Alex Jacobowitz
Alex Jacobowitz (born May 19, 1960 in New York ) is an American marimbaphone player who has specialized in klezmer music since 1994 . He has lived in Berlin-Charlottenburg since 2002.
Jacobowitz began to learn drums at the age of eleven and studied drums in New York. At the age of 19 he started playing the xylophone and studied marimba with Gordon Stout, John Beck and Leigh Howard Stevens in New York. He performed primarily as a street musician in New York in the 1980s and 90s and was booked as an artist at numerous events. As a result of a stay in Israel in 1982/83, where he also played with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, he converted to Orthodox Judaism .
Since 1991 Jacobowitz has appeared regularly in Europe with a Klezmer program, he had appearances on German public television; he has also appeared on television occasionally in Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, South Korea, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Russia and the Ukraine. As a street musician in Germany, among other places, he plays pieces from Johann Sebastian Bach to Erik Satie , from tango to flamenco to klezmer . He was a juror at the National Marimba Festival (South Africa, 2010 and 2013) and participated in Australia's first Jewish music festival (Sydney, 2010).
In 1994 he received klezmer lessons from Giora Feidman , since 1997 he has played solo concerts and worked with Alan Bern , the musical head of the klezmer band Brave Old World .
Solo performances
- Lincoln Center, New York City
- Kammerphilharmoniesaal, Berlin
- Festivals in Jerusalem, Schleswig-Holstein, Safed, Kraków, Fürth, Bamberg, etc. a.
- Synagogues in Germany, New Synagogue in Oranienburger Strasse in Berlin
- Chabad Houses in Prague, Geneva, Zurich a. a.
- Jewish Museum in Frankfurt, Hackesches Hoftheater in Berlin
- Jewish communities in New York, Basel, Berlin, Leipzig, Lisbon, Munich, Vienna a. a.
- various kibbutzim in Israel
Discography
- İMarimba! , MK from 1986, CD from 1992 (self-published)
- Aria , CD, 1995
- The Art of Touching Wood , CD, 1996
- Spanish Rosewood , CD, 1996
- Etz Chaim (Tree of Life), CD, 1997
- The Art of Xylos , CD, Arte Nova, GmbH, Sony Music Entertainment, 2002
- Fantasy (identical to Bach ), CD, 2007
- Feast of Xylophory, CD, Albéniz, Beethoven, Couperin, Klezmer, Mozart, Satie, Fissinger, Wilder etc. (2014)
Books
- Alex Jacobowitz: A classic klezmer. Travel stories of a Jewish musician , Munich, Lucerne: Tree of Life Productions, 2nd edition 2002, ISBN 3-00-003226-6
Film appearances
- Heavenly Sounds - (צלילים לאלהים) - Channel 2, Reg. Idit Gideon, 1991, Israel
- Minstrels - Bayerischer Rundfunk , 1995, Germany
- I think of Germany ...: a stranger. - ARD, Reg. Peter Lilienthal , 2001, Germany
- Magic Marimbas - MDR, 3SAT, Reg. Eveline Hempel, 2003, Germany
- Klezmer on Fish Street - Independent, Reg. Yale Strom, 2004, USA
- Da music plays - Bayerischer Rundfunk , Reg.Benedikt Kuby, Germany 2005
- On the Jewish floor - ZDF, Reg.Esther Slevogt & Arielle Artsztein, Germany, 2005
- Klezmer in Germany - WDR & BBC, Reg.Krzysztof Zanussi & Caroline Goldie, Germany 2007
- Jewish Blues - PBS, Reg. Marian Marzynski, USA 2011
- Married to the Marimba - Dir. Alan Rosenthal & Larry Price, Independent, 2011, Israel
- Held der Strasse - Dir. Sigrid Faltin, SWR, Germany 2012
Web links
- Literature by and about Alex Jacobowitz in the bibliographic database WorldCat
- alexjacobowitz.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jacobowitz, Alex |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American marimba player specializing in klezmer music |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 19, 1960 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | new York |