Latkes and Harmony

My annual latke party (this year for about 20) was a lot of fun, attended by some regulars, some newcomers including a delightful baby, some landesman from the East Coast and some heimish honorary Jews. With six menorahs glowing, there was a spontaneous hora around my too-small living room, a hot game of dreidel and lots of interesting music. Mitch on guitar; Alex on drums; Moreah with great vocals. My friend Helen recently found an old Hanukah 45 that she played as a kid during family gatherings. Another friend brought an amazing record that spoke to Hanukah's theme of political oppression. The Comedian Harmonists were a German singing sensation of the 1920s and '30s. Celebrated today as Germany's first "Boy-Group," the Comedian Harmonists'close-harmony sound brings to mind the Mills Brothers. I learned more about the group on the web site noted below. The elegant sextet, five vocalists and a pianist all dressed in tails, had a repertoire that encompassed styles ranging from folk songs to sentimental hits, all of which was accompanied by silliness on stage and vocal imitation of musical instruments.
Their songs -- most by Jewish composers -- were criticized by the Nazis as early as 1932, when they were not yet in power, as "Jewish-marxist noise." Indeed, three of the group -- Frommermann, Collin, and Cycowski -- were Jews. Cycowski's wife Mary had converted to Judaism, and Bootz's wife Ursula was Jewish. The popular, politically naive musicians ignored all the warning signs. But then in 1934, the unapproved Jewish members of the group were forbidden to perform, and the Comedian Harmonists split up. They gave their last concert in Munich on March 25, 1934. You can learn more about them at www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/1945/WSB/comhar.html
There is also a movie about the group that's now first up on my Netflix queue.

So, let me know if you want an invitation to next year's latke fest!