With more than 400 photographs, extensive interviews with the descendants of pioneer Jewish Texan families, and reproductions of rare historical documents, Natalie Ornish’s Pioneer Jewish Texans quickly became a classic following its original relea
With more than 400 photographs, extensive interviews with the descendants of pioneer Jewish Texan families, and reproductions of rare historical documents, Natalie Ornish’s Pioneer Jewish Texans quickly became a classic following its original release in 1989. This new Texas A&M University Press edition presents Ornish’s meticulous research and her fascinating historical vignettes for a new generation of readers and historians. She chronicles Jewish buccaneers with Jean Lafitte at Galveston; she tells of Jewish patriots who fought at the Alamo and at virtually every major engagement in the war for Texan independence; she traces the careers of immigrants with names like Marcus, Sanger, and Gordon, who arrived on the Texas frontier with little more than the packs on their backs and went on to build great mercantile empires. Cattle barons, wildcatters, diplomats, physicians, financiers, artists, and humanitarians are among the other notable Jewish pioneers and pathfinders described in this carefully researched and exhaustively documented book. Filling a substantial void in Texana and Texas history, the Texas A&M University Press edition of Natalie Ornish’s Pioneer Jewish Texans brings back into circulation this treasure trove of information on a rich and often overlooked vein of the multifaceted story of the Lone Star State.
Kazu Matsui presents a sterling collection of songs recorded over a five-year period in the '80s at a time when he was perfecting a sound then known as quiet storm. The 16 tracks on Pioneer feature guest appearances by such well-known artists as Paul Jack
Singer Irving Kaufman is perhaps best known for sounding painfully out of date on quite a few late-'20s jazz recordings, lowering the quality of some performances featuring cornetist Bix Beiderbecke. However, this Archeophone release shows that Kaufman did have a prime period, for the great majority of the 26 selections are from 1914-1923. Kaufman's clear enunciation and enthusiasm, which sounded quite square in 1927, was almost hip for 1917 and he hints at jazz as early as 1915 on the intriguing "Listen to That Dixie Band." Many of these early selections have their charm and there are duets with Billy Murray ("Are You from Dixie") and Irving's brother Jack Kaufman ("Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean") plus a rare collaboration with pianist Eubie Blake ("Sweet Lady") from 1921. Of the five selections from after 1925, a duet with Vaughn DeLeath on "You Took Advantage of Me" is quite bizarre while "That's the Good Old Sunny South" is both topical for the time and nostalgic. There are also two numbers from 1946-1947 (on which Kaufman sounds like a middle-of-the-road crooner) and a privately recorded version of "God Bless America" from 1974. Overall, this program allows one to reappraise the talents of Irving Kaufman. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi
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Honeytree Pioneer (Rare, Can't be found anywhere)
Fundraising for Documentation of Rare Gamelan and Dance via Online Store
It is festival time in Bali at the moment, and the highlight of June and July is the Bali Arts Festival which runs through to July 10th at the Arts Center in Denpasar. Most of the performances are free and there are normally at least four a day, in the morning at in the evening. There are both traditional and modern performances of music and dance, from all different villages in Bali as well as other parts of Indonesia and even overseas. Private organizations or clubs, known as sanggar in Indonesian showcase their specialties with 1-2 hour performances. A highlight of the classical legong performances was June 25th last week, when Mekar Bhuana Conservatory presented quality legong music and dance on the Ayodya Stage, featuring the rarely performed legong jobog. You can see photos and video of their performance on Facebook on the Pesta Kesenian Bali page and also on their website: www.balimusicanddance.com
At the conservatory, the young musicians and dancers document and reconstruct rare and endangered classical and archaic repertoire, either from vintage recordings or directly from senior village guru. These artists are the future generation who will pass on this rare repertoire to their children and grandchildren.
At Mekar Bhuana, also you can study classical Balinese music and dance, and the unique thing is that you learn this ancient repertoire on original, antique instruments. As well as opportunities for both private individuals and groups to take lessons and experiential packages, the conservatory is also planning a workshop program that will be offered in the near future. Accommodation is available at the conservatory and the founders are always happy to answer any questions you may have: info@balimusicanddance.com
Since the conservatory has no much-needed outside funding sources, director, Putu Evie Suyadnyani and co-founder, Vaughan Hatch, have pioneered the world's first online store that specializes in mostly Balinese quality gamelan instruments (new, used and antique), dance costumes, puppets, masks, CDs, DVDs, accessories, books and downloads. This site elevates the profile of talented local artisans as well as helps to raise funds for ongoing documentation of and education about endangered Balinese gamelan and dance art-forms. Now lovers of gamelan and dance no longer need to come all the way to Bali to source these kinds of products, because they are sourced for you and gathered together in one online shop: www.mekarbhuana.com.
Mekar Bhuana's members love meeting travelers and groups can come to the conservatory to see a practice or if you are lucky you may catch one of their spectacular performances when you are in Bali. Contact them on info@balimusicanddance.com for details on dates and times.