The Rev. Jesse Jackson (1941-2026)

Born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1941, he belongs in the company of Rosa Parks, The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, John Lewis, and others who, in the middle years of the past century provided the energy and knowledge that led our country out of the shameful past of legalized segregation and discrimination. Robert Reich provides the full text of Rev. Jackson's speech to the 1988 Democratic National Convention, in Atlanta, which included these words:

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lies only a few miles from us tonight. Tonight he must feel good as he looks down upon us. We sit here together, a rainbow, a coalition — the sons and daughters of slavemasters and the sons and daughters of slaves, sitting together around a common table, to decide the direction of our party and our country. His heart would be full tonight.

Rest in peace, Rev. Jackson.  We are a better nation for your having been among us.

Andy Statman and Michael Daves, "Surfin' Slivovitz": musical syncretism at its finest

I'm fond of syncretism, "the combination of different forms of belief or practice" (Merriam-Webster). Christmas, of which we are now on the eighth of the twelve days, is a syncretic holiday, combining Christian celebration of Jesus' birth with Roman and other pagan rites appropriate to the winter solstice. Where I especially enjoy syncretism is in cuisine, where I encounter it regularly when I enjoy a bánh mì for lunch, combining Vietnamese fillings with a French baguette, and in music. As I noted in a previous post, most of what we consider American popular and church music has African influence.

Andy Statman is a musical syncretist. He first became known as a bluegrass performer on mandolin, but became interested in combining bluegrass sounds with jazz, and with the klezmer music he knew from his Jewish childhood. In the video above he plays mandolin, while Michael Daves plays guitar, on "Surfin' Slivovitz," which Andy wrote and which combines elements of bluegrass, klezmer, jazz, and '60s California surf guitar music. Their performance took place at the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music, which annually presents the Brooklyn Folk Festival.

Slivovitz is a potent plum brandy made in Eastern Europe that has a special place in Jewish tradition.