Mayor Wu Plays Gershwin

Rhapsody in Blue with the Boston Pops: Please! Let's take another break from the harsh, terrible, sorrowful news of the day. Yes, Abq Jew fully recognizes that there are many - too many - who cannot take such a break. But let's, while we can.

From Steady, the Substack newsletter of Dan Rather - the American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. To which (especially his Reason to Smile columns) and to whom Abq Jew has referred many times in the past.

More Than a Mayor

In an attempt to remind us all that there are still elected officials out there who believe in serving their constituents and their communities, we have found a reason to smile: Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston. And lest you think we are moving away from a musical focus, just wait.

Wu is the first woman and first person of color to hold the job. A daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, she is a self-described “pragmatic progressive.”

Her campaign website lays out her vision: “This moment is a call to action. To me, that means thinking big about how to build a more resilient, healthy, and fair Boston, and then having the courage and political will to fight for all of our families.” By most accounts, she is making good on those promises.

While doing all she can for the residents of Boston, Wu is also an accomplished musician. She started taking piano lessons at the age of four and has been playing ever since. On her first day at City Hall, she had a piano placed in her office. Wu must have found time to use it, if her performance with the Boston Pops is any measure.

Last September, Wu performed with the famed orchestra as part of Concert for the City, an free annual concert for the people of Boston.

The YouTube intro to the performance tells us:

At the Boston Symphony Orchestra's 2024 Concert for the City, Mayor Michelle Wu performed George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with the Boston Pops. 

The Concert for the City is a free event that showcases all that the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops have to offer, alongside arts and music education partners and programs from throughout Greater Boston.

At the 2023 Concert for the City, Mayor Michelle Wu performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467 (2nd movement, Andante).

Mayor Wu returned to Symphony Hall this year to perform one of her favorite pieces, Georgie Gershwin's 1924 solo piano and jazz band musical composition, "Rhapsody in Blue."

Mayor Wu is a champion of the arts and music in Boston, helping to make arts education more accessible to young people through her Connect, Learn, Explore summer learning initiative and BPS Sundays, a program making certain museums, zoos, and cultural institutions free for Boston Public Schools students on the first and second Sundays of each month.

Click here for video 

After her performance, Mayor Wu wrote:

I had a wonderful time performing “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Boston Pops at the @bostonsymphony’s Concert for the City, alongside many incredibly talented musicians like the @bostonchildrenschorus, the @bforchestra, @veronicaroblesmariachi and more!

Events like this are what make Boston so special—seeing so much of the incredible talent and artistry that exists in our city, all in one place and entirely free.

I want to thank the BSO for opening their doors to our communities every year, and creating this opportunity for all of us to share in the magic of music’s company together.

Congratulations to all of the musicians on their incredible performances! Honored to share the stage with you and our Boston Pops!

Surely you, Abq Jew's loyal readers, know the answer to this one! But just in case, Wikipedia reminds us all -  

George Gershwin (/ˈɡɜːrʃ.wɪn/; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs "Swanee" (1919) and "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924), the jazz standards "Embraceable You" (1928) and "I Got Rhythm" (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), which included the hit "Summertime".

And of Rhapsody in Blue, Wikipedia tells us:

Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition for solo piano and jazz band by George Gershwin. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects and premiered in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music" on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York City. Whiteman's band performed the rhapsody with Gershwin playing the piano. 

So. About Boston. 

As Abq Jew has pointed out (see July 2024's Our House), Mr & Mrs Abq Jew no longer have close family who live in New York City or in New York State. 

And here in Albuquerque, New Mexico - where our own Mayor Tim Keller celebrates music in his own way - well, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew do not, despite their best efforts over 15 years, have close family who live here. Alas.

But Mr & Mrs Abq Jew now have very close family who live in Rhode Island. Just a short drive to Boston, half-way to NH - where (see May 2021's Portsmouth Parking & The Jews) they also have very close family.

Shattered Dreams, Broken Lives

Never Forgive, Never Forget: Statement from Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters, Wednesday, February 19:

We received the heart-shattering news that Shiri Bibas, her children Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz are no longer with us. 

This news cuts like a knife through our hearts,
the families’ hearts, and the hearts
of people all over the world.

Oded was a journalist and peace activist who helped found Kibbutz Nir Oz. He dedicated his life to helping others and transporting sick Gazans to Israeli hospitals, and his grandchildren called him "Super Grandpa" for his wisdom and love.

Shiri was a dedicated mother and accountant, known for her boundless kindness, who nurtured and cared for all the kibbutz children. She touched everyone's heart with her capacity for giving and love for others. 

Ariel, just four-year-old when kidnapped, loved Batman and playing with tractors in the garden. Baby Kfir, not-even-one-year-old when taken, had gorgeous red hair and a smile that could melt any person.

They weren't just names - they were beloved people, with families who cherished them, with dreams and futures stolen from them.

We grieve not only for them, but for the other precious lives lost, including four more deceased hostages who will be returned next week.

We will not rest. We will not stop fighting for every hostage who isn't part of the current deal - for those still alive, clinging to survival, desperate to return to their loved ones and begin healing. 

And for those we know are deceased - their families deserve the dignity of closure, the basic right to give their loved ones a proper burial.

Never Forgive. Never Forget.

A Great Love

Abundant & Eternal: Yes, right after Mr & Mrs Abq Jew celebrate their wedding anniversary every year, there appears on the civil, which is to say Christian, calendar the Feast of Saint Valentine. 

There's lots of Valentines and almost as many St Valentines, and the tradition of which particular Valentine they, which is to say Christians, feast for is, to say the least, ambiguous. But here we all are.

We Jews give and receive love, too - but, of course, not exactly like our neighbors. And we do not on observe the same day.  

For a couple thousand years (approximately), we've celebrated Tu b'Av, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av. My Jewish Learning tells us that Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said:

There were no better (i.e. happier) days for the people of Israel than the Fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur[!], since on these days the daughters of Israel/Jerusalem go out dressed in white and dance in the vineyards. What were they saying? Young man, consider whom you choose (to be your wife)! (Ta’anit, Chapter 4)

We Jews do speak about abundant and eternal love. But when we do, we are usually speaking about the love of God for his people Israel. 

And its reciprocity. Most (arguably, as are most things Jewish) notably in the Ahavah Rabbah prayer, which we recite before the morning and evening Shema.

Which brings us to

Josh Warshawsky

"The preeminent voice of contemporary, soulful, exciting music within today’s Judaism." About whom (see October 2020's Music as Midrash and Prayer) Abq Jew has written before. And whose website tells us:

Rabbi Josh Warshawsky is a pray-er, gatherer, music creator, and lifelong meaning-seeker. 

He is the rabbi at Congregation Agudas Achim in Bexley, OH, and a nationally touring Jewish musician, songleader, composer, and teacher of Torah. Josh seeks to build intentional praying communities, and travels to synagogues and Jewish communities across the country sharing his music and teachings on prayer and meaningful living. 

He has released four albums of Jewish music, filled with melodies written intentionally to express the deep meaning of the words of our tradition. His latest album, “Chaverai Nevarech Vol. IV,” comes out February 6th!

Here is a video of Rabbi Josh Warshwasky and Coleen Dieker leading the Chaverai Nevarech Band in their rendition of Ahavah Rabbah.

Click here for video

Rabbi Josh always assembles the very best musicians and the very best of modern Jewish music for his back-up band. The Chaverai Nevarech Band continues that harmonic and harmonious tradition.

Abq Jew is especially excited to see (the guy in the green shirt at 1:05) Rabbi Noah Diamondstein as part of the Chaverai Nevarech Band.

Rabbi Noah is - as stated - also one of the very best. In his own right. 

Abq Jew knows this for a fact, because Rabbi Noah officiated - both beautifully and meaningfully - at (see November 2023's At the End of the Rainbow) the wedding of Mr & Mrs Abq Jew's wonderful daughter Alex to the equally wonderful Jake.

Want more music? Here is a video of Rabbi Josh Warshwasky and Coleen Dieker leading the Chaverai Nevarech Band in their rendition of Yom Shabbaton. Look for the guy in the green shirt.

Click here for video

And - as a special Valentine's Day / Shabbat treat - from (where else?) The New Yorker - the first three frames of Liana Fink's series on The Wife of Valor!

Click here for full series

Joining The 49ers

Old, Old News: This coming Shabbat (Shabbat Shirah!), Mr & Mrs Abq Jew will אי״ה celebrate the 49th anniversary of their wedding at NYC's Town & Village Synagogue (with reception following at the Waldorf Astoria).

Yes, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew will be 49ers! You, Abq Jew's loyal readers, may not know this, but - once upon a time, long, long ago, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew almost became true San Francisco 49ers.

Shortly after Abq Jew graduated (see June 2024's Religious Freedom? Meh., et al) fromThe Jewish Theological Seminary of America - and realized that there was no job in Jewish Education waiting for him anywhere in the US - Mr & Mrs Abq Jew (and Mickey the cat) took off for California, where Abq Jew grew up and where Abq Jew's parents z"l then lived. 

And where jobs were plentiful. In Silicon Valley, of course, which did not then include The City By The Bay. But The City was only 50 miles and a one-hour drive away, and it was so beautiful ....

So (see December 2021's Joseph Dreams) anyway - Mr & Mrs Abq Jew wound up in Sunnyvale, in the heart (or, perhaps, another body part) of Silicon Valley. Where Abq Jew's 10-mile commute to work still took about 45 minutes, including the 15 minutes he needed just to get out of the driveway.

Do you like crossword puzzles? Abq Jew will do a middle-of-the-night Wordle, but Mrs Abq Jew will do crossword puzzles until the cats come home.

Now comes the magic - when Abq Jew puts
California, puzzles, and Shabbat Shirah together!

So. Abq Jew the Engineer grew up (if anyone ever does) in California. Junior high, high school, and 3 of 4 years in college (with one year at The Technion). 

Mrs Abq Jew the Artist grew up (as one does) in Brooklyn. Midwood High School. Undergrad years in Philly (with one year in Italy).

And thus, Abq Jew and Mrs Abq Jew approach, reconnoiter, attack, and occasionally defeat crossword puzzles differently. We help each other when indecision strikes, and laugh when one of us can actually decipher a clue.

A recent clue: "Pontiac muscle car." Three letters.

An East Coast artistic yet non-musical and certainly non-automotive upbringing did not provide the background Mrs Abq Jew needed to proclaim the answer:

GTO

Which Abq Jew, with his California upbringing, knew instinctively. (Here's where Shabbat Shirah - the Sabbath of Song - comes in.)

You see - Abq Jew grew up with California muscle cars. Although he walked to high school and only drove the family's 1962 4-door Dodge Lancer on off days - Abq Jew listened to Ronny and The Daytonas' song on the car radio. 

Abq Jew hears you shout. Wasn't that a Beach Boys song? I mean, didn't The Beach Boys also do GTO?

Well, yes, they did. The Beach Boys covered (as they say) "GTO." But said Beach Boys are much more famous for Little Deuce Coupe!

And here are the lyrics. Abq Jew knew you'd ask.

Little Deuce Coupe

Little Deuce Coupe, you don’t know what I got

Little Deuce Coupe, you don’t know what I’ve got

Well, I’m not braggin’ babe so don’t put me down

But I’ve got the fastest set of wheels in town

When something comes up to me he don’t even try

‘Cause if it had a set of wings man I know she could fly

She’s my little Deuce Coupe

You don’t know what I got

Little Deuce Coupe

You don’t know what I got

Just a little Deuce Coupe with a flathead mill

 But she’ll walk a Thunderbird like she’s standin’ still

She’s ported and relieved and she’s stroked and bored

She’ll do a hundred and forty in the top end floored

She’s my little Deuce Coupe

You don’t know what I got

She’s got a competition clutch with four on floor

And she purrs like a kitten till the lake pipes roar

And if that ain’t enough to make you flip your lid

There’s one more thing, I got the pink slip daddy

And comin’ off the line when the light turns green

Well, she blows ‘em outta the water like you never seen

I get pushed out of shape and it’s hard to steer

When I get rubber in all four gears

She’s my little Deuce Coupe

You don’t know what I got

But ... as Alice did, you may also ask:

What does it all mean?

Once upon a time, long, long ago, Abq Jew - the only Jew at his high school, scared and lonely and trying to fit in  - knew all about this stuff.

And don't get Abq Jew started about surfing.