26 January 17 • 2019
jn

O

ne day before the Michigan 
debut of his film about Jewish 
identity, Adam Zucker will be in 
the state to applaud the Michigan debut 
of his favorite jazz pianist and composer, 
son Gabriel Zucker. 
The two, whose professional travels 
frequently take them out of New York, 
had no idea they had scheduled overlap-
ping Michigan appearances until they 
recently talked about upcoming book-
ings.
Adam will be presenting The Return, 
as sponsored by Michigan Hillel in 
Ann Arbor on Jan. 24, the same night 
Gabriel will be performing at Cliff Bell’
s 
in Detroit, as well as Canterbury House 
in Ann Arbor on Jan. 22 and Ziggy’
s in 
Ypsilanti on Jan. 23.
Dad, 61, a longtime film editor for 

PBS programming, created a docu-
mentary focusing on four young Polish 
women who delve into their heritage 
and ultimately forge different religious 
outlooks.
“
Although I am a documentary film-
maker and Jewish, I never made a Jewish 
film or was particularly drawn to do so; 
but I read an article in 2008 about the 
interest in Jewish culture among non-
Jews in Poland,
” Adam explains.
“Non-Jewish Poles put on a Jewish 
cultural festival, and I went. While I was 
there, I met a lot of young Jews, and 
there was a common theme of people 
who had not known they were Jewish 
but discovered that in their teens.
”
He personalized this theme with those 
who had been raised Catholic before 
learning of their religious roots. 
“The film captures their journey of 
discovering, exploring and figuring out 
what their Judaism means to them,
” says 
Adam. He went to Poland a dozen times 
over four years to complete the film. 
Adam describes his approach to films 
as sharing stories to understand people. 

Greensboro: Closer to the Truth, an earlier 
film, recalls a massacre by the Ku Klux 
Klan in 1979, and a commission that 
investigated the killings and their after-
math 25 years later. His current project 
is American Muslim, another exploration 
of religious identity.
After majoring in filmmaking, he con-
centrated on documentaries, principally 
as an editor. He has worked with direc-
tors Ken Burns, Rory Kennedy, Dori 
Bernstein and Michael Kantor, among 
many other notables. He started making 
his own independent films about 15 
years ago.
“Having the opportunity to tell other 
people’
s stories — having them be open 
to that and earning their trust in sharing 
their stories with other people — feels a 
bit like a calling. I take that very serious-

ly, relish that opportunity and feel very 
fortunate.
”
In Ann Arbor, he will speak after the 
screening, updating what has happened 
to the people in the film. He often finds 
young adults steer the discussion to their 
own experiences with Jewish identity.
As Adam looks forward to watching 
Gabriel on stage, he credits his wife, Amy 
Mereson, a flutist, with guiding their 
son’
s musical education.
“She has a master’
s in music com-
position and has been a composer for 
quite some time,
” Adam says. “When 
Gabriel expressed an interest in music, 
she worked with him very closely to help 
find teachers and write his first song.
”
Gabriel’
s original musical numbers, 
combined with a couple of artful inter-
pretations of others’
 songs, fill the con-
certs scheduled for Michigan. While he 
plays piano and sings, leaning toward 
a style he calls indie jazz rock, he will 
be joined by his band, The Delegation, 
which includes Tal Yahalom on guitar, 
Alex Goldberg and Connor Parks on 
drums, and David Leon on saxophone.

Audiences will hear numbers from 
his 2016 recording Evergreen (Canceled 
World) and Leftover Beats from the Edges 
of Time, due out this year. “Shallow 
Time,
” one song that joins his lyrics and 
music, hopes for better days.
“Our Michigan appearances will be 
unique because of the double drums,
” 
says Gabriel, 28, who has received two 
ASCAP composition awards and 4.5 
stars in Downbeat magazine. “Some of 
the percussion parts would be a little 
challenging for one drummer. With two, 
they also can have interlocking rhythms 
presenting more complexity and inten-
sity.
”
Gabriel graduated summa cum laude 
from Yale, where a double major focused 
him on music as well as ethics, politics 
and economics. A master’
s degree in 

applied statistics was earned at Oxford. 
His first serious professional achieve-
ment came during his senior year in 
college. He was commissioned to write 
a piece for the orchestra and jazz band 
of the New York Youth Symphony for its 
50th anniversary gala. 
“Music interests me in the way that 
art can move people,
” Gabriel says. “It’
s 
unlike anything else I know because it 
brings another dimension to experience. 
Sound can bring people in and change 
their reality.
”
Aside from music, Gabriel feels a 
commitment to social activism. He 
has worked on poverty policy research 
at MIT and co-led a campaign to end 
veteran homelessness in Connecticut. 
His day job, as his music career is being 
established, is with the U.S. Digital 
Service providing homeless services and 
healthcare access at the Department of 
Veterans Affairs.
“I’
m increasingly aware of the degree 
to which the American Jewish commu-
nity culture impacts my world view,
” he 
says. “It affects the way I think.
” ■

arts&life

Details
Adam Zucker will present The Return 
at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, in the 
Dana Building, Room 1040, 440 
Church St., Ann Arbor. Free. (734) 769-
0500. michiganhillel.org.
Gabriel Zucker will perform three 
concerts: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 
Canterbury House, 721 E. Huron, Ann 
Arbor, $5-$10, (734) 665-0606, cater-
buryhouse.org; 8 p.m., Wednesday, 
Jan. 23, at Ziggy’
s, 206 W. Michigan 
Ave., Ypsilanti, possible admission fee 
to be announced, (734) 221-3961, 
facebook.com/ziggysypsi; and 8 p.m. 
Thursday, Jan. 24, at Cliff Bell’
s, 2030 
Park Ave., Detroit, $10, (313) 961-
2543, cliffbells.com.

Gabriel Zucker 

at the piano 
Dynamic 

Duo 

Filmmaker dad, musician son present 
their work in Michigan simultaneously. 

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Filmmaker

Adam Zucker

fi
 lm/music

