The words “Jews and Jazz” have a lot more in common than merely alliteration, Sidney H. Reiss contends.
Speaking under the auspices of the Young People’s League of the United Synagogue of America over Station WBNX last night, Reiss maintained that “our conservative Yiddishe mommas who struggled to give their boys a musical education are responsible for some of our best jazz selections.”
There is a noticeable similarity between the “hotcha rhythms” and some of the Hebraic melodies, he said. Two examples of this, he asserted, are “Stormy Weather” by Harold Arlen, and “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.