Is there a Jewish style of Music?

[Ellen Brown]

I was afraid to put this in one of the Jewish Directories because I couldn't bear offending anyone.

Listening to Leonard Cohen, his music has a unique style and I wonder if it can be attributed to his Jewish background?

 

[Firemorphic]

The most stereotypical style of Jewish music is Klezmer (which I love a lot personally) but there is quite a diverse range of other styles.

The Wiki has a preliminary page that may be of use for an overview: Jewish music - Wikipedia

 

[Firemorphic]

As for mr Cohen, he's more or less American Folk (with Country and Blues elements)

 

[Skwim]

I was afraid to put this in one of the Jewish Directories because I couldn't bear offending anyone.

Listening to Leonard Cohen, his music has a unique style and I wonder if it can be attributed to his Jewish background?

How about Bob Dylan he was a Jew with a unique style.

Then there's this:

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[BSM1]

And let us not forget Adam Sandler....

https://www.google.com/search?q=ada....69i57j0l5.13391j1j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[Cooky]

I was afraid to put this in one of the Jewish Directories because I couldn't bear offending anyone.

Listening to Leonard Cohen, his music has a unique style and I wonder if it can be attributed to his Jewish background?

I LOVE Jewish music!

 

[whirlingmerc]

I was afraid to put this in one of the Jewish Directories because I couldn't bear offending anyone.

Listening to Leonard Cohen, his music has a unique style and I wonder if it can be attributed to his Jewish background?

Often Jewish music is in a minor key, but... it's a pretty broad category of music.

I think of the Psalms as mostly laments and so a minor key goes along with that

 

[Revoltingest]

 

[pearl]

My favorite of all singers;

neil diamond hava nagila - YouTube

 

[Father Heathen]

A genre is defined by a distinct sound and style. Naming off random Jewish performers with very dissimilar material doesn't really help narrow it down.

 

[whirlingmerc]

 

[whirlingmerc]

I was afraid to put this in one of the Jewish Directories because I couldn't bear offending anyone.

Listening to Leonard Cohen, his music has a unique style and I wonder if it can be attributed to his Jewish background?

I like this one allot

 

[IndigoChild5559]

I was afraid to put this in one of the Jewish Directories because I couldn't bear offending anyone.

Listening to Leonard Cohen, his music has a unique style and I wonder if it can be attributed to his Jewish background?

There are certainly Jewish styles, plural. You have Jewish music that comes out of Persia, the Middle East, Sephardic tradition, and Ashkenazik tradition, and then you have some modern stuff that has a certain common feel such as Debbie Freidman's music. When most people think of Jewish music, they are thinking of the the music from the Ashkenasik tradition, which is in a certain modes. Certainly most Jewish songs tend to be in harmonic minor keys. Don't quote me on this, but I *think* it's harmonic minor mode 5.

Leonard Cohen, of blessed memory, certainly draws on his Jewish tradition, but not from the musical scale. I get goosebumps listening to "You Want It Darker (Hineni)." At the end of the song, of course, you hear a Jewish cantor canting Hineni. Hineni is Hebrew for "I am here." It is from the part of Genesis 22 where God is about to test Abraham by asking him to sacrifice Isaac. He says to him, "Abraham," and Abraham answers, "Hineni, I am here." In other places of the song, the lyrics quote from the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, "Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name." "You Want It Darker (Hineni)," is of course a song he wrote just prior to his death. He will be sorely missed.