Jewish- New Orleans Art?

What follows is a piece written for Lee Barclay and Chris Porche West's great collection of short pieces by New Orleans residents from all across the city and its complex social layers. It was written after the 2005 hurricane that wiped out so much but then there was the city wide pondering over What Can't be Lost. The roster of contributors is epic and being invited to participate was an honor. It's still available here... 

Though the book is a few months old now and the subject even older I'm still including it under "What's New?"...because it hasn't been seen outside the book yet.

 

 

Jewish-New Orleans Art?

 

Over the last 16 years, playing with the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars, I have had a close view of what a hybridized New Orleans- Jewish art form might be and, more interestingly, what forces in any locale might contribute to the alteration of certain sounds in music.  

The common definition of Klezmer music is usually given by the translation of the word coupled with the origins of the sound.  The word Klezmer is from two words, kley and zemer, meaning vessel of song.  Some go on to say that this describes the musician who is the vessel who channels the melodies that in a sense are already out there in a metaphysical space given by God.  From a cultural or ethno-musicological standpoint, Klezmer denotes Eastern European Jews playing the secular music of those regions but with an instrumental inflection from the liturgical-singing style of the Chazzans or synagogue cantorial soloists of those regions.  

It is interesting how people begin to identify with phenomena such as sounds and places and relate to those things as being their own.  Since this band started playing the bars of New Orleans in the early nineties, the energy of that world began to seep in.  People wanted to dance, and they wanted rhythmic, ecstatic music that lasted for hours into the night.  That was their idea of New Orleans music at that time. People who saw that element said that we were New Orleans players; that we played New Orleans Jewish Funk.  On the other hand, many said that we were

Read MoreInfo
1 Comment
Written by Jonathan Freilich On In Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Creativity

"Ability to produce something new through imaginative skill, whether a new solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic object or form. The term generally refers to a richness of ideas and originality of thinking. Psychological studies of highly creative people have shown that many have a strong interest in apparent disorder, contradiction, and imbalance, which seem to be perceived as challenges. Such individuals may possess an exceptionally deep, broad, and flexible awareness of themselves."- Brittanica Concise Encyclopedia (online)

Info
Comment
Written by Jonathan Freilich On In Tagged , , , , , ,

Mas Mamones show at DBA on July 10th

The Latin Dance band, Mas Mamones will be out at DBA, New Orleans this Sunday night starting at 10pm. The band will feature the usual suspects plus this week Antonio Gambrell will join us on trumpet.  Our fearless leader/bassist, Andrew "catch-you-out" Wolf has announced the arrival of the hot girlie tees.  Come get one and be the sexiest in your neighborhood.

Info
Comment
Written by Jonathan Freilich On In Tagged , , , , , , , ,

TaintRadio.org is broadcasting the Freilich Documentary

David Kunian, the author of the radio documentary about some of the exploits of Jonathan Freilich, has requested that you be notified about the airing of the show. It's a rare showing...
PROGRAM NOTE: JONATHAN FRELICH DOCUMENTARY ON taintradio.org

taintradio.org proudly presents producer David Kunian’s excellent documentary, Jonathan Freilich’s Double-O Naked Klezmer Jazz Latin Boogaloo, an hour-long radio documentary about guitarist, composer and bandleader Jonathan Freilich. Freilich founded The New Orleans Klezmer All Stars, the jazz bands Naked on the Floor and avant-garde big band The Naked Orchestra, the rock-steady ska band 007, and the rhythm and blues band Poor Man’s Speedball.

Freilich has been the essence of the working and creative musician in New Orleans. The program explores what this is like and how he accomplishes his goals and ideas. It includes interviews with Freilich, selections from his music, and recollections and interviews from the people who know him and work with him including musicians Stanton Moore, Joe Cabral, Alex McMurray, Ben Ellman, Glen Hartmann, Kevin O’Day, Tim Green, James Singleton, Jeff Albert, Drs. James Walsh and Janna Saslaw, filmmaker Henry Griffin, and producers Mark Bingham and Benjamin Lyons.

The program is narrated and produced by
Read MoreInfo
1 Comment
Written by Jonathan Freilich On In Tagged , , , ,

Follow up Interview with Piety St. Studios founder/engineer/producer/musician/composer, Mark Bingham

Check out the concluding, second interview with Mr. Mark Bingham, a large contributor to the current face of New Orleans music.  Sometimes how he contributes is less than obvious.  Find out here, on the music interviews page, and get a lot of other juicy stories on music and the less-than-slick machine that keeps it "out there."

 

Info
Comment
Written by Jonathan Freilich On In Tagged , , , , , ,

Reflections on Herbie Hancock's Imagine Project show- Flynn Theater, Friday June 3rd, 2011

It’s been over a week since the first concert I saw at the Discover Jazz festival (Burlington, VT) and, aside from being generally busy, there was so much new music and performance information that Hancock put out on that evening, that it seemed wiser to let the sensations percolate through thought and emotion for a while before sitting to reflect on the show in writing.

In fact, I only saw the second set but, on my way in to the theater I heard many on their way out exclaiming how amazing the show was, or seeming pleased that he had played so many old favorites. They were clearly leaving midway though, in droves.  

Something about this seemed strange since one of the reasons that folks attend his music is that he is a recognized musical “genius.”  That’s not really genius status by association or history, it comes from a track record of blowing peoples stodgy, musical perception, doors off the dirty hinges of their expectations.  His abilities to use music as a vast nuanced system of self expression, as well as it’s uses as a vehicle for voicing the  intentions or identities of cultural movements, seem beyond question at this point.  In fact, most who are looking for these “hits” can’t stop muttering on at the same time about...

Read MoreInfo
1 Comment
Written by Jonathan Freilich On In , Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Music-Poetry?Music-Poetry!Music...Poetry...Music...

"All poetry comes into being in respect to its sounds, tormented into perfection or near-perfection by the logical and prosaic resistance of language in response to the disturbance of occasion."- Mary Kinzie from A Poet's Guide to Poetry

It could just as easily be about music with a couple of noun re-arrangements.

Info
Comment
Written by Jonathan Freilich On In Tagged , , , ,

Conclusion of interview with composer, Dr. James P. Walsh

   Composer/bassist-Dr. James "Jimbo" Walsh sat for a second interview to get further biographically and a little deeper into current ideas.  Parts 1-5 are now up here...

(If you are a local New Orleanian you may also know him as Jimbo, bassist with Davis Rogan and Washboard Rodeo. Or as the the guitar player with The Other Planets. Or as the conductor of the Naked Orchestra. Or as director of the New Orleans New Music Ensemble.)

Info
Comment
Written by Jonathan Freilich On In Tagged , , ,

A conversation on the current New Orleans music scene with Mark Bingham, Helen Gillet, Michael Dominici, and Jonathan Freilich

A slightly different format audio recording has just gone up on the music interviews page.  It's a four way conversation and I've left it full length for this site.

WWOZ radio DJ, Michael Dominici had the idea to take some of what has been happening in these interviews and take it onto WWOZ during his radio show.  There were time constraints that didn't allow us, with our summer schedules, to do this live so we pre-recorded it on May 28th, 2011. Mark Bingham allowed us to do the interview at Piety St. Studios so we sat down for about an hour and discussed a few things pertaining to recording, time perception, thinking of music for now, anachronistic music, and observations on a few other musicians around the scene including Quintron, Ratty

Read MoreInfo
Comment
Written by Jonathan Freilich On In Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Complete interview with Jeff Albert, Trombonist and curator of the Open Ears Series.

Jeff Albert is more than just a trombonist.  In starting the Open Ears music series he provided a new local forum for improvisational music, as well as for other forms of music that do not have any easy time getting on the stages of New Orleans venues.  Many groups and associations of musicians have found each other, temporarily or over the long term, from playing in the series and this has changed the face of the creative music scene in New Orleans. 

How did he do it?  What has he done?  Why has he dunnit? What might he do? Listen to him remove some veils.

Parts 1-5 of an audio interview with Jeff Albert are up now here...

All interviews are also available as a podcast through itunes here...

or by clicking on the RSS link further down on this page (right side.)

Info
Comment
Written by Jonathan Freilich On In Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Friends! any confidence?

"The transaction concluded, the two still remained seated, falling into familiar conversation, by degrees verging into that confidential sort of sympathetic silence, the last refinement and luxury of unaffected good feeling.  A kind of social superstition, to suppose that to be truly friendly one must be saying friendly words all the time, any more than to be doing friendly deeds continually.  True friendliness, like true religion, being in a sort independent of works."- The Confidence Man by Herman Melville

Info
Comment
Written by Jonathan Freilich On In Tagged , , , , ,