Chicago Public Library Jewish Music Archive

A public library collection whose primary donor, Cyril Robinson, has traveled to worldwide Jewish music events since 1997 to record live performances, interview musicians, and gather related material. This archive includes sound recordings, and digital and physical objects. “A special emphasis of the collection is klezmer, a distinct musical genre based on traditional Jewish folk music. Unique recordings of live performances, lectures, and masterclasses from worldwide music festivals and venues provide many examples of contemporary klezmer bands and Jewish musicians. Recorded interviews also document these musicians’ individual oral histories and personal experiences with Jewish music and Jewish life.” All this makes many of these items unique to the study of contemporary American Jewish culture. An online inventory gives the depth of the collection and an alphabetical list of interviews refers to full citations in the inventor.

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