Feature: A Beginner’s Guide to Modern Yiddish Music
These 9 innovative musicians are expanding the boundaries of Yiddish music.
By Joe Bauer, published in heyalma
“The phrase “Yiddish music” usually brings to mind a couple of familiar images. Most people imagine either a group of older men recreating the klezmer music of late 19th century and early 20th century Eastern Europe, or the kind of American showtunes made famous with catchy songs like “Bei Mir Bistu Shein” (“To Me You’re Beautiful”). For some, it’s the musical equivalent of a sepia-toned photograph frozen in the past.
Today, that’s changing. You can still find traditional renderings of Yiddish classics. But with a resurging interest in the language and music festivals, from KlezKanada in Montreal to Yiddish Summer Weimar in Germany, artists are expanding beyond the traditional confines of what we imagine Yiddish music to be. These artists have built on what the likes of Chava Alberstein, The Klezmatics, and Brave Old World have started. Now, there’s everything from psychedelic Yiddish rock to Yiddish rap a la Joshua Dolgin of Socalled.
This self-described anti-fascist klezmer folk-punk trio in Seattle sounds like they could’ve fit in nicely on the Juno soundtrack somewhere between Vampire and The Moldy Peaches with their airy banjos and ukuleles. Their mission is to “braid together oral history, Yiddish language, contemporary and old-country musical genres, American Vaudeville, and visual arts.” Indeed, you can tell they care about tradition but aren’t stuck in the past with songs like “Hungry Yid,” which comments on rising rent in Capitol Hill. Keep an eye out for their forthcoming album, Cradle Songs, Grave Songs, releasing on May 1.”