SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewis;) News

azz bass player Dan Pliskow has-
n't had many Labor Day week-
ends off over the past 10 years,
and 1999 brings no exception.
A member of the Charlie Gabriel Trio,
Pliskow holds a place in Gabriel's New
Orleans Traditional Jazz Band, one of
120 acts performing in the Ford
Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival.
The Montreux spotlight shines on
Gabriel's group at 3 p.m. Sept. 3 on
the DTE Energy Stage, although any
jazz fan who wants to hear more can
find the trio every Sunday morning at
Fishbones in Greektown.
Pliskow also performs at many
other venues throughout the year,
with private parties complementing
the public appearances. The instru-
mentalist enjoys them all and, in
many ways, his career resembles the
careers of three other Jewish jazz per-
formers who have had their turns at
the 20-year-old weekend festival.
"Jazz is a wonderful art form
because it has give and take," says
Pliskow, 64, who worked at the
Roostertail for five years and the
Playboy Club for six years. "There's so
much going on between the rhythmic
aspects and the harmonic aspects of
the music. Players have to react imme-
diately to what's going on, and for me,
it feels wonderful to support the other
players under demanding situations.
"At the Montreux Jazz Festival,
there's great enthusiasm for the music.
There are excellent technicians so the
sound is wonderful. I also get to see
and talk to a lot of musicians I haven't
seen for a long time."
Pliskow has been playing jazz in
Detroit clubs since 1950. He also has
a long history of teaching at Wayne
State University and with private stu-
dents, working with combos on TV
talk shows produced locally and
recording with other Michigan artists.
Away from music, he and his wife,
Phyllis, and their grown children have
been active in Temple Israel.
"I was playing bass in the Central
High School orchestra when someone
asked me to play a gig," Pliskow recalls.
"I started playing with that band at a
wedding, and my playing just kind of
blossomed from there. I'm trying to
pass on the art form I've learned to
people who are interested in learning,
and I find that relatively easy to do."
Janet Tenaj, who started singing
jazz in Toledo, also performs Sundays
at Fishbones, only at the Southfield
location. The Janet Tenaj Trio, which

IT

Jazz musicians from the Jewish community
keep busy with performances and recordings.

The Detroit Jazz Scene

Clockwise ftom top left:

Jazz guitarist Lawrence Barris is
working on a CD of original tunes.

Ann Arbor-based jazz
guitarist Jake Reichbart is
planning his first CD.

Singer Janet Tenaj gives jazz
intopretations to songs by
the great Jewish musical
theater composers.

Jazz bass player Dan Pliskow
will per form with Gabriel's New
Orleans Traditional Jazz Band at
3 pan. Friday, Sept. 3, on the
DTE Energy Stage at Montreux.

includes her husband, Sven Anderson,
on piano, gives a jazz interpretation to
songs by the great Jewish musical the-
ater composers, such as George and
Ira Gershwin and Irving Berlin.
"It's nice to introduce this music to
younger people," says Tenaj, whose
last name for the stage is her first
name spelled backwards. "There are so
many great songs and so many great
possibilities. There's something special
about being able to take a song and
make it my own."
Tenaj, whose real maiden name is
Linver, actually started out studying
piano at age 5. When she was in sixth
grade working on the classics, she
found a Gershwin book, taught herself
"Fascinatin' Rhythm" and instantly
knew the musical style she preferred.
"When I started sitting in at clubs,
I learned songs, and the singing took
over," says Tenaj, who stopped per-
forming while her two children were
growing up. "I wrote tunes, did

arrangements and taught. I still use
piano to write and make arrange-
ments. I've always liked the improvisa-
tion and creativity of jazz."
Tenaj, who is a member of the Oak
Park Jewish Community Center, was
confirmed in Toledo.
"I do a special jazz program for
children and teach them scatting
(singing made-up syllables to music),"
says the singer.
Tenaj has recorded two CDs —
What Love Brings, which has an origi-
nal title tune and standards, and At
Last, which also has an original title
song as well as other originals mixed
with standards.
Jazz .guitarist Lawrence Barris, who
has done studio recordings with
Darryl Dybka and Jerald Dameyon,
moves around a lot. Recently, he was
at Woodruff's in Royal Oak, where he
worked with his new, four-piece band,
Lawrence Barris and Friends. Other
times, he's been part of various groups

at the Rattlesnake Club, Baker's
Keyboard Lounge, Metropolitan
Music Cafe and Murdock's.
Barris, 40 and single, also has toured
nationally with the Black Nasty and
internationally with Mary Wilson and
the Supremes. Famed guitarist George
Benson has played with Barris' band.
"Most of my music is instrumen-
tal," explains Barris, who is working
On a CD of his original tunes. "I like
to think that people can relate to it.
It's very melodic and lyrical."
Barris, who grew up in Huntington
Woods and had his bar mitzva at B'nai
Moshe, asked for a guitar when he was
a preschooler. After studying with pri-
vate instructors, he taught himself new
techniques by playing along with
recordings. While still attending
Berkley High School, he went on his
first tour with a Detroit band.
"I always liked good music and
have been more interested in the inter-
pretation than the style," says Barris,
who also teaches private students.
Guitarist Jake Reichbart, who per-
forms Wednesday evenings at the
Kerrytown Bistro in Ann Arbor,
decided to stick with the standards for
the CD he's been planning.
"In many ways, jazz is highly struc-
tured because there is a form and series
of harmonies; at the same time players
can do with that what they please to
make a special sound," says Reichbart,
who was born in Sweden to Holocaust
survivors and lived in Israel for 15 years.
Reichbart, 35 and single, got a late
start in jazz. He originally favored
rock but had a change of heart while
working with a band in Amsterdam.
"I came to the United States because I
was serious about jazz, and this is the
land of jazz," explains the Ann Arbor-
based musician, who regularly plays with
the swing group Five Guys Named Moe
and Orthodox groups led by Abraham
Ben Zev and Rocky Stewart. Often solo,
he does about 250 jobs each year.
"I play at Jewish affairs every
week," says Reichbart, who spends
free time rebuilding his home. "I've
played with the Lunar Octet at
Montreux and loved the experience,
but then I love every performance
experience."

❑

To learn where these jazz artists
are playing or to buy a CD, call
Pliskow at (248) 549-5575,
Tenaj at (248) 967-1745, Barris
at (248) 545-1811 and Reichbart
at (734) 996-1893.

8/27
1999

Detroit Jewish News

93

