Frank London’s new album (Ghetto Songs) is inspired by the Jewish ghetto of Venice, from which the word ghetto itself originates. Ghetto Songs guides us on a musical journey that moves through space and times, a fascinating intertwining of sounds, voices and languages.
The idea of FRANK LONDON’s new album comes from the historic Jewish Ghetto of Venice, from which the word ghetto itself originates. In 2016, on the occasion of the five hundredth anniversary of the Venetian ghetto, FRANK LONDON was invited for a residency by the foundation BEIT Venezia. A Home of Jewish Culture to elaborate creatively the Jewish Venetian musical heritage. This first led to London composing the music for the first historical staging of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in its original setting, the Ghetto. The project continued in 2019 with a concert showcasing the many voices of world ghettos. Inspired by these experiences, Ghetto Songs album’s tracks guide us to a musical journey that moves through space and times, touching the various Jewish communities around the world. The musical atmospheres are always different: from the Fellinesque world that opens the recording (Amore an) to the seventeenth-century world of the second track (O dolcezz’amarissime). From the Yiddish folk song of the Krakow ghetto (Minutn fun Bitokhn),to the voices of the Marrakesh Mellah (Nirdi Natan Reiho), passing through the Cape Town’s ghetto (Accordion Jive), up to the universal concept of ghetto of TheWorld is a Ghetto, reinterpretation of Eric Burdon’s War hit. FRANK LONDON, with his curiosity for other music, be it exotic or nostalgia for the past staged before our eyes, expertly composes and holds the ranks of this fascinating intertwining of sounds, voices and languages.
FRANK LONDON, winner of the prestigious Grammy Award, is co-founder of Klezmatics. His main works include di Yiddish Opera in a Cuban nightclub Hatuey Memory of Fire; Salomé, Woman of Valor (with poet Adeena Karasick); Jewish Music from Astro-Hungary, with Glass House Orchestra; the folk opera A Night In The Old Marketplace, 1001 Voices: Symphony for a New America. In is career he has collaborated with John Zorn, Itzhak Perlman, Pink Floyd, LL Cool J, Mel Tormé, Lester Bowie, LaMonte Young, They Might Be Giants, David Byrne, Robert Wilson and Vinicio Capossela. He appeared on more than 500 CD and appeared on Sex and the City.
LONDON has assembled an incredible cast to perform Ghetto Songs. Masters of all styles and genres of music, they include (3) three Grammy-Award winners and have performed with an astonishing list of artists.
Progetto sviluppato nell’ambito delle iniziative per il Giorno della Memoria e co-finanziato dalla Regione Veneto.
