FREE OAK p AD MISSION AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC A Patchwork Life Schwarz evokes his parents' flight in another song: "A newlywed couple with a baby girl/ Forced to flee to a faraway world/ Out on the ocean, the wide Atlantic ocean/ My . father and mother, out on the ocean, comin' home." They had applied for exit visas to Argentina, Uruguay and the United States in 1938, when Italy's fascist gov- ernment imposed harsh anti-Semitic laws and Schwarz's father lost his job. "The U.S. visa came through first," said Schwarz. "Maybe it was because their financial guarantor was Clara Clemens, Mark Twain's youngest daughter, who was an opera singer married to a Russian Jewish orchestra conductor (Ossip Gabrilowitsch, who headed up the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1918-1935). My grandfather, the furrier, had been friends with her." Schwarz's parents ran into more trouble, however, once the United States entered World War II in 1941. As immigrants with German and Italian nationality, they were regarded as enemy aliens and his father again lost his job. "In the town where they lived, there were only two other Jewish families and neither reached out," Schwarz said. "But an Irish Catholic intellectu- al befriended them, helped them, and gave my dad a job. Eventually, my par- ents both converted to Catholicism." In personal terms, Schwarz has reversed his family's immigrant experi- ence. Married to a German woman, he lives today in Bremen, Germany. This patchwork background is seen in much of Schwarz's music. The subtitle of the Home CD is "Songs of Immigrants, Refugees and Exiles," and Schwarz has spent decades living in different countries and study- ing and playing the music of different cultures, from the Caribbean to India, from Italian folk songs to klezmer. "I have a grounding in the immi- grant experience," he said. "At the same time, I'm grounded in eclecti- cism, what with my German mother, my Italian father, and then the American influence." Still, despite the fact that his parents — and other family members in Italy — converted to Catholicism, Schwarz said he considers himself a Jew "in my whole nature, if not in practice." "I feel that the Jewish influence per- meates my music, even when it is not overt," he said. "It's there, no matter what instru- ment it is played on." CHARLOTTE ROTHSTEIN PARK • 7:30 p.m. (Located on the pedestrian deck over 1-696, immediately behind the Jimmy Prentis Morris Building, Jewish Community Center) (Dixielart — Bring a chair or In case of inclement weather, the concerts are For information, call Federation's Neighborh: Sponsor Federation's Neighborhood Project • Jewish Ap The City of Oak Park . . ervices • J wish News , EIGHBORHOOD PR OJECT Visit us online: www.thisisfederation.org 3 ■ BBQ Grill on the Table ■ Best Sushi Bar in Town ■ Full Service Cocktail Lounge ■ Traditional Floor Sitting Rooms Available ■ Free Karaoke 9:00 p.m. with dining or drinking ■ • New 5eouI Garden ' ewSeoul. Garden Dinner Lunch Toys "R" Us Authentic Korean & Japanese Cuisine Phone (248) 827-1600 www.newseoulgarden.com newseoul@hotmail.com Open Daily 27566 Northwestern Hwy. Southfield, MI 48034 Endless Deli Tray Possibilities Custom Order Yours TODAY . Daily Specials Homemade Soups Carryout OPEN 7 DAYS Mon.-Sat. 10-9 • Sunday 10-3 (248) 926-9555 Is TITHE ipo 3426 E. West Maple @ Haggerty U 111 Is your subscription Don't misesasig ready to expire? sing le week! 248.539.3001 8/ 2 2002 81