 57 (1940), the Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, op. 67 (1944) and the String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, op. 110 (1960).
It can thus be seen that klezmer music is of importance and great influence to both jazz and classical music. It may also be seen that jazz and classical genres have invested certain characteristics and idioms in klezmer music. With the increasing trend of performers to 'crossover' between Jazz, classical and klezmer we can look forward to some exciting developments in the future; as they say, 'Watch this space!'
Having traced the development of klezmer and its transposition to the United States of America, I hope to look at its subsequent revival and some of the more recent historical developments. This should be followed by a closer look at the musical structure and content of klezmer before taking a more in-depth look at the artists, repertoire, performances and recordings of klezmer.
Meanwhile, you may want to listen to some of the music mentioned here; try using Last FM or Spotify to check out Benny Goodman, Rhapsody in Blue (introduction), Shostakovich, Bernstein and Mahler. See how many influences of klezmer you can identify and also in your other general classical and jazz listening. You could also try finding the recordings of Dave Tarras and Naftule Brandwein on Last FM or Spotify.
The following link to 'Klezmer meries in the Memorial Book' gives some interesting references to klezmer and klezmorim after the Holocaust, if you want some further reading before perusing my next article.
Please contact me at http://erikretallick@yahoo.co.uk if you have and observations, comments or questions relating to this article.
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