JAZZ EDUCATION in ISRAEL by LEE CAPLAN a Thesis Submitted to The
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JAZZ EDUCATION IN ISRAEL by LEE CAPLAN A Thesis submitted to the Graduate School-Newark Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Graduate Program in Jazz History and Research written under the direction of Dr. Henry Martin and approved by ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Newark, New Jersey May,2017 ©2017 Lee Caplan ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS JAZZ EDUCATION IN ISRAEL By LEE CAPLAN Thesis Director Dr. Henry Martin Jazz Education in Israel is indebted to three key figures – Zvi Keren, Arnie Lawrence, and Mel Keller. This thesis explores how Jazz developed in Israel and the role education played. Jazz Education in Israel discusses the origin of educational programs such as the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music (1985) and the New School Jazz Program (1986). One question that was imperative to this study was attempting to discover exactly how Jazz became a cultural import and export within Israel. Through interviews included in this thesis, this study uncovers just that. The interviews include figures such as Tal Ronen, Dr. Arnon Palty, Dr. Alona Sagee, and Keren Yair Dagan. As technology gets more advanced and the world gets smaller, Jazz finds itself playing a larger role in humanity as a whole. iii Preface The idea for this thesis came to me when I was traveling abroad during the summer of 2015. I was enjoying sightseeing throughout the streets of Ben Yehuda Jerusalem contemplating topics when all of a sudden I came across a jam session. I went over to listen to the music and was extremely surprised to find musicians from all parts of Europe coming together in a small Jazz venue in Israel playing bebop standards at break-neck speeds. After spending some time listening and just wondering how this all came to be, I decided to ask if I could play a song with them. I chose the well-known Jazz standard How High the Moon, and we began to play. When we finished the piece, I had finally realized what I needed to write about. iv Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the invaluable lessons Henry Martin and Lewis Porter have taught me. I would like to dedicate this work to my loving parents as well as all the teachers my life has provided me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Preface................................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 – Jazz in Palestine/Israel 1.1-Jazz in Palestine/Israel ...................................................................................................1 1.2-During 1990 .................................................................................................................13 1.3-Zvi Keren .....................................................................................................................17 1.4-Arnie Lawrence ...........................................................................................................22 1.5-Jazz programs in Israel ................................................................................................27 CHAPTER 2 – Key Musical Figures 2.1-Omer Avital .................................................................................................................29 2.2-Dekel Bor .....................................................................................................................33 2.3-Anat Cohen ..................................................................................................................34 2.4-Avishai Cohen .............................................................................................................35 2.5-Eli Degibri ...................................................................................................................38 2.6-Ehud Ettun ...................................................................................................................41 2.7-Adam Ben Ezra ............................................................................................................44 2.8-Gilad Hekselman .........................................................................................................46 2.9-Ori Kaplan ...................................................................................................................49 2.10-Rotem Sivan ..............................................................................................................50 2.11-Asaf Sirkis .................................................................................................................51 2.12-Harold Rubin .............................................................................................................53 2.13-Issi Rozen ..................................................................................................................56 2.14-Kobi Arad ..................................................................................................................58 2.15-Assaf Kehati ..............................................................................................................62 CHAPTER 3 – Interviews with Israeli Jazz Musicians and Educators 3.1-Tal Ronen ....................................................................................................................64 3.2-Dr. Arnon Palty............................................................................................................76 3.3-Dr. Alona Sagee Keren ................................................................................................83 3.4-Yair Dagan ...................................................................................................................91 CHAPTER 4 – Musical Analyses 4.1-“I Wanna Be Around” (Song Analysis) ....................................................................100 4.2-“I Wanna Be Around” (Solo Analysis) .....................................................................111 APPENDICES A.1-Bibliography .............................................................................................................120 A.2-Anat Cohen Discography ..........................................................................................128 A.3-Avishai Cohen Discography .....................................................................................153 A.4-Omer Avital Discography .........................................................................................175 vi 1 Chapter 1 – Jazz in Palestine/Israel 1.1 Jazz in Palestine/Israel At the turn of the 20th century in Europe, the continent grew more and more excited about the syncopated music being produced in America. With the popularity of Ragtime in Europe, the seeds were planted for a full blown appreciation of this new African American art form.1 As Europeans became more familiar with this genre of music, it began to spread throughout the continent rapidly, eventually finding its way to Israel. Jazz is a hybrid art form containing many different cultural elements that run throughout its DNA. Much like the people of Israel, Jazz music is fueled with rhythmic and melodic ideas originating from lands both far and wide. We can begin to see interesting parallels between the emergence of Jazz and Jewish life in the 19th and 20th century. Jews born into Eastern European countries often dealt with complex identity politics resulting in feelings of isolation and confusion.2 Both Jews and Jazz enjoyed a very specific and unique role in within the American landscape. This chapter takes into consideration the role of two key players in this movement, Zvi Keren and Arnie Lawrence. 1 See more here – "History of Ragtime." American Memory from the Library of Congress Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017. https://litmusicadaptation.wikispaces.com/Ragtime+and+the+Music+Hall. 2 See this text for more information – Sand, Shlomo. The Invention of the Jewish People. London: Verso, 2010. Print. 2 I have broken up the chapter into four sections: the first two sections are an overview of different time periods, and the second two sections address the remaining important characters in the development of the musical landscape in Israel. Jazz originated in Israel during the late 1930's, however it did not thrive until Israelis became fascinated with American culture – specifically, the fast paced living of the New York Jazz scene.3 In 1930’s Mandatory Palestine,4 radios were used as political tools for spreading the word of Zionism to the developing country of Israel. Leaders of Mandatory Palestine used radios almost exclusively for the function of furthering political agendas. Because of this, in order for Jazz to be introduced, an outside source needed to come forth, as no Mandatory Palestinian-born citizen had heard this music before. Similar to Leonard Bernstein’s musical talks,5 Mel Keller, an American musician, would play and explain the music to his Israeli audience in the 1950's.6 During the British mandate, British soldiers would bring their records on stage to play, leading the British soldiers to form bands with the citizens of Mandatory Palestine. With bands came shows, with shows came venues. Now with definitive places to see and hear Jazz, more interest was generated,