Gilad Atzmon's Blog, page 6
March 16, 2015
OnlineJazzradio-a conversation with Nabil Atassi
Gilad Atzmon's new album "the whistle blower" was recently released in Germany. in Onlinejazzradio's new Podcast Nabil Atassi talks with isreali musician and activist Gilad about music, his appearance on the new Pink Floyd Album "the endless river" and - of course - about world politics.
March 15, 2015
Gilad in Roma Talking About The Wandering Who
An interesting talk on Jewish Identity and the disastrous role of the Jewish Left..
March 14, 2015
Gilad AND ALL THAT JAZZ- NYC Documentary Film Premier
The New York City Documentary Film Premier, Wednesday March 18th,
7 pm Theatre 80
80 St. Marks Place New York 10003
https://theatre80.wordpress.com/
A film by Golriz Kolahi
Watch trailer: https://vimeo.com/24659402
A film that follows a flourishing year in the life of Gilad Atzmon, one of modern music’s greatest saxophonists. In addition to performing with some of music’s greatest acts, such as Pink Floyd and Sir Paul McCartney, Atzmon is also one of Europe’s most controversial writers and public speakers in opposition to Israel.
The film explores Gilad’s complex nature at times a gentle giant, warm, charismatic and somewhat shy at other times a deeply passionate musician and advocate for what he sees as justice in Palestine. Born into a pro-Zionist family and serving briefly in the first Lebanon War, Gilad had a dramatic turnaround; he quit the army, picked up his sax and exiled himself to London, declaring himself an enemy to the Israeli state.
Since then he has produced some of the modern era’s greatest Jazz albums, and collaborated with Ian Dury, Paul McCartney and Sinead O’ Connor. In music he is a ‘feisty improviser’ as one critic put it, comparing him to the likes of Charlie Parker. In his political and philosophical ideas, he is blunt and outspoken. His ideas on Israel and “Jewishness” have upset many people, some of whom have gone to the extreme of labeling him a holocaust denier and an anti-Semite – charges that Gilad strongly rejects. In Gilad’s life, music and politics are inseparable.
The film follows Gilad in the most flourishing time of his career, as he records albums with Robert Wyatt, the blockheads, and gigs with Nigel Kennedy; gets invited to TV programs and panel events all over the globe; pleases his supporters and admirers, while seriously offending his opponents who, rather than try to engage Atzmon in debate, try to censor his right to free speech by applying pressure tactics on the venues he plays his music in an where he has been invited to speak on what he calls Jewish Identity Politics.
“Gilad and All That Jazz” offers a unique insight in to the life, ideas, music and motivations driving the great Saxophonist.
Watch Gilad & the OHE playing Gaza Mon Amour: http://www.youtube.com
Israeli Election-Diaspora Jews Vs. Israelis
By Gilad Atzmon
The Jewish Chronicle reported today that Netanyahu enjoys huge support amongst UK Jews.
Israeli polls predict that Netanyahu’s Likud party will be wiped out in the upcoming Israeli election, with only about 20 mandates out of 120; but British Jews are all for Netanyahu and his hawkish party.
An exclusive poll for the JC this weekend revealed that two thirds of British Jews who have a view on the Israeli election would vote for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Asked who they would support if they could vote in next week’s ballot, 67 per cent of those with an opinion said they would choose Mr. Netanyahu’s centre-right Likud. Just 22 per cent would vote for the Zionist Union, led by Labour leader Isaac Herzog.
In contradiction to Left and progressive Jewish voices who insist that Diaspora Jews are drifting away from Zionism and Israel’s support; Diaspora Jews are more Zionised and Right wing than ever. If anything, it is the Israelis who are giving up on the nationalist ethos. Statistics reveal that they are motivated in their political choices more by social matters than the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
This interesting division of opinion between the ‘Diaspora’ and the ‘Israeli’ points at the depth of escapism that is seemingly intrinsic to Jewish Identity politics, ideology and culture. As Israel enters the end zone, admitting to itself that it doesn’t posses the answers to the political stalemate nor has it the means to counter Islamic militancy, the vast majority of Israelis prefer to close their eyes and pretend that the conflict is just a secondary issue. They punish Netanyahu for his colossal failings on social matters. They want wealth to be spread equally.
But Diaspora Jews, as the JC poll reveals, seem to hold the opposite line of thought. They regard Israel as their sanctuary. They want Israel to be a mighty sealed Jewish ghetto. They want to be surrounded by walls and protected by the best army in the world. The results of the current JC poll are consistent with the result of another recent poll that found that the majority of British Jews do not see a future in Europe. For the British or the Diaspora Jew, a strong Israel is the fulfillment of their Identity and a reflection of their failure to assimilate. They want Israel to be aggressive and exclusivist. They want Israel to be strong and they want Netanyahu to punish the Palestinians on their behalf believing foolishly that such an approach would make Israel a safe place for the Jews.
This helps to explain why Netanyahu’s Congress address didn’t impress the Israelis. He apparently lost 20% of his voters following the address: but it certainly appealed many Diaspora Jews as the JC’s poll reveals.
The inevitable conclusion is pretty devastating. The recent election polls reveal that Jews, at large, are very unhappy wherever they are. Again we see a counter flow of aspiration between Eretz Yisrael and the Diaspora. The British, the French and the American Jew remained thrilled by the idea of ‘homecoming’ while the impoverished Israeli would be pleased to escape the doomed Middle Eastern Ghetto at the first opportunity. I guess that, in spite of Zionism, wandering is still a constant factor in Jewish culture and politics.
UK Zionists plot to force Southampton University to cancel conference on Israel and international law
The Deafening Silence of the PSC-an introduction by Gilad Atzmon:
The entire Jewish community is outraged at an academic conference in Southampton University, scheduled 17-19/4/15, dedicated to the legality and the legitimacy of the Jewish State in the eye of international law. The university and the conference organisers are subject to constant harassment by, pretty much, every Jewish lobby group in the UK.
The first lesson to draw from this evolving saga is that Jews and Zionists do not at oppose cultural and academic boycott. They just do not like to be boycotted. Clearly, every Jewish Lobby here is exercising every possible measure to prevent an academic conference.
However, far more embarrassing than this is the deafening silence of the PSC (Palestinian Solidarity Campaign). In spite of the fact that the conference is a breakthrough in terms of academic treatment to the conflict and the on going crime against the Palestinian people, the PSC is yet to offer any public support to the university or the conference organisers.
PSC being an impotent Zionised setting is not exactly hot news, yet the current silence may as well suggest that we are actually dealing with a controlled opposition apparatus.
I would be delight to be proven wrong, but I expect the PSC and its director Sarah Colborne to immediately denounce the Zionist campaign. Failing to do so would suggest that the PSC has very little to offer the Palestinian people and their cause.
UK Zionists plot to force Southampton University to cancel conference on Israel and international lawBritain’s top Zionist lobbyists have launched a campaign to exempt criticism of Israel from the right to free speech.
The lobbyists, who include the Jewish Leadership Council, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Union of Jewish Students and the UK’s Zionist ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, are angry at plans by the University of Southampton to hold a conference on Israel and international law.
According to the university, the conference, the brainchild of Israel-born Oren Ben-Dor, Professor of Law and Philosophy at Southampton,
will be the first of its kind and constitutes a ground-breaking historical event on the road towards justice and enduring peace in historic Palestine. It is unique because it concerns the legitimacy in international law of the Jewish state of Israel. Rather than focusing on Israeli actions in the 1967 occupied territories, the conference will focus on exploring themes of legitimacy, responsibility and exceptionalism, all of which are posed by Israel’s very nature.
The conference, the university continues in a posting on its website,
aims to explore the relatedness of the suffering and injustice in Palestine to the foundation and protection of a state of such nature and asks what role international law should play in the situation. It will take place over a whole weekend and will involve leading thinkers: scholars from law, politics, philosophy, theology, anthropology, cultural studies history and other connected disciplines.
Key speakers and various panels will diagnose the legal position with regard to the nature of Israel thus enabling a much needed platform for scholarly debate and disagreement.
Scholarly debate about Israel, however, is out of the bounds of freedom of speech, including academic freedom, according to the Israel lobbyists, who say that to subject Israel to such academic scrutiny is “to surpass the acceptable”, the right wing Israeli newspaper, the Jerusalem Post, reports. They accused the conference organisers of seeking to “blacken, demonise and delegitimise” the Zionist state, which continues to defy international law and stands accused of grave war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Zionist lobbyists have resorted to familiar bullying tactics to force the University of Southampton to ban the conference.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Southampton’s refusal to give in to Zionist pressure “was cited at a private meeting held last month between top [Jewish] communal leaders and four vice-chancellors from Universities UK”, an umbrella group representing all UK university heads.
It said that the “Jewish representatives”, who included ambassador Gould, “tried to frame a debate as to where the line is crossed between freedom of speech and discourse which affects Jewish academics and students on UK campuses”.
By framing the issue in this way, the “Jewish representatives” deliberately conflated the interests of British citizens of the Jewish faith with those of the state of Israel – a common ruse used by Israeli hasbara, or propaganda, agents to silence criticism of Israel.
At the time of writing, the head of the University of Southampton’s Law School, Hazel Biggs, has refused to buckle to the Zionist lobbyists’ bullying. Whether or not she can remain steadfast until the conference takes place on 17-19 April is an open question, especially since the Zionist campaign has now been joined in by several Israeli stooges from the UK parliament.
Press TV-France: Is freedom of speech for all? (important)
France has lauded the concept of freedom of speech since the deadly Charlie Hebdo attacks at the beginning of January. Terrorism won’t prevent French journalists from saying whatever they want to say, or so the argument goes. But are France’s free speech values universal? On this week’s In Focus we’re in France shedding a spotlight on that country’s media and what it talks about, and perhaps more importantly, what it doesn’t talk about.
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March 13, 2015
On Beauty, Palestine and Controlled Opposition
Kevin Amara speaks with Gilad Atzmon
http://www.cercledesvolontaires.fr
Kevin Amara: First of all, you were recently featured on Pink Floyd’s brand new album, The Endless River, can you tell us how it happened?
Gilad Atzmon: I received a phone call from David Gilmour who invited me to a session in his London studio. I didn’t realise at that stage that it was for Pink Floyd’s album. I thought that it was a solo project for Gilmour. Only when I was in the studio did I understand that I was playing with ‘The Band.’ In the past I have I worked with Robert Wyatt and have also recorded with Phil Manzanera who produced the new Pink Floyd album. I am sure that these were contributing factors to my inclusion. I am very excited to be featured on a Pink Floyd album. I grew up on their music and listening to even one bar of this epic glory makes me feel nostalgic and young.
Kevin Amara: Roger Waters didn’t participate on this album. He’s an enthusiastic anti-Zionist activist. What do you think of his many denunciations of the war Israel is waging against Palestine?
Gilad Atzmon: I obviously admire the man for speaking out and also admire him as a musician. In general I feel much more comfortable with artists who, like Waters, express their own voice. I am usually embarrassed when I see artists signing on to collective political pamphlets. I still want to believe that artists are strong individuals rather than a part of an ‘ideological collective.’
Kevin Amara: How do you explain that just a few influential people are inclined to do the same thing?
Gilad Atzmon: Jewish power is the obvious cause. It is, crude, vile and often lethal. I define Jewish power as ‘the capacity to silence discussion on Jewish power.’ Saying what you think about Israel or the Jewish lobby can be a very painful and sometimes costly adventure. Those who follow my work know that I argue that Zionism, AIPAC, The CRIFF and Israeli impunity are all symptoms of Jewish power. The crux of this negative force is sustained by the Jewish Left – people and organisations like Chomsky, Democracy Now, JVP and Mondoweiss. These organsations demand the right to determine the boundaries of discussion. Instead of teaching us ‘how to think for ourselves’, they teach us ‘what to say on their behalf.’
Kevin Amara: Your own band, The Orient House Ensemble, is celebrating its 15th anniversary by launching its eighth album, "The Whistle Blower." What was the genesis of this project?
Gilad Atzmon: To start with, music is my life. Music, for me, is the search for beauty and aims at an ultimate and undeniable truth. When real beauty appears, it is an undisputable instant. As such, music is the total opposite of the political, that is the origin of duplicity and provides a home for the liar.
I am interested in the role of the whistle blower in our culture-the one who delivers the truth. One could wonder, why do we need whistle blowers? Don’t we live in a ‘free’ society? Is not the Western universe the fulfillment of our wishes, true will and whims? Apparently not. Western Liberal Democracy is neither ‘liberal’ nor does it reflect the spirit or values of democracy. The whistle blower provides a surge of truthfulness. It is an instant of perception, an insight into the belly of the beast.
In my new album (The Whistle Blower) I attempt to extend the notion of both ‘whistling’ and ‘blowing.’ It is a home coming adventure. It is a call to reinstate the relentless Athenian search for exactitude and truthfulness. And here is my comic twist on the topic. The title track is basically a cheesy 1960’s pop tune. It reintroduces wolf whistling, that whistle men used to produce in the 1960’s when a glorious woman passed by. As a youngster I had the impression that women were generally flattered by the gesture. However, by the time I became an adult, whistling at women was pretty much prohibited by the ‘tyranny of correctness,’ a disastrous cultural regime imposed on us by different merchants of ID politics. PC culture has devastated the neutrality of cross-gender exchange. Our libidinal instinct must be suppressed in the name of correctness.
I see political correctness as a vile enemy of humanity and a crude interference with the notion of elementary freedom and authenticity. Instead of ‘saying what we think,’ we are trained to ‘think before we say.’ I define ‘political correctness’ ‘ as ‘politics that doesn’t allow political opposition.’ It is interesting that the same definition can be attributed to tyranny. But political correctness is far more vile than tyranny. Under tyranny we understand that there is a clear distinction between the ruler and the oppressed political subject; in the case of political correctness we are dealing with a radical form of self-suppression.
My remedy is musical and comical. In my concerts, I teach my audience, both men and women, how to wolf-whistle. Believe it or not, the ladies are much more assertive in this regard. Seemingly, they crave that male attention that was suppressed or even murdered by militant feminists for decades.
Kevin Amara: Speaking about music, we just learned that you were stopped from playing your music in a concert hall in Nottingham. What is your position on this and how do you live with this outcry?
Gilad Atzmon: Yep. A few weeks ago, Gedling Council in Nottingham stopped me from playing a concert in their venue because they felt that such a concert would ‘interfere with racial interrelation within the community.’ It happen a few days after Charlie Hebdo, and the council reacted in panic to a call from a few people who have remained anonymous. I have good reason to believe that the city council regrets its decision by now.
As in the case of Dieudonne, the council’s decision backfired. The promoters moved the concert to a new venue and it sold out immediately. Since then, the entire local press including the BBC has favored my position, while the council has said nothing to justify its decision. I was initially scheduled to just perform music in Gedling as I have done before. Now many new people in Nottingham have become aware of my ideas. I was invited to give talks in town. Videos of my talks in Nottingham have been watched by around 60.000-70.000 people. And unless the council comes to its senses, it will face serious legal complications. Those who foolishly tried to stop me from playing my music in a small city theatre saw the concert become a local rally in my support that is now emerging into a little movement.
Note: Since this interview took place, Gedling Council has reviewed its position and confirmed that Gilad Atzmon is welcome in Council’s venues and the decision to deny entry was due to hyper sensitivity to do with the Charlie Hebdo Massacre. More on that story shortly
Kevin Amara: Now it seems to happen to you too.
Gilad Atzmon: The attempts to stop Dieudonné were totally counter effective. Dieudonne is now one of the most popular people in France. I would expect my detractors to know this. In fact that single failed attempt to stop me has produced so much support for my work that some cynical supporters of mine now suspect that I orchestrated the ban myself.
Kevin Amara: You recently met the controversial Professor Faurisson in his home, why did you feel the need to do such a televised interview and what do you make of this interview?
Gilad Atzmon: I find it totally disgraceful that in ‘free’ Europe, Europeans are penalized for their thoughts or beliefs. It is crucial to talk to all the scholars, artists and intellectuals who have been silenced. It is essential for us to understand their vision of the world. Like Heidegger and Lyotard, I believe that History that pretends to ‘narrate the past’ is, in fact, a sophisticated, mechanism designed to conceal our collective shame. Those whom we are not allowed to hear or try to understand are often those who have managed to articulate the true meaning of our collective shame.
Kevin Amara: Could you give us your opinion on the work of Professor Faurisson?
Gilad Atzmon: I am not an historian and cannot give a scholarly judgment of Faurisson’s work. But I am certain that there is nothing he says that justifies the panic surrounding him. As I suggest in The Wandering Who, the importance of history is the ability to re-vise and re-write the past. Accordingly, revisionism is the only possible method of true historical research. The French government’s interference with our ability to re-visit and re-vise our past is a crude crime against humanity and humanism. It is an interference with our core of Being in time. ‘Being in time’ is the ability to travel back and forth among past, present and future. History provides a narrative of the past as we move along. It allows connectivity between our vision of the future and our interpretation of the past. This interpretation of history allows for a changing vision of the past and implies that we can determine our future. We can for instance, look at the past in an attempt to prevent wars.
Kevin Amara: Last month, France suffered what was described as a terrorist attack. Since then, the laws are becoming increasingly repressive and a very large number of soldiers patrol daily, many of them specifically in front of the Jewish places of worship. What is your position about this?
Gilad Atzmon: I guess that Jews may well be in danger and yet I fail to see any Jewish self-reflection. Instead of Jewish leaders attempting to understand the role of Israel, the Jewish Lobby and Jewish Power, Jewish leaders do as they always do; blame the ‘Goyim’ for being ‘anti Semitic.’ How banal and counter effective is that? It is very depressing to witness because most commentators including me, pretty much agree that there is no prospect of a collective solution to the Jewish question. Israel is doomed. It will cease to exist in the near future. It might once have been seen as a solution, it clearly is not a solution now. Diaspora Jews must be either mad or stupid if they see Israel as a ‘sanctuary.’ Even more concerning is that instead of integrating into European, American or Western society, many Jews are engaged in building barriers again. A few weeks ago we learned that the vast majority of British Jews don’t see Britain as their home. We are talking about a community that settled here more than a century ago. The conclusion is devastating-assimilation and integration that were the Jewish alternative to Zionism- failed completely. Even within the Palestinian solidarity movement the Jews encircled themselves within ghetto walls, working largely within Jews only organisations such as JVP, IJAN, Jewish JFJFP, etc. that are even more racially exclusive than Israel. I can’t make up my mind whether it is amusing or tragic. It is certainly pathetic and I take the credit for exposing the inherent duplicity that is unfortunately intrinsic to Jewish Left politics and anti Zionists in particular.
Kevin Amara: After the Copenhagen synagogue attack that led to the death of one man, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on European Jews to settle down in Israel. Addressing the European Jews, Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed in a communiqué: "Israel is your home. We are prepared to welcome an immigration of mass from Europe.” What is your feeling on this matter?
Gilad Atzmon: I am convinced that the Jewish elite has grasped by now that Israel’s days are numbered, it may take a year or two, maybe even a decade, but the Jewish settlement in Zion is doomed. It cannot be saved or recovered. And indeed, as I wrote in The Wandering Who, there is a counter flow of inspiration between Israel and the Diaspora - the Israelis want to escape while many Diaspora Jews want to settle in Zion.
Once again, it is the poor Jews who are going to pay the ultimate price for the crimes that are committed by an exploitive arrogant elite that will manage to stay on top.
Kevin Amara: About Israeli domestic politics, political parties representing Arab voters have finally succeeded in presenting a single list in parliamentary elections this March 17th. How do you feel about it?
Gilad Atzmon: Orgasmic is probably the right expression. By the way, some polls suggest that the Arab party will be the 3rd biggest party in Israel. This is fascinating because while in ‘Zionist’ Israel Arabs are sitting in the Knesset, Jewish ‘anti ‘Zionist organisations keep their boards entirely Jewish. Seemingly, the Zionists are far more progressive than their so-called ‘progressive’ opponents. Let me be clear, this is not an endorsement of Israel or Zionism; it is just another nail in the Jewish progressive coffin.
Kevin Amara: Could you explain to our readers the "differences", the false opposition, between Zionists of the right and Zionists of the left?
Gilad Atzmon: In The Wandering Who I refer to a quote that is attributed to Chaim Weizmann, probably the most sophisticated early Zionist, who says “there are no French Jews, English Jews or American Jews, there are Jews who live in France, Jews who live in England and Jews who live in America.” According to Weizmann, Jewishness is a primary quality. Such a view defies the possibility of assimilation. You can never escape your Jewishness. One would expect that anti Zionist Jews would oppose Weizmann’s formulation and join anti Israeli formations as ordinary people. I guess that a few do, I can probably count them on one hand. But the vast majority follow Weizmannian agendas. Instead of being anti Zionist Jews, i.e. anti Zionists of Jewish ethnicity or origin, they prefer to be Jews who oppose Zionism as Jews. They retain the primacy of their Jewishness and maintain all symptom of Jewish racial exclusivism. As I mention above, the Jewish anti Zionists are more racist and exceptionalist than the Jewish State. The Israeli Knesset has a few Arab members, but on the board of Jewish Socialist Group or JVP you don’t find a single gentile let alone an Arab. And why? Because they are not ‘racially qualified.’
The conclusion is obvious, unless Jews drift away from Jewish racism; their ‘anti Zionist’ campaign cannot be taken seriously. However, when the secular Jew stops being defined by Jewish racism, there is nothing left of his or her Jewishness. My study suggests that the entire Jewish anti Zionist campaign is an extended controlled opposition apparatus. It exists to convey an image of ‘Jewish ethics’ and is motivated primarily by Jewish self-interests. If you want to understand why the Palestinian solidarity movement has failed, the answer is simple; it wasn’t supposed to succeed.
Kevin Amara: What would be your opinion on the issue of an alter-Zionism, which could help to overcome the antagonism Zionism / Anti-Zionism, which would open a référedum offered to both nationalities, Palestinian and Israeli, in order to ask them what solution would be the better? (two countries, a country where both cohabit ...)
Gilad Atzmon: The notion of peace or reconciliation doesn’t even exist in Hebrew: the Word shalom that is usually translated into English as ‘peace’ actually translates as ‘security for the Jews.’ It is a Judeo-centric concept. Unless Israelis and Jews are removed from Judeo centrism peace in any form is inconceivable. Yet, you have to ask yourself, what are the chances that Jews would drop their Judeo-centrism voluntarily? Zero. There is no prospect of any peaceful resolution. Israel will become Palestine due to a transformation caused by the obvious facts on the ground
March 12, 2015
Ugly Truth's Album Review by Trevor LaBonte
GA: pretty amazing for me to read an album review written by a superb musician such as Trevor LaBonte. We need more of that-musicians writing on music...
By Trevor LaBonte
https://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/
Musician/author Gilad Atzmon and The Orient House Ensemble have returned with their eighth album to date, a delightful offering entitled "The Whistle Blower."
To buy The Whistle Blower:
Fanfare.website (cd)
Fanfare.website (download)
ATZMON'S BACKGROUND:
Atzmon is a former Israeli, former Jew, who underwent a spiritual awakening as a result of hearing the great bebop masters. He was taught his whole life as an Israeli Jew that Jewish artists and thinkers are superior to all else, but he knew he had been lied to, by virtue of the fact that Charlie Parker and many other great jazz artists were black and not Jewish.
Atzmon cut all ties with the Jewish state over twenty years ago, expatriated to London and completed a Master's degree in Philosophy there. His solidarity to the Palestinian cause is evidenced by his choice to name his band after the Palestine Liberation Organizations former headquarters in Jerusalem, called, "Orient House."
His criticisms of his own former Jewish ideological collective are brutally honest and hard-hitting. Let it suffice to say that his mission to liberate the discourse has led him far, far from the world of "political correctness," yet he somehow balances all this with a successful career in jazz.
In fact, Atzmon has sacrificed much in the line of his music career for his writings and statements against Israel. When he first moved to the UK, he was given the 2003 BBC award for "Best Jazz Album," for Exile, and was practically given the key the the City of London. He was being hailed as one of greats of jazz, before the establishment caught on that Atzmon was not one of them.
Atzmon is a Heidegger-ian German essentialist. He easily dismantles his detractors' arguments with his own swift brand of rhetorical Judo, exposing any discourse-policing closet Zionists that Atzmon has dubbed the "anti-Zionist Zionists," viewing them as the premiere reason why humanity has been failing to solve it's most important problems.
To the utter frustration and helplessness of the establishment, Gilad's criticisms of Jewish identity politics and Israel are being accepted gradually into the mainstream. Perhaps it is because their time has come. Despite his views, he has played with many famous mainstream musicians, most recently with the likes of Pink Floyd, on their latest album, "The Endless River."
Clearly he has emerged victorious over those who endeavor to silence him.
Bear in mind that other public figures so far have been systematically ostracized and blackballed for the mere mention of the word "Palestine."
Like his friend, comedian Dieudonné, Gilad's artistic mastery only fortifies his credibility as an intellectual. This has caused a huge, pounding, migraine headache not only for the hawkish pro-Israel establishment, but also its aforementioned gatekeepers, media outlets like Max Blumenthal, the UK Guardian, Ali Abuminah, and "Jewish Voices for Peace," whose subversive agendas have been laid bare in the hundreds of articles Atzmon has penned.
Those things being said, we may now lower the needle on "The Whistle Blower."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first song on the album, "Gaza Mon Amour," enters with drummer Chris Higginbottom playing a Middle Eastern groove which sounds informed by New Orleans second-line. A palm-muted piano rhythm pattern enters, and Atzmon makes his entrance with a Middle-Eastern alto melody, doubled by his own accordion. "Gaza Mon Amour" makes one imagine walking through a busy Gaza City marketplace.
In the solo section, the piece slowly transforms into some passionate, far-out Coltrane/McCoy Tyner-influenced excursions from Atzmon and pianist Frank Harriman. Atzmon's sound at the beginning of his solo is breathy and sorrowful, like the voice of a lamenting Palestinian grandmother, before transforming the sorrow to power by invoking Coltrane's theme from "A Love Supreme."
Even when Gilad is in Coltrane mode, he retains a finesse and a hard-driving bebop sensibility to his lines and time feel that is more akin to Cannonball and Sonny Stitt than the more open articulations of Trane. Atzmon combines long wailing notes with fast, spiraling, harmonically superimposed lines, and with Harriman's comping, the landscape turns into a turbulent seascape of rising and falling waves.
Then the album opens up to a series of diverse ballads, some being sorrowful, some yearning, some romantic. Gilad and band resist any urge to play cliched lines or practiced vocabulary, preferring instead to take the more modern, lyrical, thematic approach to developing the motifs in their improvised solos.
Pianist/keyboardist Frank Harriman is skilled at creating a balanced dialogue between the chords of the left hand and the intervallic themes he often develops with the right hand. On several songs, he uses lush strings or bubbly organ sounds for effect. Influences of jazz piano's best, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea can be heard in Harriman, but he has his own thoughtful voice at the keys.
Bassist Yaron Stavi has masterful ideas, impeccable touch, intonation, timing, and tone. His lines are clear and always supportive, and one can tell that he is always listening to the band as a whole.
OHE's newest member, drummer Chris Higginbottom, adds wonderful dimensions of color, shading, and a deep medium-downtempo swing feel on "Let Us Pray."
"The Whistle Blower" is very beautiful, accessible and romantic, without crossing the line and being corny. Atzmon's music, similar to what his writings have done, does much to rescue jazz from its own elitist tendencies.
Atzmon's music is similar to his philosophy. He seems to be attempting to put the world back on track. As a philosopher, this means he must illuminate the world's problems and pave the way for unhindered discussion. Against all odds, he must dive into the heart of Jewish identity, publicly and resoundingly reject its exclusivity and supremacism, and encourage people to embrace a universal morality where no one designates himself as "chosen."
Interestingly, jazz, despite its earthy roots, has the same tendencies, to relentlessly push itself toward extremes and oblivion. Arguably, it needs someone to remind the populace that it is always about beauty, harmony, and that which is universal, and Gilad does just that. Five Stars for Gilad Atzmon and The OHE for "The Whistle Blower ***** ~Trevor LaBonte
Packing Hasbara 2015, Targeting Gilad Atzmon, Loading Anti-Semite and Holocaust-denier attacks…
GA: This is a very interesting article by Shawn Robinson. It delves into the methods in which criticism of the Jewish State, its ideology and culture are suppressed.
Packing Hasbara 2015, Targeting Gilad Atzmon, Loading Anti-Semite and Holocaust-denier attacks…By Shawn Robinson
So who is Gilad Atzmon the ant-Semite and Holocaust-denier de jour?
Well for one, he is a former Israeli and now British citizen living in London England; but his claim to fame is as a world renowned jazz saxophonist and writer on identity politics.
And he is no schmuck either. He has a Masters in Philosophy from the University of Essex in Colchester, England after being schooled in composition and jazz at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem.
Gilad Atzmon Video
As an Israeli you have guessed it, Atzmon is Jewish and therefore Semitic. So by definition he can be hardly an anti-Semite. But something needs to be said here, just as a point of reference that there are more than 50 groups that fall under the Semitic category. The commonality of this foundation is the derivations of the Semitic languages that relate and stem from the Hebrew dialect. Others often maligned as anti-Semites are the Arabs who too are of the 50 plus Semitic peoples.
It is absurd to continue this precept of anti-Semitism in its current construct. Hate directed towards the Jewish people is not acceptable and nor is discrimination or prejudice that Jewish people have experienced for thousands of years.
Knowing the origin of the term anti-Semite, which not that long ago was a construct that was considered normal in particularly the western Christian communities, it really needs to be released from the narrative of the Jewish community as it is not an appropriate term at all. As to refer to someone as ant-Semitic would by definition indicate that they are against a broader group of people beyond the Judaic population.
Furthermore… when someone makes a claim of anti-Semitism, it needs to be not presented as a conclusion ever. Clear and defined statements need to be presented that indicate and prove the construct of anti-Semitism before making such an allegation as these days allegations of anti-Semitism abound unfettered leaving the victim of this accusation with an indelible mark on their name and reputation.
To read more: http://falastinews.com/
Gaza Mon Amour in Istanbul (Turkish TV)
Gilad Atzmon & The OHE featuring Sarp Maden (guitar) in a concert for Palestine in Istanbul Hakka Sada Konseri/ Mazlumder - 19.02.2015
We performed in Istanbul with Mercan Dede and his band, it was a massive concert at the peak of a snow storm. The journey took us 36 hours, we landed in Istanbul just 60 minutes before the concert. Here is the music. Many more concerts with Sarp and Mercan are in the planing.
To buy The Whistle Blower:
Fanfare.website (cd)
Fanfare.website (download)
