Unexpected Traces in Jewish Places: Japanese Klezmer Band Jinta-la-Mvta Performs at KulturfestNYC

One of the most unusual bands to perform at KulturfestNYC, the week-long festival of Jewish music that ended its run on Sunday, was Jinta La-Mvta, a Japanese klezmer band. Yes, we said Japanese and klezmer in the same sentence.

The group was founded in 2004 by Ohkuma Wataru, clarinetist and bandleader of the groundbreaking Japanese experimental folk band Cicala Mvta and his partner and drummer Kogure Miwazo.

Considered as one of the few Klezmer experts in Japan, Wataru has also penned various pieces on Klezmer and Japanese liner notes of Klezmatics and Frank London.

We got a glimpse and sample of the band's music at the KulturfestNYC opening concert on June 14. The next day they performed at Joe's Pub at the Public.

We found a good sample of their Japanese klezmer style on YouTube and we're sharing it with you today.

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.) 

Thousands Brave Weather in Central Park to See Yiddish Soul Concert

Photo by Shimon Gifter - VINnews.com

Thousands of concertgoers braved threatening skies to attend a lively concert of all types of Jewish music at Summerstage in Central Park on Monday night. 

The show was one of the 100 events that are taking over Manhattan all this week to celebrate KulturfestNYC, the 100th anniversary of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.

As the Vos Iz Neias website reported yesterday,

While the notion of Yiddish music and chazanus might seem to appeal only to the older set, concert goers of all ages were swept up by the music during the program, which ran over two and a half hours and was hosted by radio personality Nachum Segal.  Even the attire of the performers, from Malovany’s white dinner jacket to Schmeltzer’s white derby and colorful bow tie, seemed to echo the message of the night:  that Jewish music is alive and well with something to appeal to everyone.

Having five of Jewish music’s top performers taking the stage in the midst of the most visited urban park in the city and one of the most filmed locations in the world seemed surreal for some.

“Chazzanut in a park? Impossible,” said Chazan Yanky Lemmer. “Yiddish to young teenagers from across a wide spectrum of backgrounds? Impossible. Well that’s exactly what happened and from the reactions we know it was effective. Towards the end, the crowd was on fire! The blend of the two and the way the program kept escalating was superb.”

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.)

KulturfestNYC Opening Night Sets Tone for Week of 100 Jewish Cultural Events

Last Sunday evening more than a thousand people assembled in the Winter Garden atrium in the upscale shopping mall at Brookfield Place upscale in lower Manhattan for the opening concert of KulturfestNYC.

The two hour concert featured appearances by many of the stars of the Yiddish stage and films as a preview of the 100 events that are being performed this week up and down Manhattan to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.

As Seth Rogovoy wrote in The Forward,

The event was held at at Brookfield Place, and if you’ve never seen a concert there, don’t feel the need to rectify the omission, because it’s actually a shopping mall atrium. Nevertheless, every seat was occupied, every inch of staircase was taken up by concertgoers, and the rest were left standing on the sidelines or hanging over the railings of the balcony level of retail stores.

The concert – functioning as a sampler or smorgasbord of all the musical artists who will be performing in the festival through next Sunday – included the obligatory rendition of “Rumenye”; a nod to the tradition historically embodied by Paul Robeson of African-Americans singing Yiddish through a lens of spirituals, here delivered by Elmore James; and a set-closing appearance by pop legend Neil Sedaka, who accompanied himself solo on the Steinway Grand with a poignant rendition of “My Yidishe Mame.”

We were among those hanging over the railings and managed to video a portion of the concert to share with you. Here's a clip of Bernard Hiller singing Rumania Rumania.

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.)