There Was A Fire: Jews, Music, And The American Dream

There Was A Fire: Jews, Music, And The American Dream
Ben Sidran
405 Pages
ISBN: # 9780578800691
Nardis Books
2021

Ben Sidran has established himself as a formidable talent in the jazz world as both a pianist and a songwriter. He has recorded almost forty solo albums and appeared as a session musician for artists ranging from Jon Hendricks and Georgie Fame to Van Morrison and The Rolling Stones. His talent, however, isn't limited to music alone. Sidran has also written several books on jazz, literature, and culture. With There Was A Fire: Jews, Music, And The American Dream, he examines the impact of Jewish culture on American music.

Along with his impressive musical résumé, Sidran also holds a PhD in American Studies from Sussex University. He's also taught courses at The University of Wisconsin along with hosting radio and television programs. He is, without question, a Renaissance man, but as his biography mentions, he makes "your average Renaissance man look like a slacker."

Sidran's initial musical break came from his work with Steve Miller, whom he met while attending The University of Wisconsin. After earning a degree in literature, Sidran moved to England to pursue an advanced degree. During this time, he reconnected with Miller, who was recording in the UK. After this, Sidran appeared on several Steve Miller Band albums, and he even wrote the song "Space Cowboy," which became a hit for the band. The royalties from this song alone paid for his PhD.

His background in both music and academics has allowed Sidran to write books, which are not only well-researched but entertaining as well. There Was A Fire is no exception, and with it, Sidran makes a much-needed argument concerning the impact of Jews on American music. As he mentions in the introduction, "it appeared to me that a group that at no time exceeded 2 percent of the total population (the Jews) contributed more than 80 percent of the popular music in this country."

This book originated from a series of lectures Sidran gave at The University of Wisconsin, entitled, "Jews, Music and the American Dream." While preparing the lectures, he realized that there was no specific text that he could use for the course. As a result, he decided to write one himself, which was the first edition of There Was a Fire, released in 2011. At that time, Sidran had been working on it for over ten years. This revised edition features a new epilogue, which Sidran describes as "my attempt to mark the position of popular music today and to project its impact on the future of social justice in America."

There Was A Fire explores the important role Jewish population has played on American music since the earliest days of colonization. The majority of the book, however, concentrates on the twentieth century, from ragtime and Tin-Pan Alley up to modern times.

Sidran describes how one of the greatest developments came during the Post-World War II period, where there was a new sense of possibilities for marginalized Americans. He draws a parallel between African-American and Jewish culture. He mentions that, "there was an outpouring of hope, an authentic affinity operating between blacks and Jews."

On one level, the book presents an in-depth examination into the importance of Jewish musicians in American music. On another level, it offers an in-depth exploration into Jewish-American experience, providing a glimpse of people looking for meaning and searching for identity in an ever-changing world. Sidran cites Bob Dylan as a prime example of this concept. He describes Dylan as a "skinny Jewish kid" growing up in Minnesota, who "grasped that the reinvention of self was not only a possibility but that, in America, identifying 'down' was also, potentially, a way of moving up and out."

One of the most powerful examples of reinvention comes from the story of Israel Baline, who escaped persecution from Russian Cossacks during the late nineteenth century to settle in New York City with his family. Although living in poverty, Baline enjoyed singing with his father in Synagogue. Shortly after his bar mitzvah, though, Israel's father died. He became discouraged and felt worthless. He left home and "lived in a string of flophouses, a young boy on his own in a concrete jungle." The only thing he loved was music, and he started writing his own songs. His passion paid off when he started gaining notice as a songwriter. "With continued success, he officially changed his name from Baline to Berlin and began to dress in suits and ties, creating a tailored persona for himself."

Irving Berlin is probably the ideal representation of the Jewish mythos in American society. His story highlights not only the rags-to-riches aspect of The American Dream, but the development of a new identity as well. There Was A Fire focuses a great deal on this search for identity among many prominent Jewish musicians who impacted American music.

Sidran's approach, however, isn't limited solely to the most distinguished. In order to illustrate the complexity of the Jewish influence, he examines the infamous alongside the famous. For example, he discusses George Gershwin in comparison to Mezz Mezzrow. As Sidran puts it, in "the cases of George Gershwin and Mezz Mezzrow, we see two very different approaches to integrating the Jewish drive for self-invention with the authenticity of the black American experience."

As with Berlin, Gershwin's story shows The American Dream fulfilled. He discovered his gift at an early age and had devoted himself to discovering his unique musical identity. Of course, he eventually became one of the most important American composers, and his work is an essential part of the jazz canon. Practically every jazz musician has to learn the "rhythm changes," which is based on Gershwin's song, "I Got Rhythm." As Sidran explains, "the expression 'rhythm changes' is universally understood by jazz musicians the world over," and it's one of the most common progressions in jazz.

In contrast to Gershwin, Sidran also makes a case for Mezz Mezzrow's importance in jazz history. Although Mezzrow played clarinet and saxophone professionally, many considered him marginal at best. His musical talent certainly didn't make him famous, but something else did. Mezzrow dealt in marijuana, and as Sidran explains, he wasn't "just a marijuana dealer: the marijuana dealer." Many noteworthy jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong, got their herbal supplements from Mezzrow. His notoriety, though, isn't limited to his ability to score weed. Sidran examines how the concepts of identity and adaptation applied to Mezzrow, who embraced African-American culture to the extent of reinventing himself. As a result, he served as an inspiration for the major players in the Beat Generation, such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Neal Cassady. Mezzrow's quest for identity "influenced and inspired not only the Beat Generation, but through them the so-called counterculture of the 1960s."

Being a jazz musician, it's no surprise that Sidran writes about many important figures in jazz. However, the discussion certainly isn't limited to jazz. The playlist here covers practically every genre in American music. From Bob Dylan and Barbra Streisand to David Lee Roth and The Beastie Boys, there's plenty of musical ground covered.

There Was A Fire is an important book, not only on American music, but on American identity as well. Sidran's knowledge and passion come across throughout the book. If he wanted to write a textbook, he certainly succeeded, but this is much more informative and entertaining than most ordinary textbooks.

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