Behind the Notes

Country music and Judaism may seem like an unlikely pairing—but for singer-songwriter Joe Buchanan, they’ve become one extraordinary calling. A Texas-born musician, Buchanan began exploring Judaism after discovering his wife’s Jewish heritage. Since converting to Judaism, he has forged a unique musical path, blending authentic Texas country with Jewish faith, tradition and joy. Join Buchanan for a conversation about his spiritual journey, how Judaism transformed his life and songwriting, his mission to bring Jewish joy through music, and his latest album, Heaven & Earth. In conversation with Joe Alterman, executive director of Neranenah.

Join Broadway historian Laurence Maslon, host of the NPR radio series Broadway to Main Street, for a conversation about the Jewish composers and lyricists who helped create the modern American musical. In conversation with Joe Alterman, executive director of Neranenah.The documentary Great Performances – Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy, narrated by Broadway legend Joel Grey is streaming on PBS.This program is part of The Pulse: Moments That Matter, a series of frank conversations on culturally relevant topics with musicians, comedians and other entertainment industry professionals to illuminate how being Jewish has shaped their experiences, both personally and professionally.

In 1943, German SS officers at Auschwitz-Birkenau demanded that an orchestra be assembled among the female prisoners. The Nazis’ insistence on hearing music is what ultimately saved the lives of most of the women and girls tasked with playing instruments. Join Anne Sebba, author of The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz: A Story of Survival, for a conversation about this little-known story, the impact the orchestra had on its members and the response from other prisoners. In conversation Joe Alterman, executive director of Neranenah.This program is part of The Pulse: Moments That Matter, a series of frank conversations on culturally relevant topics with musicians, comedians and other entertainment industry professionals to illuminate how being Jewish has shaped their experiences, both personally and professionally. Sponsored by MomentLive! and Neranenah.

Cartoonist Alan Silberberg—author of Meet the Latkes—has been doodling since childhood, a passion that eventually led to a degree in “Cartoon-Communication Education.” His latest book is The Bagel Who Wanted Everything. Join Silberberg for a heartfelt conversation about his path from screenwriting to children’s book author and how personal loss inspired his turn to Jewish picture books, ultimately deepening and renewing his connection to Judaism. In conversation with Joe Alterman, executive director of Neranenah.

Violinist and trumpeter Louis Bannet was a celebrated jazz musician in Holland, often called “the Dutch Louis Armstrong.” Once the war began, he was arrested and sent to Auschwitz where he faced a chilling ultimatum: pass an audition for the camp orchestra or be sent to his death. Join Ken Shuldman, author of Jazz Survivor: The Story of Louis Bannet, for a conversation about Bannet’s life before, during and after the Holocaust and how jazz music saved his life. In conversation with jazz musician Joe Alterman, executive director of Neranenah.

Composer David Amram has been playing music professionally for 74 years and the 94 year old has no plans of slowing down. Amram shares stories about his childhood on a farm in rural Pennsylvania, his time in the 7th Army Symphony while stationed in Germany, his friendships and musical collaborations with greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Jack Kerouac, and Langston Hughes, the connections between jazz and Judaism, and his upcoming Bar Mitzvah. In conversation with jazz musician Joe Alterman, executive director of Neranenah.This program is part of The Pulse: Moments That Matter, a series of frank conversations on culturally relevant topics with musicians, comedians and other entertainment industry professionals to illuminate how being Jewish has shaped their experiences, both personally and professionally. Sponsored by MomentLive! and Neranenah.

Sam Reider is a Latin GRAMMY-nominated pianist, accordionist, composer, and educator from San Francisco, California. His work brings together various streams of American music, from jazz and folk tunes to popular song and contemporary composition. He has appeared as a bandleader and soloist at major festivals and venues around the world and his performances and original compositions have been featured on NPR, PBS and the BBC. Reider has performed, recorded and collaborated with a range of artists including Jon Batiste, Jorge Glem, Sierra Hull, Laurie Lewis, and Paquito d’Rivera. From his genre-bending acoustic ensemble The Human Hands to his duo collaboration with Grammy-nominated Venezuelan artist Jorge Glem, Reider’s unique compositional voice and melodicism runs throughout his eclectic projects. His 2022 solo piano record of original music Petrichor received four stars and made the Best of 2022 in Downbeat Magazine. Reider and Glem’s album Brooklyn-Cumaná was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk and was nominated for Best Instrumental Album in the 2023 Latin GRAMMY Awards. In addition to his work as a performer, Reider is a prolific composer and arranger and has written for a variety of ensembles and soloists including the San Francisco Girl’s Chorus, Time for Three, Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, Del Sol Quartet, and Tessa Lark.

Jonah Platt, a true entertainment multi-hyphenate, is an actor, writer, producer, singer and host of the new hit podcast Being Jewish with Jonah. Join Platt for a wide-open conversation about growing up Jewish and the influence it has had on his career, including his upcoming project producing and co-staring alongside Ginnifer Goodwin in the feature film The Mensch and co-writing the musical adaptation of Lois Lowry’s best-selling novel, The Giver. In conversation with Joe Alterman, executive director of Neranenah,This program is part of The Pulse: Moments That Matter, a series of frank conversations on culturally relevant topics with musicians, comedians and other entertainment industry professionals to illuminate how being Jewish has shaped their experiences, both personally and professionally.

Jews have been a major presence in America's jazz, as musicians and as jazz facilitators, and in Kosher Jammers, Gerber tells that story with a rigour worthy of academia but with a feature writer's creative flair. Besides drawing on a plethora of second-hand sources, Kosher Jammers is absolutely packed with first-hand material, from interviews, phone calls and emails with jazz figures, Jewish and otherwise -- including possibly the last ever interview with swing era icon Artie Shaw. Among the many other interviewees are black jazz figures such as saxophonist Buddy Collette and the critic Stanley Crouch, as a key theme running through the book is the relationship between Jews and African Americans in jazz. The impact on jazz of tunes written by Jewish "Great American Songbook" composers such as George Gershwin, Harold Arlen and Johnny Green is also covered, And the book features an extensive study of the Jewish-jazz phenomenon, whereby musicians from Ziggy Ellman in the 1930s to contemporary artists, notably John Zorn, have sought to create jazz that draws on Jewish music influences and themes. Gerber drives home the point that, even had there never been a single Jewish jazz musician, Jews will still have contributed massively to the development of jazz in the United States, as managers, impresarios, venue owners, label founders and writers.

A Wide-Open Conversation with Robert Klein and Joe AltermanAward-winning comedian Robert Klein grew up in a Jewish family living in the Bronx surrounded by music. While studying at Yale’s School of Drama, he auditioned for Chicago’s famed improvisational troupe Second City. In 1975, Klein was the first comedian to appear in a live concert on HBO where his set included a bit about antisemitism. Join Klein for a wide-open conversation about his childhood; his thoughts on the history of the Jewish people, antisemitism, the Holocaust, and Israel; his decades-long career as a performer; as well as the connection between music and comedy, including some of Klein’s “harmonica shtick.” In conversation with Joe Alterman, executive director of Neranenah.This program is part of The Pulse: Moments That Matter, a series of frank conversations on culturally relevant topics with musicians, comedians and other entertainment industry professionals to illuminate how being Jewish has shaped their experiences, both personally and professionally. Sponsored by Neranenah and MomentLive! as well as Moment’s Antisemitism Project, supported by the Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation.