Marty Liebman writes music on his computerized keyboard.
mornings, he chants the
Torah portion at Adat
Shalom Synagogue. And in
his spare time, Liebman
organizes and plays
keyboard for a Jewish band,
Koleynu, the Hebrew word
for "our voices."
Ever since he was a young
boy, Liebman had a passion
for music. He started play-
ing keyboards in a Jewish
band, Dor Chadash, during
high school. The band played
at weddings, b'nai mitzvah
and other events for nearly
10 years. As a teen, he also
played in many rock-n-roll
bands.
A few years after the Jew-
ish band broke up, he started
Koleynu, named after an
album the group recorded.
The band has four members;
guitarist Dr. Jamie Schultz,
a Southfield dentist;
drummer Mike Friedman,
who also teaches drums; and
bass player Bill Miller, who
owns a music store.
He graduated from Oak-
land University with a
degree in music and lin-
guistics. Liebman went on to
the Eastman School of Music
in Rochester, N. Y. From
there, he continued his
studies in computers at
Rensselaer Polytechnic In-
stitute in upstate New York.
"Music was my first
choice," he says.
"Computers was a side
thing."
Now he is able to combine
his skills. A year ago, after
leaving a job with General
Motors doing research and
computer graphics, he open-
ed the production studio.
Liebman computerized the
equipment.
"For me, this is all about
music," he says. "It's great. I
get to write and play all of
the time."
Before opening the studio,
Liebman did a few free-lance
jobs out of his house, where
he had some recording
equipment. As a new busi-
ness owner, his first job was
small — writing music for an
on-hold telephone message.
Today, he takes jobs for
many businesses, including
advertising agencies that br-
ing soundless videotapes to
PM Productions.
His side job with the band
is hit or miss. In June and
July, the band is busy with
weddings on most weekends.
They play Hebrew, Yiddish,
Ladino and Chassidic music.
During the year, they take
on some b'nai mitzvah and
other festive occasions. The
members on occasion per-
form concerts.
"The band is fun," he says.
"And if it stops being fun,
I'll quit."
In the meantime, Liebman
is busy passing along family
musical genes (his wife,
Judy Letvin, plays flute) to
his 5-year-old son, Noah, for
whom he just bought a
guitar.
of Magical Matt, can pull a
rabbit out of a hat and close
a deal.
"I'm creative, not cor-
porate," says Jacobson, who
buys and sells houses for a
living and performs magic
shows on the side. "Real
estate is black and white.
Magic is my creative venue.
"Sometimes I am showing
a home and other times I am
doing magic for kids," he
says.
Jacobson perfected his
magic while serving as an
aide to his son over the past
11 years. Then a few years
ago, after being exposed to
the industry, he started
taking on his own jobs. Now
he wants to go on the road.
"While Matt was develop-
ing his show, I became ex-
posed to the industry and
met a lot of people," he says.
"Once you become part of
the magic fraternity, there
are no secrets. All magicians
share their tricks and that
helps you get jobs."
He works odd hours out of
his West Bloomfield home.
Nine to five is not Jacobson's
style. Wearing slacks and a
sweater with a scarf tied
around his neck, Jacobson
sports a casual appearance
for daytime business. He
saves the tuxedo for magic
business. He rarely wears
his top hat.
Jacobson's creative side is
not new. During his teens,
he was a singer, who went on
to record a Top 10 single. At
18, during the Beatles era,
Jacobson made the top 10
charts by jazzing up the
song, "Oh, You Beautiful
Doll," under the name Mike
Sheldon. Also on the charts
with his song was the
Beatles "I Want to Hold
Your Hand."
"I always thought that
would be my calling," he
says.
Yet his calling soon
changed. Jacobson spent
four years in New York City,
attending New York Uni-
versity and working for 20th
Century Fox. He moved back
to Detroit after college and
married the girl next door,
Harriett Bloom.
For a while, he worked for
his father-in-law, a de-
veloper and an attorney.
Then he started his own
business as an artist's repre-
sentative. For 15 years, he
matched artists with adver-
tising agencies.
After he secured a real
estate license, he quit
brokering artists. After that,
his creative time went into
magic.
"I love it more than
anything else," he says. "If
could do it full time now, I
would. I may do it someday."
Magic is seasonal. And
private. Only magicians
share tricks. Halloween,
December and the summer
months are popular times for
shows. Now he works birth-
day party shows a few times
a month. Sometimes he per-
forms for Jewish charity
functions.
Jacobson's wife is his
favorite assistant.
He can saw her in half in
less than an hour.
"When he cuts and slices
me, the kids sometimes run
up to the front to make sure
I'm okay," she says. El
Investing In Magic
H
is son taught him the
fine art of magic. And
once he learned the
tricks to that trade, he land-
ed another — selling real
estate.
Michael Jacobson, father
Former rock singer, artist representative and present real estate broker, Michael Jacobson has nothing up
his sleeve as a magician.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
51