Stars of David

Like Tony Thomas I am a lover of classical music. That is my favourite but I Iike most genres, and jazz is right up there, although I’m no expert.  My wife definitely prefers jazz.  That is why Saturday night is America Night in our musical programme.

Last Saturday night, just before I pulled up stumps, a thought struck me about what I had just listened to.  There was a thread running through it.  I wonder if you can spot it.

We started with Benny Goodman – the king of swing.  When we think of swing, we tend to think of Goodman and  Glenn Miller.  I like them both, but I prefer Goodman.  I feel his music retains more of the traditional New Orleans style.  It’s a little grittier than Miller’s very big band sound.

For example, one of my favourites is He ain’t got rhythm.   And I think his Perfidia is the best version (not gritty, I concede).

Goodman is regarded as one of the musicians influential in helping jazz evolve from being strictly dance music to music worthy of a discerning listening audience. It was the start of jazz being recognized as an art form on a par with classical music.

And from Wikipedia:

Goodman helped racial integration in America. In the early 1930s, black and white musicians could not play together in most clubs and concerts. In the Southern states, racial segregation was enforced by Jim Crow laws. Goodman hired Teddy Wilson for his trio and added vibraphonist Lionel Hampton for his quartet. In 1939 he hired guitarist Charlie Christian. This integration in music happened ten years before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s six-decade-long color line. According to Jazz (Episode 5) by Ken Burns, Lionel Hampton states that when someone asked Goodman why he “played with that nigger” (referring to Teddy Wilson), Goodman replied, “If you say that again to me, I’ll take a clarinet and bust you across your head with it”.

Did I mention that Goodman was Jewish?

Next up last Saturday night was George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.  This has to be one the greatest compositions of the Twentieth Century, which bridges the gap between classical and jazz.  Along with An American in Paris and Cuban Overture.

The story I love most about Gershwin is that when he went to Paris seeking guidance from Maurie Ravel, Ravel told him ‘Why would you want to be a second-rate Ravel when you can be a first-rate Gershwin?’

BTW, did I mention that Gershwin was Jewish?

The performance of Rhapsody was conducted by Leonard Bernstein, himself the composer of West Side Story and Candide.

BTW, did I mention that Bernstein was Jewish?

We followed Gershwin with Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring.  Copland is probably best known for his Fanfare for the Common Man, but other notable and popular works include Billy the Kid, Rodeo and El Salon de Mexico. You should check them out.

BTW, did I mention Copland was Jewish?

By then it was getting a bit late, so we concluded the evening’s entertainment with Phillip Glass – his 4^th Symphony.  Glass is still with us – he’s 87.  According to Wikipedia he is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century.  He has written 15 operas, numerous chamber operas and musical theatre works, 14 symphonies, 12 concertos, nine string quartets, various other chamber music pieces, and many film scores.

I am not a musician, but I would describe his music – based on repetition and overlaying of melodic themes – as compelling yet contemplative.  That’s why I always leave his stuff until just before bedtime. His 4^th Symphony Heroes is based on David Bowie’s album of the same name.

BTW, did I mention that Glass is Jewish?

That got me thinking about other popular music of the early twentieth century and names such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein came immediately to mind.  All of them, you guessed it, Jewish.

And I’ve no doubt you’ve also cottoned onto the thread that struck me.  How these perfidious cosmopolitans and so-called artists have caballed to dominate and corrupt the musical world, in much the same way that the Rothschilds and their ilk have done to the financial world.

It’s no wonder all those aspiring Muslim composers can’t get a look in.