arts & life

mu s i c

Cantor Jack
Mendelson

Cantor Neil Michaels and Hazzan Dan Gross

Jackie

Weekend With

Suzanne Chessler | Contributing Writer

You’ll laugh, you’ll
sing — and you’ll
share a merry
weekend with a
cantorial legend.

C

antor Jack Mendelson
describes himself as a
“nusach [style of prayer
service] kind of guy” with jazz-
inspired improvisational instincts.
Growing up in Brooklyn,
Mendelson felt that canto-
rial music was in the air — and
witnessed the dwindling of the
Golden Age of Hazzanut. In the
film A Cantor’s Tale, comedian

Mendelson with his parents
in Brooklyn

details

The community is invited to join in
for the “Weekend With Jackie.”
Services are at 7:30 p.m. Friday,
Nov. 4, at Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield and 9 a.m. Saturday,
Nov. 5, at Adat Shalom Synagogue
in Farmington Hills. There is no
admission cost for The Cantor’s
Couch at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, at
Temple Israel, but reservations are
required by registering at temple-
israel.org-couch, maya@temple-
israel.org or (248) 661-5700.

Jackie Mason says, “Every Jew
felt like [cantorial music] was his
music. People loved it just like
people love pop music today.”
Holding on to the essence of
sounds evolved in the historic
synagogues of Eastern Europe,
Mendelson has retired from the
pulpit but can be heard in the
concert circuit, film domain and
tutorial world of helping aspiring
cantors and perpetuating the genre.
Cinema fans might recognize
Mendelson from last year’s movie
Deli Man, which held strong
feelings for the cantor because
his father owned a kosher New
York deli (Mendelson also was
the focus of the 2004 documen-
tary A Cantor’s Tale). He has “a

voice that heralds a culture,” the
New York Times has said. But
Michigan Cantors Daniel Gross of
Adat Shalom Synagogue and Neil
Michaels of Temple Israel identify
him as mentor and friend since
refining their vocal talents under
his direction.
The two local cantors have
brought their congregations
together for a series of program-
ming starring Mendelson and his
musical approach — “Weekend
With Jackie.”
On Friday evening, Nov. 4,
Mendelson will be part of a
Kabbalat Shabbat service at
Temple Israel. The next morn-
ing, Mendelson will join in for
Shacharit and Musaf with some
improvisational singing at the
synagogue. On Sunday afternoon,
the cantor will present his touring
show, The Cantor’s Couch, which
musicalizes his very personal expe-
riences aspiring toward a cantorial
life and developing his career.
“Quite some time ago, Cantor
Michaels and I had the idea of
partnering and bringing Cantor
Mendelson to our community
for a weekend of camaraderie for
both our congregations combined,”
Gross says. “To our knowledge, a
Conservative and Reform congre-
gation had never done such a thing
in this community.”
For The Cantor’s Couch,
Mendelson will be joined by
another cantor, Jonathan Comisar,
the accompanist who wrote the
music and collaborated on the lyr-
ics for this production — another
instance with student becoming
colleague. Mark Bieler wrote the
script, and Eleanor Reissa directed.
“I get the best of the entire
palette of what a cantor can do,”
says Mendelson, who recalls an

appearance for Temple Israel, then
appearing with his wife, Cantor
Fredda Mendelson.
“On Friday night, I get the
excitement of doing something I
rarely do — singing in a Reform
setting. On Saturday morning, I
get a chance to do for the people of
Michigan what I’ve done with my
own congregation in New York.
On Sunday, I get a chance to be an
actor and a Broadway guy, which
I’ve been doing for the past year
and a half all over the country.”
When Mendelson is in a Reform
setting, he emphasizes melodies
that are modern and American-
sounding while also bringing in
traditional music. He gets congre-
gations to participate by humming
the parts reminiscent of Eastern
European conventions.
When he is in a more traditional
setting, Mendelson enjoys bring-
ing in American sounds. He does
it in a way that defines the tradi-
tional music as the host and the
American music as the guest.
“I love teaching nusach, mixing
it with other sounds and show-
ing students how to do that so
they have the best of both worlds,”
Mendelson says. “Cantorial music
is a unique classical music form
where you get to improvise.”
Mendelson, who has taught
at both the Jewish Theological
Seminary and Hebrew Union
College, served as cantor of Temple
Israel Center in White Plains,
N.Y. He has been president of the
Cantors Assembly.
“Getting into films wasn’t my
fault,” he jokes. “One day I was
doing a concert in Manhattan, not
just singing but also telling stories.
A film director seemed impressed
and asked how I would like to be in
a documentary about me.

“We raised the money and
launched A Cantors Tale, which
played on PBS, and we’re doing a
sequel about how I entered into
retirement and what I’m doing
these days. We shot footage around
the world.”
Other Mendelson films
include100 Voices, a documentary
about the Cantors Assembly 2009
mission to Poland, and Journey
of Spirit, a recollection of singer-
songwriter Debbie Friedman.
The weekend programming
surrounding Mendelson’s visit is
a reflection of friendships that go
beyond introductions as teacher
and students and reaches out to the
wider Jewish community.
Michaels knew about Mendelson
through a cousin, the late Cantor
Edward Fogel, who trained with
Mendelson and was best man at
Mendelson’s wedding.
With Michaels and Gross mar-
ried to professional vocalists, the
couples had introductions through
New York studies: Stephanie
Michaels and Daniel Gross attend-
ed the Manhattan School of Music,
and Neil Michaels and Lauren
Skuce Gross attended Juilliard.
“Our lives are very similar,
and we get along very well,” Neil
Michaels says about the two
couples whose work happened
to bring them to Metro Detroit.
“Dan and I perform together as the
Bari Brothers [Bari for baritone]
doing theater music with some
Yiddishkeit.
“What makes our Jewish com-
munity special is the feeling of
mutual values and the sense
of being close-knit. Shabbat is
always special for us, and it’s
great to be celebrating it with a
special guest.”

*

October 27 • 2016

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