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July 14, 2018

Leonard Bernstein and What Is Jazz?

By: Rabbi Neil Blumofe

“Jazz is the ultimate common denominator of the American musical style.”
–Leonard Bernstein

In the 1950s Leonard Bernstein made a series of educational recordings on jazz with the goal of bringing jazz to a generation of listeners who were entering the world of rock n’ roll.

In this edition of Liner Notes Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about the significance of recognizing jazz and a music that belongs to everyone, and that can inform us about not only what it means to be American but what it means to be human as well.