This Passover, my friend Lester Feder sat at the head of his family’s Seder table, strumming away on his banjo and belting out Hebrew lyrics with a big-voiced Appalachian twang. As a bluegrass and old-time musician myself, I was familiar with Lester’s wailing sound. As a Jew, I’d been to countless Seders. But the transposition of these traditions was like nothing I’d ever imagined.
For Feder, a Northern Virginia native, fusing his American identity with his religious heritage through music was a natural development. “I feel far more connected to the old time traditions of the upper South than the Ashkenazi traditions of Eastern Europe,” he said. “I wanted to make a Seder that was my own.”
“Jewgrass,” as this fusion is sometimes called, is played by a diverse group of old-time and bluegrass musicians. Among them are New York City Jews who grew up during the 1960s folk revival, orthodox Jews who sing Hebrew prayers set to bluegrass melodies and klezmer musicians who infuse their music with Appalachian fiddle tunes. These lovers of the banjo, the fiddle and the mandolin have found a uniquely American way to express their Jewish cultural identity and religious faith.
Feder, who holds a doctorate in musicology from the University of California, Los Angeles, says African slaves brought the banjo to the United States and with it, the frailing style (banjo strings are brushed downward with the back of the fingers or nails) associated with old-time music. Old-time, the precursor to bluegrass, developed in America during the 19th and early 20th centuries, incorporating the musical traditions of African-American, Irish, English and Scottish communities. Bluegrass emerged in the 1930s when Kentucky native Bill Monroe fused old-time music with blues and jazz influences to create a new sound. Unlike old-time, which emphasizes the fiddle and melody, bluegrass music’s distinctive features are instrumental solos and bluegrass banjo—a hard-driving style in which the player picks with three fingers.
Over time, this music became associated with a romanticized notion of rural America: people sitting on their back porches strumming the banjo, living “authentic” country lives. Jews were drawn to this music, partly because of the romanticized ideal. “Jews are a religious minority in largely Christian country,” Feder says. “Southern music has been a way for them to connect to that mainstream American identity.”
Bluegrass lyrics celebrate country living, but many of the people singing them are city folk. Jerry Wicentowski grew up in Brooklyn in the 1960s and fell in love with bluegrass during the folk revival. For religious Jews like Wicentowski, there was a rebellious element to being a fan of the music. Bluegrass became his escape. During the week, he studied at an insular yeshiva; on the weekends he played guitar in Washington Square Park.
After earning a Master’s degree in Hebrew and Semitic Studies and then drifting away from Judaism, a series of life events led Wicentowski to return to religion. Eventually, he found himself a man with two strong identities: a Jew and a bluegrass musician. He began to fuse the two. Wicentowski worked on an album with mandolin virtuoso Andy Statman called “Shabbos in Nashville,” which featured Jewish songs in the style of 1950s bluegrass. Later, he founded his own band, Lucky Break. The Minnesota-based quartet bills itself as “uniquely American, uniquely Jewish,” by mixing “the stark beauty of Appalachian music with Shabbat Z’mirot,” or Sabbath songs.
Robbie Ludwick, a Hassidic Jew from Silver Spring, Maryland, is the only Jew in his current band, The Zion Mountain Boys. Ludwick lives in an orthodox community, davens daily and spends most of his free time playing the mandolin. His band mates have impressive independent music careers but are drawn to the unique sound of Ludwick’s music—songs that blend traditional bluegrass with Hassidic melodies called niguns.


Comments
How, 'bout dat?
Posted by Rebecca Hamlin on September 24,2009 | 05:46PM
No surprise considering Andy Statman has appeared on a number of bluegrass albums and then starting a Klezmer Orchestra. Bill Monroe always said there was a little bit of every kind of music in bluegrass.
Posted by JefFlyingV on September 30,2009 | 09:33PM
It is so nice to hear that America is not really a melting pot, but rather more of a stew, where each culture can maintain its own identity adding wonderful flavors to the pot while still keeping the contents of the American pot loyal to the US. I love this music and hope to hear more of it. Thanks to Smithsonian for featuring the sound as well as the story behind it.
Posted by Ronda Shiffrin on October 8,2009 | 04:33PM
One of my favorite CD's is Wonder Wheel by the Klezmatics. Woody Guthrie songs. Awesome.
Posted by Kirk Price on October 8,2009 | 06:33PM
Great to see this piece. These are links to several things I've written about Statman over the years (the first two for the Chicago Tribune), for anyone interested in reading a little more.
http://davidroyko.webs.com/statmantrib1994.htm
http://davidroyko.webs.com/statmantrib2007.htm
http://davidroyko.webs.com/musramoct406.htm
Dave Royko
http://davidroyko.webs.com/
Posted by David Royko on October 9,2009 | 08:19AM
Tennessee Schmaltz, our klezmer band based in Knoxville, Tennessee, has been performing a blend of various genres since 1995. Some of our pieces are Rollin in my Sweet Bubbe's Arms, Dueling Clarinets, and Reconstituted Orange Blossom Special. We are currently the only Klezmer band in the world that features a washtub bass.
Posted by Robert Heller on October 9,2009 | 09:14AM
Just a small 400-mile correction. Lucky Break's home town is Milwaukee, WI, not Minnesota.
Posted by Jerry Wicentowski on October 9,2009 | 10:04AM
Our band was among the first to apply this approach to klezmer music (though we use a clawhammer, not bluegrass, banjo). Check out the following CDs: (1) The Flower of Berezin (http://cdbaby.com/cd/freilachmakers); (2) And I in the Uttermost West (http://cdbaby.com/cd/freilachmakers2); and (3) Shalom Ireland by Ceilizemer, which included two Freilachmakers (http://cdbaby.com/cd/ceilizemer).
Andy Rubin
The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band
www.freilachmakers.com
Posted by Andy Rubin on October 13,2009 | 08:47AM
I find it interesting that there was no mention of the Fabrangen Fiddlers, who originally brought Jewish bluegrass to the Washington, DC area in 1971. Reb David Shneyer and I were responsible for that innovation, as many of our loyal fans will affirm.
Posted by Alan Oresky on October 27,2009 | 05:03PM