What Do You Call Pitom in French?
Our favorite Jewish-jazz-heavy-metal-freak band Pitom — fronted by Yoshie Fruchter (who we’ve featured on MJL) and named after a part of an etrog — just returned from a series of shows in France. And they brought us back some presents: these videos of their performances.
Honestly, while I knew France was a hot-spot for culture and art and all that, I never knew that Jewish music was that renown — even if the Jewish music you’re talking about is the avant-garde jazz label Tzadik Records, founded by John Zorn and espousing every manner of Jewish experimental music, from klezmer to cantorial balladeering. But, apparently, it is. Even though, as you’ll notice, the above news program speaks about la differance du jazz and la diversite du jazz dans New York, but they never actually say Jewish.
Maybe that’s a good sign? However, my favorite part of the video is when Yoshie himself starts talking, and is overdub-translated by a husky-voiced Frenchman. Here’s another video of the jazz festival — and this one’s just some good music to listen to.
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Klezmer is derived from two Hebrew words: one meaning instrument and the other music. Traditional Klezmer music is usually Jewish folk music played by itinerant small bands. I suppose that this qualifies Pitom but Fruchter made the comment that the French called his music Jazz, but in fact it was klezmer, is not accurate. The Jewniverse description of a Jewish heavy metal freak band is accurate. The fact that the Fruchter happens to be Jewish, and calls his band a Jewish name, is a gimmick. He is however disengenuous calling this atonal cacaphony of sounds Klezmer. Although there is a slight reference to the unctuous sinewy music that Klezmer is, this isn’t Klezmer by any stretch of the imagination. Sorry I didn’t like the results, nor the dishonesty.