Blessed Bluegrass

Jerry,
I listened to “Little Maggie” first and was floored as expected. But “Shalom Aleichem” is a delight — Jewish soul meets Memphis hillybilly!

Is that a new guitar you’re playing? What happened to ole reliable 50′s D28 with the shaved neck and the gutsy bass notes?

Shabbos in Nashville has not been released and is in a kind of legal limbo at the moment. But Andy Statman is hoping it will see the light of day eventually.
Jon Kalish

As a born and bred Southerner, with city overlays, this site continues to produce both the unexpected and deepening of known concepts.

Let’s try to hold onto this “American-Thing” for a while longer. It gets more and more interesting.

Oh! And the music is excellent.

Thanks

Dr. Kevin Christianson from Knoxville passed this link my way. I am just listening to those songs and I like what I hear a lot. Since I am doing the public radio show which is not really blues but more of roots music type of thing I try to have my ears open to different sounds, from jazz, through folk and indie, all the way to classical and world-music. This Jewish type of country music sounds very cool.

Keep rockin’,
Przemek Draheim, Poland

fantastic!! I love it! I want to hear more of the bluegrass zmiros. thanks Jon!

Jerry…..Wow,Completely Blowin Away. Is there any place to download Your music,any of it! I’ve become a Big Fan! Thanks

Yes, we’re having Fried Chicken for Hannukah. And French Fries. The more oil the better!

Another excellent piece of journalism, Jon — Jerry Wicentowski’s music is fabulous and thank you for doing so much to forward Jewish culture and keep it out there in the world. A happy, freylekhn Khaneke!

Great work, Jon, great work Jerry!
I can really relate to the bittersweet experience of essentially giving up a serious music career for Shabbos. It’s worth it, but it’s not pain-free.
As someone who has played and loved bluegrass for over 30 years, I have to say that I still can’t relate to zemiros being done to Jimmy Martin tunes! Well, to each his own. Yashar koach!

You music is so much fun! I wish I could hear the Shalom Aleichem recording, has it been pulled? I keep getting an error message when I try to open it. I looked you up on you tube and heard some more, how ’bout if you post some Jewish music there? I look forward to more!
Hatzlacha rabbah,
Aliza Bulow

Lovely and wonderful, but the song you have listed as “Little Maggie” is, in fact, “Hold What You Got.” Can’t vouch which song’s lyrics you are singing, but the music is most definitely that Jimmy Martin classic.

Thanks Jerry. Clearly I pushed the wrong buttons. Great music!

Jerry,
Your best bet is to contact ‘Jacobs Ladder’, an annual folk festival here in Israel. This would be the perfect stage for your music.
http://www.jlfestival.com/index.asp
shabbat shalom,
ekruger

Hi, Jerry–

Great. I look forward to the rest.

Always knew there had to be something more uplifting inside of Hold What You Got.

Curious to know who is playing lead electric guitar on Shalom Aleichem. I have a strong suspicion, but will await confirmation.

Best,
Alan

Jerry,

I thought we pushed the envelope with our version of “Shalom Aleichem” (www.TheWayJewsRock.com), but I think your version takes the prize. Keep it up. Elisha

That’s exactly who I thought it was. Jon and I have been close friends since 1962, discovering and playing bluegrass, blues, etc. All these years. Still very much in touch. An astonishing player, oozing music.

Hi Jackie,

We have a great time playing at Hillels. In recent years we’ve been very well received at the U. of Vermont and U. of Iowa, among others, and are presently finalizing a date with U. of I. in Champaign.

Please provide me contact information for your Hillel director and person in charge of programming. You can email it to me at jerry@luckybreak.us.

Thanks very much.

Joyce, I’m happy that you enjoyed the music,and attained much-needed elbow room in Knoxville.

Most of my performance opportunities come about through local Jewish organizations- synagogues,Federation, JCC’s, etc. If you know people in your community that can help actualize an event, please put me in touch with them.

Hi Eliezer,

I welcome your comment, but I’m a little confused. You’re critical of doing Shalom Aleichem to ‘Hold Watcha Got’, but then say “the version in the Kalish piece feels right enough.” Are you saying that you’re put off by it in theory, but like the final product?
In any event, I certainly agree with your premise that a melody or musical style may intrinsically be at odds with a spiritual message.
If, as you say, you find Irish tunes to feel much the same spiritually as a good niggun, there has to be a way for you to bridge the gap if it enhances your experience spiritually and musically.

i would love to put shalom aleichem on my website on a music player. when will it be available for purchase?

Love it!!!! Your version of Shalom Aleichem – finally, music I can connect with! As a born n bred Kentucky Jew who cried when Monroe died, sure I like the klezmer and the Laurie Berkner and the cantorial stuff from eastern europe a hundred years ago- but this is a lot more relevant and integral for me.
I emailed the local Federation’s activities director your email. Can’t wait til you get the legal stuff resolved so I can get more!!!

Hey Jerry, i am orthodox as well and i really enjoyed your music. My family is a musical one, almost all of us play the fiddle and we have attended music camps in Nashville, New York etc. It is very interesting to see an orthodox jew preform the way you do, although we have been involved in the fiddle world for many years we have never encountered an orthodox jew who preforms blue grass, it is very enlightening. Who is the fiddler preforming in your pieces ?
My daughters performed their arrangement of Acheinu at a fiddle camp, if you’d like to listen here’s the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLdHE5G80cA

THANK YOU! :)

Excellent, both your story and your music.
Your Sholon Aleichem is great. Your version of Dror Yikra is haunting, very shalosh seudos appropriate.

Are you aware that Ben Zion Soloman, currently lives on Moshav Meor Moddin in Israel (Shlomo Carlebach’s moshav) and an original member of Diaspora Yeshiva Band is very big on Bluegrass and C&W? Some of their tunes feature him on banjo and fiddle.

In closing let me quote Reb Nachman of Breslav who said “All music is holy”
(the music not necessarily the lyrics but absolutely all music)

Great schmooze Jerry. I heard a lot about you when I played for Chabad in Milwaukee. Now I hear you. Sorry we didn’t get to meet. As you can see from some of the above posts, we (Diaspora Yeshiva Band)had some strong Bluegrass/Jewgrass influences. Good stuff.
Thanks for the music, man!

Thanks for your posting. My partner and i have continually observed that a lot of people are wanting to lose weight simply because they wish to look slim plus attractive. Having said that, they do not generally realize that there are many benefits for you to losing weight as well. Doctors say that over weight people suffer from a variety of disorders that can be directly attributed to the excess weight. The great news is that people who’re overweight along with suffering from different diseases are able to reduce the severity of their particular illnesses simply by losing weight. It’s possible to see a gradual but notable improvement in health when even a moderate amount of fat reduction is accomplished gywl512.

Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!

this is so great. really like it!

I’ve said that least 3928873 times. The problem this like that is they are just too compilcated for the average bird, if you know what I mean

Thank you for every other informative web site. The place else may I get that kind of info written in such a perfect way? I’ve a undertaking that I am just now running on, and I have been on the look out for such info.