is & entertainment

To The . ilinfiterse

•
s, 11 year-old Ethan Bortriick and Noa highlight the
C Stephen Gottlieb Music Festival.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Elizabeth Applebaum
Special to the Jewish News

"When I was growing up in Oak Park,
my loftiest ambition was to be the bass
player in a local band called the Shy Guys,"
Was said. "Never got that gig, but I was
still part of a generation of guys who saw
the Beatles on Ed Sullivan's show and said,
`I wanna do that!'
"The thing that distinguished me and
David [Weiss, Was' partner in Was (Not
Was)] and a few of our buddies from
the others was that we were too dumb
to develop a Plan B, so we had to make a
career in music work out for us:'
Today, Was is one of the leading music
producers in the world and a Grammy
winner for Producer of the Year. But back
in the '60s, he was just "a teenaged hippie
derelict hanging out in Oak Park Park"
who never imagined himself "amounting
to much of anything. Life is funny"
Don Was is set to appear at the Jewish
Community Center of Metropolitan
Detroit's Stephen Gottlieb Music Festival,
opening March 15 at the Berman Center

for the Performing Arts (see the complete
schedule that accompanies this story). The
lineup includes 11-year-old pianist Ethan
Bortnick and Israel's famed Noa, perform-
ing with special guest Israeli Arab singer
Mira Awad.
Harold and Sarah Gottlieb established
the festival, and this year's concerts cer-
tainly would have pleased their son.
"Sarah and I helped establish the JCC
Stephen Gottlieb Music Festival in mem-
ory of our dear son, who adored music:'
Harold Gottlieb said.
"Stephen would have loved knowing
that everyone in the community has a
chance to enjoy this diverse and excep-
tional collection of musicians — notably
Don Was, because Stephen was a huge
fan. I can't wait to see him, and I know
that Stephen's presence will be especially
strong this year because of Don's appear-
ance."
Don Was has worked with everyone from
the Rolling Stones to Garth Brooks to Bob
Dylan to B.B. King to Poison. The styles are
diverse, but there's one, unchanging quality
that grabs his attention.

"Originality is what interests me:' he
said. "Think of folks like Dylan or Miles
Davis or Howling Wolf or Mozart or
Aretha Franklin: There are lots of artists
who imitate them, but there ain't nobody
like them. The thing that makes you dif-
ferent from everyone else is your strength
— play to your strength!
"I've just finished producing John
Mayer's new album, and I think very high-
ly of him — great writer, singer, musician,
a very smart cat and a lovely guy. It's a
great record."
Most recently, Was became president of
Blue Note Records, which he called "one of
America's greatest record labels."
He's "looking forward to helping them
release a bunch of great albums. I don't
believe that the music business is dead.
Just make great records, and people will
buy them. Look at Adele!"

Musical Diversity

Rick Sherline and Teruah blog master Jack
Zaientz chair this year's festival.
Sherline described this year's event as
"joyful."

"Music gives a soul to
the universe, wings to
the mind, flight to the
imagination and life
to everything."

- Plato

"Our festival is a celebration of won-
derful and diverse Jewish music that
will delight one's senses;' he said. "Ethan
Bortnick will amaze as the audience expe-
riences his genius on opening night. Ten
more remarkable performances will follow
over the next 10 days that will touch your
heart, rock your world and uplift your
soul."
"This year the Detroit JCC Stephen
Gottlieb Music Festival committee has
been able to bring a fantastic range of
programming to Detroit:' Zaientz said,
adding that he is especially excited about
Noa with special guest Mira Awad, Ethan

Balkano
(left) and

Spirit of
Sepharad

with Gerard
Edery
(below)

perform

in a World
Jewish
Music

Showcase.

Above: Stefan Kukurugya and Claudia
Hommel take the stage in Bonjour,
Paris.

38

March 8 • 2012

Mira Awad and Noa