Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Subways Are For...Chanukah Songs by Klezmer Saxophonist Isaiah Richardson


Last January we posted two videos of New York subway and street musician Isaiah Richardson Jr. performing his unique saxophone dance to a variety of Jewish tunes. This week an alert subway rider with a smartphone captured his latest subway platform solo, hopping around while playing a medley of Hanukkah songs.

As we pointed out in January, Richardson is no ordinary street musician. He is an alumnus of the Juilliard School, the High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts, and the United States Marine Corps Band. 

The 32-year-old Bronx saxophonist, who also plays a mean clarinet, specializes in anthems and tunes from many countries and nationalities, and can quickly launch into an appropriate set whenever he encounters a recognizable ethnic group from one of his perches at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or a convenient subway platform.

Enjoy!


(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)



6 comments:

  1. Please stop paying attention to that ignorant lie ridden New York Times article. I DO NOT "specialize" in national anthems. I never EVER play songs for people based where they are from. Its complete nonsense only s fool would believe. 2000 people from 200 countries all sitting down one place and you play Chinese music for 15 minutes. What happens? 1,990 keep walking. Dont be so foolish to be believe that nonsense. Did not graduate from "clown academy" i simply studied magic for one month. I play Jewish music because Im a real clarinet and WE ALL DO regardless of skin color. The absolute most famous clarinets in the entire world are Benny Goodman and Art Shaw both jewish. If you play clarinet seriously, you will hear "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon", "Hava Nagila", "Odessa Bulgar", "Mizerlu", "When The Angels Sing" and on. Andy Statman was my inspiration in high school after Benny Goodman. Thats what real clarinet players encounter. Please, please, please for the love of GOD read this REAL article on me in a jewish newspaper the Algemeiner and start referring to that ignorant lie filled New York Times FILTH. Thank you. Please read this article to avoid lying to your readers. Thank you. Its not your fault.
    http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/05/12/an-unorthodox-jazz-musician-encountering-mixed-reactions-to-his-jewish-music/

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  3. http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/05/12/an-unorthodox-jazz-musician-encountering-mixed-reactions-to-his-jewish-music/
    Read this article on him.

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  4. Shame on all those people for putting him for playing the music he loves just because he's black! This story should much bigger with more professional videos...

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  5. Great article. Shame on those ignorant people for putting him down. Most all professional clarinetists play some klezmer and he's no exception.

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