Jewface!!

Buick6

too punk to drunk
In light of the recent performances by 'Final War' in this country via a friendly Croatian community centre, and some of our vehement Irish friends on this board, I thought, being of the tribe and my innate disposition to commerce and exploitation, I'd share the commercial release of this fine pop ditty with you indie-folkers:

VA: Jewface CD (RSR 006CD) 15.00
"What did the dawn of American pop music sound like? The answer can be found through the new RebBoot Stereophonic release, Jewface, lost Jewish minstrel songs that took vaudeville stages by storm at the turn of the 20th century but that have become written out of history. Composed by legendary tunesmiths like Irving Berlin and Gus Kahn, many of the songs made use of authentically Jewish musical motifs fusing them with every Jewish stereotype under the sun. What may have sounded mournful, exotic, and 'Oriental' to non-Jewish audiences resonated in a unique way for new Jewish immigrants, thrilled at this cultural jujitsu: From 'Under the Matzos Tree' to 'I'm a Yiddish Cowboy,' and 'Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars,' exploring the Jewface recordings reveals one of the dirty little secrets of American culture: some of the very first hit records were fiendishly catchy Jewish musical creations, created by Jews, for Jews. All of these songs have been hunted down and re-mastered from cylinder recordings to create one of the most remarkable and perhaps offensive albums ever."



RSR 007CD

KATZ, FRED: Folk Songs For Far Out Folk CD (RSR 007CD) 15.00
"Much like Gershon Kingsley, Katz has had one of the more extraordinary, if off-beat careers, in contemporary music. Katz made his biggest mark by bringing the cello into the forefront of the jazz repertoire, most notably as a member of the ever-experimental ensemble, the Chico Hamilton Quintet. The most admired, if under-discussed, Katz album though is probably this one, Folk Songs for Far Out Folk, which he said was dedicated to the idea that all jazz is born from 'the roots of people.' The roots he explores here are folk songs -- American, Hebrew & African. The Hebrew ones no doubt speak to Katz's own roots as the son of a Kabbalist and Hebraic scholar. On 'Baal Shem Tov' and 'Rav's Nigun' Katz is joined by Paul Horn on sax and legendary L.A. jazzman Buddy Collette on flute. The tracks are from 1958 and sound prophetic, in their way pre-Knitting Factory, avant tackle of jazz and Jewish tradition alike."
 
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