JEWJAZZ - ABOUT

JEWJAZZ

A concept born out of a personal journey…

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Learn how to pronounce ARKADY correctly [hear pronunciation ]

I've coined the expression JEWJAZZ sometime around 1992-1995... This was my tongue and cheek way of trying to describe the type of music that I was passionately promoting around that time(1992), when I'd just released my recording Arkady "The Other Side". During the interviews with newspapers, radio and TV, I was often asked to describe the music on that recording. The term "Jewish Jazz" was often mentioned, but to me it sounded a bit too generic, bland, lacking in "personality" etc.

One day, I was fooling around with my e-mail program, trying to come up with some "funky" e-mail signature(s) and I did... Then, as I was having a laugh with a friend on the topic of my e-mail signatures, he offered a possible "source" for this "quote" --

"JewJazz! The funkiest damn Jewish music on Earth!"

-- Miles Davis

Obviously, I was joking , i.e. I've never met Miles, and he never heard Arkady "The Other Side" CD. Ironically, Miles passed away on September 28, 1991, which was around the time when I finished recording it, and was involved with the other logistics... although, but who knows? Maybe Miles would have "dug" my CD... from "beyond"???!!!

Anyway... this is how the term "JewJazz" was born!

As time when on, I realized more and more that JewJazz was not simply a cute made up word, but a concept born out of my personal journey...

On April 9, 2003, as the world witnessed the statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down in Baghdad, there was much exhilaration in there air... One thought led to another, and, after a little research that night, I met a person on the phone, who owned the Domain Name which I've always wanted -- ARKADY.COM His name was also Arkady (what a surpise, ha?!) [hear pronunciation]

After we spoke for a few minutes, he agreed to sell ARKADY.COM to me!!! I couldn't believe my luck!!! Yes, there definitely was something in the air that day! By owning ARKADY.COM, I felt like I finally had my own "home" on the Internet.

Since that day, my Internet "brainstorms" have intensified. As I started working on my new "house", ARKADY.COM, I realized that I needed The Other "home", a "special" place, where I could connect with the Jewish "world" that I've been a part of since 1984, which is when I played my first "Hasidic" gig...

Even in this day and age, the world is still a "funny" place, where stereotyping often gets in the way of the open mind, add to that the good old-fashioned anti-Semitism, which is still well and alive on the other side worldwide!!! Given that there are many big name stars worldwide, and not just in the Entertainment Industry, who, with all their succe$$, rarely remind their fans of their Jewish "roots", I felt that it would be kind of foolish of me, at this stage, to hit everyone in this world in the face with a name like JewJazz! Who knows, maybe one someday I'll change my mind?

So... after some soul searching, and Internet research, it finally occurred to me -- Hey, why not register JewJazz as my other Internet Domain Name? Luckily, the name JewJazz was available!!! Furthermore, I decided to use all capital letters, so to unify these two words into one, my own, "home made", (poetic license!) concept -- JEWJAZZ.COM

Now, in this new "house" that Arkady built with a Mac, of course, I can really let my people go places... in my heart, where not everyone is invited!

Thank you for visiting JEWJAZZ.COM. Please help me "spread the word", and stop by again soon.

Thank you for your support!

Arkady [hear pronunciation]

July 21, 2003, NYC, USA

Created using a Mac, with pride!!!