1920s - Theatre Music
Musical theatre
and comedy continued to be popular and from the 1920s there were stars of the
Yiddish theatre who had been born in the US such as Molly Picon - a big star of
musicals, comedy and, later, film. Fanny Brice was a well-known comedienne who
specialised in Jewish stereotypes (often very unflattering). As well as recording
the music and songs from the theatre they started recording sketches and comedy
songs for example the Yente Talebande series of comedy routines.
In 1921
Abe Schwartz composed the music for the show Mi Grine Kuzine (My Green Cousin)
which led to a whole series of songs about immigrants. In 1925 a recording of
'Yiddishe Mama' was released which was a big hit and remained popular for many
years. Other entertainers yiddish-ized American popular songs such as Peshe Burnstein's
Ye Zir Is Meyn Kale (Yes Sir that's my baby) and Gus Golstein's Yez Mir Habn Keyn
Bananez (Yes, we have no bananas). Songs also reflected current events like the
fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the sinking of the Titanic and there
is Naftule Brandwein's Der Yidishe Soldat in de Trenches.
The klezmorim
had always adapted their repertoires in response to the times and locations -
back in Eastern Europe the Romanian shepherd's doina became a standard part of
the wedding repertoire. The same process happened in America with jazz. In 1926
Kandel recorded 'Jackie Jazz 'em Up' - a jazz piece with a klezmer trumpet break
and he recorded other jazz versions of klezmer classics such as der Shtiler Bulgar.
Joseph Chernaivsky's Yiddishe American Jazz Band aka the Hassidic American Jazz
Band aka Oriental Americal Syncopators dressed as Cossacks and hassidim and played
tight jazzy versions of klezmer tunes. Naftule Brandwein played with them but
his habits were unsociable and he was replaced by Dave Tarras.
1930s
In the 1930s the coming of sound in film resulted in the loss of work for many
jobbing klezmorim in New York although a few found new employment composing and
recording for film (eg Max Epstein). Other artists, such as Molly Picon and Josele
Rosenblatt crossed over from vaudeville into film and of course Al Jolson, star
of The Jazz Singer.
The stock market crash and Depression also affected
vaudeville theatre and the recording market but new forms of entertainment came
to the fore. 1926 saw the launch of the Libby Hotel Programme, the first Yiddish
radio show with drama and music (featuring Dave Tarras). Other Yiddish radio programmes
added features, poetry, editorial, dramatic serials and all included the Yiddish
adverts from the sponsors.
The interwar period also saw the development
of the Borsht Belt - the area of Jewish hotels in the Catskill Mountains where
New Yorkers went for their summer holidays to escape the heat. Originally Jews
were restricted from the Catskills Hotels but eventually some enterprising farmers
branched out from running health breaks for sweat shop workers with TB and moved
into the hotel market. Entertainment was an important part of the package, there
were dances, background music during dinner and shows which followed the current
American style but included songs and music from Yiddish theatre. Jewish musicians
found work there and many comedians started their careers entertaining the Jewish
holidaymakers.
Show Songs
One show song,
Bay Mir Bist Du Sheyn (You are Beautiful to me) became the biggest Jewish crossover
hit ever. Written by Sholom Secunda in 1932 for a mediocre show (with a Dave Tarras
Solo) he sold it on and the lyrics were rewritten. It was recorded by the Andrews
sisters in 1937 and became a major hit.
Other groups followed, singing
in a similar style. The Barry sisters (previously the Bagelman sisters) recorded
Yiddish jazz songs and performed on a new radio programme 'Yiddish Melodies in
Swing' with Dave Tarras, with whom they also recorded.
Other crossover
tunes were Bublitchki Bagelah, written by Abe Schwartz and recorded by him in
1917. He also recorded Der Shtiler Bulgar which became Frailach in Swing and then
with English lyrics, And the Angels Sing. Many of the crossover tunes had a similar
structure - American jazz style beginning and end with a bulgar/klezmer passage
in the middle.
Foxtrots and Tangos
Back
in Europe, the klezmorim between the wars included foxtrots and tangos in their
repertoires. Yiddish tangos were written and played in South America and Europe
(see the cd Tangele by Lloica Czackis). At the same time, in Kiev, Moshe Beregovski
carried out extensive ethnomusicology research into the klezmorim (and used the
term klezmer to denote the music for the first time). He recorded many examples
of the music, transcribed it and wrote about it. Some of his work has recently
been translated and published (see book list).
Yiddish Film
The 1930s also saw the heyday Yiddish films. Yiddle Mit un Fidl starred Molly
Picon cross dressing to play in a klezmer kapelye touring the Polish countryside,
having adventures (including abducting a bride from her wedding) but the sound
track has hardly a shred of traditional klezmer music on it. Other films were
more authentic in their sound and there were many musicals continuing the traditions
of Yiddish theatre on celluloid.
In 1941 Brandwein recorded his last session.
This marks the beginning of the end of an era for klezmer. A new generation had
grown up in the US more interested in jazz than klezmer, speaking English rather
than Yiddish. By the Second World War most of the Yiddish radio stations had gone
off air and Yiddish theatre and film were in decline. During the war the Eastern
European Jewish communities were decimated by the Holocaust. It may seem that
klezmer was to disappear also but there is another chapter to this story.
Next
- Twilight and new dawn - the post war period
