The Interaction of Musicians on a London World Music Scene
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City Research Online City, University of London Institutional Repository Citation: Tkachenko, Paul (2013). The real deal: professional klezmer musicians on a London world music scene. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis, City University London) This is the unspecified version of the paper. This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link: https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/2361/ Link to published version: Copyright: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the author(s) and/or copyright holders. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to. Reuse: Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. 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City Research Online: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/ [email protected] The Real Deal: Professional Klezmer Musicians On A London World Music Scene Paul Steven Tkachenko PhD Thesis City University London Department of Music March 2013 1 Dedicated to the memory of Jim Marcovitch (1974-2008) 2 Table of Contents 3 Acknowledgments 5 Abstract 7 Declaration 8 Chapter One Outline of thesis 9 The basic problem: being real 10 Literature review 13 Conduct of fieldwork 15 Defining a scene 18 The Jewish Music Institute 23 Background information on the bands 26 She’koyokh 26 The Matzoh Boys 27 The Yiddish Twist Orchestra 28 Other bands 29 Chapter Two A Definition of the Real Deal 32 The Real Deal graph 32 Positioning three bands on the Real Deal graph 37 Rumpelstiltstein 38 She’koyokh 39 FDT Klezmorim 41 The rising importance of authenticity 42 Authenticity of self versus authenticating others 44 Real Deal credentials 46 Selling authenticity 49 World Music 59 Positioning klezmer in World Music 65 Who is playing this music and why? 68 Conclusion 75 Chapter Three Jewdar 77 Stereotypes 81 Unspoken empowerment through ‘blackness’ 96 Jewdar and the Real Deal 99 The question: ‘Are you Jewish?’ 100 Personal experiences of mistaken identity 103 Attire 106 Dressing Rumpelstiltskin 111 The Kippah/Yarmulke 114 The Shabbes Goy musician 117 The Jewish Joke 122 Conclusion 125 Chapter Four Olmaz: it just isn’t done 127 Taking ownership of klezmer as Jewish music 128 Who can lay claim to this music? 133 KlezFest 138 Real/Fake books 141 The Band of Drunks 147 Policing the style 151 Jewish Music Competition 155 Halachic Judaism 157 Moving from the Klezmer Hoyz to the Klezmer Caravan 161 3 A Jewish wedding at KlezFest 164 Conclusion 169 Chapter Five It’s all about the music, man 172 Success 173 Class and the ‘concert’ situation 175 The only musicians who can afford to be poor 178 Busking and squatting 184 Meetings with those who we see as the Real Deal 188 The rejection of academia 190 Re-inventing the Real Deal: Willie Bergman 195 What’s in a name? Turning the gun on myself 200 Conclusion 201 Chapter Six Conclusions 204 Bibliography 213 Discography 228 List of Figures Figure 1 The musicians I interviewed from the scene 22 Figure 2 The Real Deal Graph 33 Figure 3 The Real / Fake Matrix 35 Figure 4 The Polarity of Natural Authenticity Graph 36 Figure 5 The Real Deal graph with three London bands positioned on it 37 Figure 6 Rumpelstiltstein publicity shot 38 Figure 7 She’koyokh publicity shot 39 Figure 8 Coca-Cola: It’s the Real Thing. 1970s ad campaign 52 Figure 9 The Dervish Café, Stoke Newington, London 54 Figure 10 The Real Greek restaurant, Paddington Street, London 55 Figure 11 The Real Deal graph 82 Figure 12 A young Alec Guinness, and as Fagin 85 Figure 13 Rowan Atkinson 86 Figure 14 Jewface (2006) 87 Figure 15 Amy Winehouse and Rachel Stevens 98 Figure 16 The Real Deal graph 100 Figure 17 The Merlin Shepherd Quartet and the London Gypsy Orchestra 107 Figure 18 Topol as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof 109 Figure 19 Felt Rabbi hat 112 Figure 20 Rumpelstiltstein publicity shot 113 Figure 21 Janusz Flakus at the Cork Festival of Jewish Culture 2008 (removed) 121 Figure 22 Klezmer Klub at the Cork Festival of Jewish Culture 2008 (removed) 122 Figure 23 DJ Malaka from BalkanBeats London mySpace site 187 Figure 24 Polina Shepherd performing with the Yiddish Twist Orchestra 197 4 Acknowledgements I am extremely grateful to many people for the help, support and encouragement they have given me throughout this project. First, I should like to thank Chris Wiley for stimulating my interest in academia whilst completing my MA at the Open University and, subsequently, encouraging me to study at City University. Whilst at City, I was fortunate to have the continuing support, guidance and proactive enthusiasm of Laudan Nooshin. Thanks also to Miguel Mera and Stephen Cottrell for allowing me to do some teaching, which I have enjoyed immensely. For realising that this project is broader than klezmer or Jewish music studies, I am indebted to my supervisor Alex Lingas, whose comments always seemed to hit the right spot. I continue to be enthused and inspired by his brilliant weaving of academia, family life and trans-Atlantic gigging that have always helped keep my own activities in perspective. I should like to thank the Worshipful Company of the Cordwainers, who were good enough to award me some money in 2011 to help with my fees. To all of the musicians with whom I play regularly, and those who I see less of - this research would have been impossible without you all. The casual discussions on the way back from gigs, some which I recorded, formed the basis of this whole work. Inevitably, some of you will read this and recognise yourselves and, perhaps, others. I hope that I have represented us all accurately. This is the considered way that I see it and I would encourage all of you to present your view of our scene wherever possible. It is important to remember that my fieldwork was undertaken as something of a snapshot during the period 2007-9 and that, hopefully, as a result of my work, things move on. For a non-Jewish musician to be so involved in Jewish music in the UK is a testament to the impressive work of Geraldine Auerbach, MBE. She has built a remarkable 5 organisation and team in the Jewish Music Institute and I hope that this work stands as a small tribute to this as she retires as director. It is no surprise that Barry Davis’ name is associated with so many fine projects concerning Yiddish and klezmer. The speed with which he read my draft and provided a plethora of informed and considered insights demonstrates the enthusiasm that he has for the subject. Without him, I would have been quite lost. One of my first contacts upon moving to London was Chris Williams, who nurtured my interest in Turkish music (olmaz!) and always encouraged me with my studies. Long conversations, often very early in the morning, really helped me to form ideas. Similarly, I have enjoyed chatting over these issues with Alex Knapp and I’m grateful for his support and encouragement. Thanks to my Dad for encouraging me to continue into higher education whilst I also pursued a career as a performer. Also, thanks to Linda for her tireless proof reading. Thanks to my Mum, for continually asking if I have done it yet. Finally, an acknowledgement to my long-suffering wife, Tanya, who has allowed me to pay for all my course fees myself. She clearly thinks I’m a bit mad and I’m sure she could have found different things to spend the money on. At least I have now done it and can spend a bit more time with my son, Alex, who hasn’t seen as much of me as he ought. 6 Abstract The Real Deal is a term often used by musicians to describe people they perceive to be more authentic than them. Over the past seven or eight years, I have performed music from Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Turkey and beyond under the umbrella of World Music in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world: London. As I negotiated my way onto this scene and played with some of the finest musicians, I became increasingly aware of those I felt to be the Real Deal. I also began to feel that, in certain circumstances, I may also have appeared to be the Real Deal to others. Many of the musicians on this scene had begun their foray into these diverse styles with klezmer and it is this style that I explore most with relation to the Real Deal. As klezmer is a Jewish music style not played, or even enjoyed, by all Jews, this makes notions of the Real Deal much more ambiguous. This thesis examines the movable perception that is the Real Deal and the complex interplay that results between musicians. Through discussions with twenty musicians with whom I have played regularly, I discussed the Real Deal and how it affects the way we work. Although half of the musicians self-identified as being Jewish and the other half did not, this became only one factor in the complex negotiations involved in professional music making. The often amusing anecdotes of mistaken identity that we shared raised fundamental questions about our stage performances.