I discovered jazz many years ago. When I learned to play the keyboard as a kid, at some point I had a book of jazz music. It was pretty challenging, but I liked it. To be honest, I’m not even sure I could play more than two or three pieces, and even what I was able to learn wasn’t that great. My keyboard teacher worked with me, but I struggled with the tempo. Yet it was still fun.
Years later, when I was first exposed to “real” jazz and began to listen to it, I liked the rhythm. I can’t say I’m an expert in jazz (like I am in chasidic and Israeli music, for example), but I do enjoy the genre. It has something that gets you – it’s calming, and the combination of instruments is pleasant on the ears.
Therefore, when Laurence Seeff reached out to me about his new book, Jews and Jazz, I said of course I wanted to talk to him and learn more about the subject.
We had a very nice conversation. We have a few things in common: Seeff had a career in finance in London, and I also, as my main job, have worked for the last couple of years as a software developer in the financial industry. Seeff discovered jazz in his 20s, as I did. He loves the Beatles. I also love the Beatles. So, besides music, we also spoke about the financial industry and his own story.
Jews and Jazz takes the form of mini-biographies of the most important Jewish contributors to jazz since the 1920s. It focuses on 140 people – 136 of them Jewish, and four non-Jewish but with connections to the Jewish world – all of whom have had significant impact on jazz since its development in the past 100 years or so. Besides the 140 who are featured, Jews and Jazz references more than 300 others who have contributed to the genre in some way.
The book is split into four main sections: musicians, singers, composers/lyricists, and businessmen/entrepreneurs/impresarios. There are other books that look at the Jewish influence on jazz, but none in this precise format. Seeff hopes to enlighten and educate anyone who has an interest in jazz and especially jazz by Jews.
Seeff grew up in a traditional family in East London. He studied math and statistics at Cardiff University, and the first phase of his career was as a statistician at the International Energy Agency (OECD) in Paris (thus he speaks fluent French). The OECD is the club of rich countries. Later, he returned to London to join Bloomberg. He was the company’s first European employee in London and worked there for 19 years.
During college, Seeff began to write poems. He typically writes about people he meets, family relations, parties, weddings, things that happen to him at work, and so on. In 2017, he released his first poetry book, Poetic Licence, 44 years after he started writing poems in college.
In 2004, he left Bloomberg and got a job as a financial trainer for about 15 years, and then, in 2020, he and his wife Sara made aliyah to join their four children (and now ten grandchildren) who live in Israel.
After retiring from his job in the financial markets, he wrote his second poetry book, Time for Rhyme. He’s also an amateur actor and has played in a few theater productions in the Haifa English Theatre, including Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.
Seeff, 74, has been listening to jazz since his 20s. His interest dates back more than 50 years from when he first saw the band Terry Lightfoot and his Jazzmen in a pub in Bournemouth. He was smitten. He began to collect albums and became a big fan of the genre.
He’s not a musician, but his brother Geoffrey Seeff, a.k.a. Geoff Seeff, is a musician who plays violin and the tenor sax. Not professionally – he’s a CPA – but more as a hobby, and he used to have his own band and occasionally performed in pubs or at parties. Geoff is featured in the book. Seeff writes: “I have to confess to nepotism by including Geoff, since he is my brother, but you will have to trust me that he has earned his place” (page 75).
After making aliyah, he became a member of a cultural organization in Israel called the Herzliya Cultural Group. It is a vibrant English-speaking community dedicated to learning, discussion, and connection. Every week they put on a lecture. The lectures can be on any subject, but there’s almost always a Jewish flavor. The manager of the group is Seeff’s friend and one day he suggested that Seeff give a lecture about Jews and jazz – specifically why Jews have had such a big influence on jazz.
As an example, Seeff mentions the Great American Songbook which contains thousands of the most popular and influential songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century – so popular they are still played today. He says that about 60-70% of them were written by Jews. (Seeff talks more about this in the book.)
Before giving the lecture at the Herzliya Cultural Group, Seeff began to research the connection between jazz music and Jews. When he gave the lecture at the club, he showed many video clips. The lecture was a success. The members liked it and it motivated him to continue the research and write a book about Jews and jazz – which is exactly what he did.
What is so special about jazz music? I ask Seeff.
Jazz emerged from ragtime and blues. It’s based on improvisation: Musicians improvise their music, and every time they play it will be different. At the same time, they master their instrument. They know it very well so they can play precisely while the melody evolves every time they play.
Jazz took hold at the turn of the 20th century and especially beginning in the 1920s. For decades, it reigned supreme.
There is a connection between klezmer and jazz. After all, klezmer musicians also use improvisation to play a melody. They also use the same instruments – violin, clarinet, saxophone, etc.
As an art form, jazz has been around for just over a hundred years, compared to classical music which has graced our ears since the 17th century. Although only a small percentage of the population in general, it is clear from this fascinating book that Jews had a massively disproportionate influence on jazz.
To order a copy of the book, pls contact the author at laurenceseeff@yahoo.co.uk.