Jews and Jazz: a melting pot of identities

What has Charlie Parker’s classic bebop tune ‘Anthropology’ got to do with George Gershwin? What was the role of Jewish composers in establishing the great American Song Book and how did this establish mainstream jazz standards? How does the Freygish scale found in klezmer music relate to the Phyrgian dominant mode used in minor 2-5-1 Jazz chords?

Jewish composers, musicians, producers and club owners played a major role in the establishment of the American Jazz scene. One possible reason for this is that Jews used jazz to construct three identities: to become more American, to emphasize their minority status, and to become more Jewish. Today a wealth of Israeli musicians is influencing the modern Jazz scene with their own Sephardic and Mizrachi musical flavours. This talk will provide plenty of musical examples and does not require any knowledge of jazz but a willingness to listen with open-minded ears.

Yoav Ben-Shlomo is a lover of music, including classical, jazz and klezmer as well as helping run DAVAR on the side. He is neither a professional musician, still mastering jazz flute and saxophone, or a Jazz historian, but he loves to share his knowledge and passion of music.