Jewish Heritage Month shines spotlight on Winnipeg’s music scene influence – Winnipeg | 24CA News
Jewish folks have had a serious affect on the Winnipeg music scene, from massive bands to rock and roll, and historians gathered at Temple Shaloam to have a look again for Jewish Heritage Month.
Stan Carbone of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada says these figures formed a century of native music.
“Today we are dedicating the program to the contributions Jews have made to the music industry in Winnipeg most specifically jazz, rock, and folk music,” Carbone stated.
“This is one of the areas in which Jews were given the opportunity to join the mainstream of Canadian society because there were a lot of professions and activities that were closed to them.”
And lots of the names are acquainted to those historians who truly knew a few of them personally, nevertheless many go by totally different names now.
“Musicians in a lot of cases had to change their names in order to get work in non-Jewish bands,” says Owen Clark, music historian.
Clark says he thinks it’s good for younger musicians to know what the Jewish artists did and the way they laid the groundwork.
“I think it’s important to know what went on in our city, especially for young musicians who are trying to make a living at doing this in this age of technology,” Clark stated.
There was loads of work available on the jazz golf equipment and dance halls together with the legendary Club Morocco which stood on Portage Avenue till it was destroyed by hearth final yr.
And whereas that a part of historical past is now misplaced, its affect continues to be felt by Winnipeg musicians at present.
“I worked with so many of the Jewish musicians and so many of them were mentors to me and as you grow you mentor others, so it’s a long-term thing. Historical knowledge and musical knowledge is constantly passed down to the next generation,” stated Clark.
And with stats suggesting hate crimes and antisemitism are on the rise, Carbone says it’s extra vital than ever to make sure this historical past is preserved and shared.
“Education is really the best way — the most important vehicle when it comes to combating antisemitism. To make people realize that this community has been here from day one.”
— with recordsdata from Global’s Katherine Dornian
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
