This Synagogue is on the square where I work and live. The above is a postcard from 1903. The temple was destroyed in 1938 as part of the Kristallnacht (The night of broken glass, literally translated as ‘Crystal Night’). A series of planned attacks on Jewish owned properties. Over 1,000 synagogues were burned. It was rebuilt in the 50S.
Back in 1968, a 17 year-old named Jonathan Klein had written an alternative concert for Friday Night Jewish prayers. It had been performed a few times at various Friday night gatherings, and been received well. The decision was made by a Jewish charitable organization to take this concert a little further and record it properly. An extraordinary line-up was put together It was pressed in very, very limited numbers without a real label, with no catalog number and was only offered for sale at various prayer gatherings. Without real distribution, the LP disappeared from view very fast, and even today there is little or no reference to it anywhere except on an obscure Herbie Hancock recordings web site. Jonny Trunk first came across the album in the late 1990s, and again recently in 2005. Because it is so unusual and so incredibly beautiful, he decided to get in touch with everyone involved, and officially licensed the recording for its first-ever worldwide release. Musically, the album is like no other, with its wholly unique mixture of spiritual New York jazz, Hebrew praises and modal phrases. Led by Herbie on piano, from the moment the album starts Music written by Jonathan Klein, Herbie Hancock (piano), Jerome Richardson (flute, tenor and alto sax), Thad Jones (trumpet and flugelhorn), Ron Carter (bass), Jonathan Klein (French horn and baritone) and Grady Tate (drums). The recording also features Antonia Lavanne (soprano), Phyllis Bryn-Julson (contralto) and Rabbi David Davis (reader).
The hallmark of life should be about the promotion of harmonious relationships and better understanding toward fellow human beings. All people. As a Jew living in Germany with two mixed race boys from an African mother, I believe I am a good promoter of this.
Understand. Educate. Never forget.
Today is Holocaust memorial day.
‘Oh Allah’ Alice Coltrane
U/N/I/V/E/R/S/A/L///C/O/N/S/C/I/O/U/S/N/E/S/S
I REALLY FEEL. DJ SPINN. MAN I DO IT EP. This sounded good on NYE.
