Jews & Blues

Explore the connection between the wail of the cantor and the slide of a blues note--where jazz and swing meet the klezmorium. Legendary R&B producer and mensch Jerry Wexler recalls how a self-described "Jew boy from Washington Heights" came to work with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Bob Dylan.   Banjo player, and author Henry Sapoznik talks about going from old time country back to the music of his roots, klezmer.   Plus jazz-inflected Yiddish swing, Old Testament musical object lessons in reggae, and more.

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"Song" Artist
Album Title (Record Label)
May 10 - 16 , 2006
Hour One
Open Bed: "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" Sidney Bechet
Runnin' Wild (Blue Note)
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"Rock My Soul" Louis Armstrong
Louis and the Good Book (Universal)
"Joshua Fit the Battle" Elvis Presley
His Hand in Mine (RCA)
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"I'm a Woman" Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee Sings Leiber and Stoller (Hip-O Select)
"Bei Mir Bist Du Schon (To Me You Are So Beautiful)" Belle Baker From Avenue A to the Great White Way: Yiddish & American Popular Song (Columbia)
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"The Man I Love" Artie Shaw
The George Gershwin Gold Collection (Déjà vu)
"Samson and Delilah" The Barry Sisters and Jan Bart with Sam Medoff
Music from the Yiddish Radio Project (Shanachie)
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instrumental: "Sweet and Lowdown" George Gershwin
Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls (Elektra)
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"Prelude #2" George Gershwin
I Got Rhythm (Smithsonian)
"God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)" Randy Newman
Guilty (Warner Archives)
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"Border Song (Holy Moses)" Aretha Franklin
Young, Gifted and Black (Atlantic)
"Exodus" Grant Green
Sunday Morning (Blue Note)
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instrumental: "Hip Hug-Her" Booker T. & the M.G.'s
Rock Instrumental Classics, Vol.4: Soul (Rhino)
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SEGMENT: Jerry Wexler
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"Tipitina" Allen Toussaint
American Routes original recording
 
Hour Two
Open Bed: "Gypsy" Dave Tarras and the Musiker Brothers
Tanz! (Epic)
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"The Bridegroom Special" Sam Medoff and the Yiddish Swing Orchestra
Music from the Yiddish Radio Project (Shanachie)

"Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" Sidney Bechet
Runnin' Wild (Blue Note)
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"A Bee Gezindt (As Long As You're Healthy)" Mildred Bailey
From Avenue A to the Great White Way: Yiddish & American Popular Song (Columbia)
"Flyin' Home" Benny Goodman Sextet
Benny Goodman: Ken Burns Jazz (Columbia)
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instrumental: "Ot Azoy" Klezmer Plus!
Klezmer Plus! featuring Sid Beckerman & Howie Leess (Flying Fish)
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SEGMENT: Henry Sapoznik
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"Samson and Delilah " Blind Gary Davis
Harlem Street Singer (Prestige/Bluesville)
"How Far Am I From Canaan?" The Soul Stirrers featuring Sam Cooke
Jesus Gave Me Water (Specialty)
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instrumental: "Go Down Moses" Grant Green
Feelin' the Spirit (Blue Note)
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"Jezebel" The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet
The Gospel Sound (Columbia/Legacy)
"Lot Wife" The Ethiopians
Reggae Hit the Town (Trojan)
"Let My People Go" Steven Bernstein
Diaspora Soul (Tzadik)
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"Jerusalem" Steve Earle
Jerusalem (Artemis)
"Love Minus Zero/No Limit" Bob Dylan
Bringing It All Back Home (Columbia)
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End Bed: "Waltz Medley" Klezmer Plus!
Klezmer Plus! featuring Sid Beckerman & Howie Leess (Flying Fish)