SummerNights at the Jewish Museum Rolls On: Slavic Soul Party!, and This Week, Michael WinogradTrio

Slavic Soul Party! at SummerNights at the Jewish Museum

Photo by Tony Napoli

The SummerNights music festival at The Jewish Museum continued to roll along with the Slavic Soul Party! last Thursday. Balkan Funk n Roll, Romany melodies and soulful Eastern European threnodies for lost worlds, Slavic Soul Party! stands its ground against the tyranny of the modernity, and delves back into the Macedonian and Carpathian past and then explores how those tunes have evolved in the context of the original cultures that created them. We picked up their excellent CD, TAKETRON, and look forward to seeing the guys again at their "Tuesday night forever" gig at Barbes on 9th street and 5th avenue in Brooklyn.

More on Slavic Soul Party! here

Next up -- Thursday, July 28, the Michael Winograd Trio, exploring Yidish music with new compositions. SummeNights is never a disappointment and some tickets are still avaialble for the Trio's performance this Thursday. More info here

A sidebar: More an observation than a comment. Although the performers tend to be exciting and extraordinarily talented younger artists re-examining Eastern European roots music in all its forms, variations and possibilities, the audiences at SummerNights, while very appreciative and receptive, appear to be Jewish Museum members who are predominently middle-aged and older. The performers seem a tad disappointed that the audiences don't get up and shake a leg during the shows. Since it is a proscenium theater-type venue, short of adding a mosh pit and inviting standees, the audience will continue to tap and headshake and groove from a seated position. It might be up to the Jewish Museum to attempt to attract a younger crowd or have the show less like a formal concert than an event with music (say the way that the Brooklyn Museum features music on First Saturday, where there is an opportunity to both sit and listen or stand/dance/groove). Otherwise, since form dictates function, it is likely that SummerNights audiences will continue to love the music, but do so seated, polite, and formal. But for music fans of all ages, this is a series worth checking out!