Curiously, Porter is the only songwriter who is not Jewish. “He keeps standing out as the only non-Jew in the gang,” Koplan said.
Reitzes said Koplan has a remarkable ability to provide history, context, and meaning for various aspects of the Songbook. “I treasure our conversations, and the way in which Adam illuminates this material for our listeners. I cannot emphasize enough the breadth and insight that Adam brings to the subject.”
“It is indeed an amazing number of Jewish songwriters who make up the Great American Songbook,” City Lights host Lois Reitzes said. “These composers were infusing elements of Jewish sounding melody into their songs – minor key, plaintive quality even in happy songs. It’s a fascinating reciprocity, I think. Here were Jews providing the soundtrack for American popular culture for several decades.”
Through a partnership with Theatrical Outfit, Koplan’s work with The Breman and the Molly Blank series has included Somewhere Over the Rainbow: The Music of Harold Arlen, Baby, That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll: The Leiber/Stoller Era, and most recently, The Way We Were which featured the music of Alan and Marilyn Bergman.
Many of those songwriters were either immigrants or children of immigrants at the turn of the century who were eager to assimilate and demonstrate their identification as Americans. In David Lehman’s book, A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs, he writes that “in their lives and works, they were conducting a passionate romance with America.”
Will there be more of these? “It’s likely,” Koplan said. “We haven’t set the schedule for next year, but assuming the series continues in the way that it has I can’t imagine that we wouldn’t do another one. We’ve spent a lot of time with male composers. My hope is that we’ll get into some of the great female ones.”
AT THE BREMAN
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