Exploring the Intersection of Liturgy, Jazz Blues and Rock
February 07, 2017
In the 1960s, music was at the center of a massive cultural shift in America, led by young activists and artists, with prominent Jewish participants on both sides of the equation. Facing declining attendance at services and a growing disconnection between synagogue life and the next generation of Jews in America, clergy leaders invoked a time-tested superpower of Jewish tradition: adaptation.
This month, we're debuting a new Virtual Exhibit feature on our website, beginning with an exploration of that period, called "Swing His Praises: Jazz Blues and Rock in the Service of God." The multimedia collection is a guided tour featuring streaming music, videos, interviews and photos of Jewish and non-Jewish artists such as Gershon Kingsley, Dave Brubeck, Jonathan Klein, Herbie Hancock, Charles Davidson, and others.
Listen, watch and explore the history of an era in American Judaism that intertwined so closely with contemporary culture that it's often hard to tell where one ended and the other began.
