Highlights from past events

To view a full list of past event details, click here.

An Evening with eric krasno & the assembly

Celebrating Norman Granz with Benny Green, John Clayton & Jeff Hamilton

The Sounds of Jewish America: From Harold Arlen to Carole King & Beyond
with Joe Alterman Trio

The Wind Down: Shabbat on the River with Micah Lapidus and Hello, GoodbyE & Peace Ensemble

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Duchess performs the Jewish American Songbook

An Evening of Comedy with Judy Gold & Eddie Brill

 
 
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virtual programming

Our innovative and nimble nature allowed us to thrive during the pandemic and provide high-quality musical performances and educational conversations to our diverse audiences. Shows included:

  • Havdallah & Jazz - Rabbi Brian Glusman and Joe Alterman

  • Music Between Cultures: The Sounds of Jewish America with The Kennedy Center

  • Ma'alot Presents: Songs of Light Hanukkah Concert

  • The Egg Drop: Takeout Special Featuring Lawrence

  • Lecture Series in Partnership with the Gordon Center at the JCC of Greater Baltimore - Seth Kibel

  • The Jazz Singer: Blacks, Jews, and Jazz - Film and Discussion

2019 AJMF

THANK YOU! Today we look back on this year’s wildly wonderful, totally sold out festival, and the many months of work in the lead up to AJMF, and are overjoyed with the outcome. Thank you to the artists, venues, our donors, sponsors, marketing and media partners and, most importantly, everyone who came out to support and enjoy this year’s festival. We can’t wait to share what we have in store for 2020. It will be music and it will be Jewish. What exactly that means, we’re still and always exploring.

See photos from the festival here.

THE EGG DROP

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Attention all Hebros and Hebrettes, does Christmas Eve leave you feeling left out? While most of Atlanta will be pretending to know carol lyrics with the grandma set, you could be throwing down at the first annual Egg Drop. That’s right, 12/24 at Smiths will be the promised-land for anyone up for Chinese food, 2000’s Bar Mitzvah party music, and general holiday merriment. It’s Christmas Eve, old testament style.

AFRICAN AMERICANS, AMERICAN JEWS & AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC:
A Conversation with Ben Sidran & Rev. Dwight Andrews

Pianist, author and producer Ben Sidran and composer, musician, pastor and educator Dwight Andrews will come together to explore the depths, the confluences and co-operations, and the sometimes fraught conflicts and contradictions, of this significant cultural partnership that has shaped the history of American Popular Music from Jazz to Blues to Rock and Roll, from the Juke Box to Broadway, from the days of Tin Pan Alley to today’s Hip Hop explosions.

Presented by Atlanta Jewish Music Festival, The Breman Museum and First Congregational Church

WATCH HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sMbINhYuCw (Filmed & Edited by Jacob Ross)

BILL CHARLAP

Bill Charlap, onstage during his stellar trio performance of Leonard Bernstein interpretations during our opening night performance at the Atlanta History Center. As NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath, who we're honored was in attendance that evening, told…

Bill Charlap, onstage during his stellar trio performance of Leonard Bernstein interpretations during our opening night performance at the Atlanta History Center. As NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath, who we're honored was in attendance that evening, told AJMF director Joe Alterman after the concert, "It's hard to believe that only three people made that much music."

LAWRENCE

Lawrence, led by the Jewish sibling team of Clyde and Gracie Lawrence who are deeply influenced by both Carole King and Jerry Seinfeld - which they refer to as "New York, Jewish storytelling", a tradition they long to be a part of - put on an amazin…

Lawrence, led by the Jewish sibling team of Clyde and Gracie Lawrence who are deeply influenced by both Carole King and Jerry Seinfeld - which they refer to as "New York, Jewish storytelling", a tradition they long to be a part of - put on an amazing, super funky show at Vinyl @ Centerstage.

ATL COLLECTIVE RELIVES THE SOUNDS OF CHESS RECORDS

"The Synagogue prayers had traces there in Andrew Tibbs’ moans, The Old World met the cotton fields, The Warsaw ghetto shook hands w/ the Mississippi Delta, That suffering in Poland didn’t sound that different than the suffering in Selma" - ATL Coll…

"The Synagogue prayers had traces there in Andrew Tibbs’ moans, The Old World met the cotton fields, The Warsaw ghetto shook hands w/ the Mississippi Delta, That suffering in Poland didn’t sound that different than the suffering in Selma"
- ATL Collective's fabulous emcee, Adan Bean, walked us through the deeply important story of Jewish/black collaboration in American music via the fascinating, complicated story of Chess Records at Venkman's.

Ben Sidran

Through his fascinating history of Jewish involvement in American popular music at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, Ben Sidran explored what is both uniquely Jewish and uniquely American about "Jewish music". In looking at "Take Me Out To The Ballgame", which was composed by Judy Garland's uncle after reading an article about the game in a New York Yiddish newspaper, Sidran, through his examination of the lyrics - "I don't care if I never get back" - showed us how "baseball", in this song - which is really a song looking for community - is actually a metaphor for America and wanting to belong to it.

Through his fascinating history of Jewish involvement in American popular music at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, Ben Sidran explored what is both uniquely Jewish and uniquely American about "Jewish music". In looking at "Take Me Out To The Ballgame", which was composed by Judy Garland's uncle after reading an article about the game in a New York Yiddish newspaper, Sidran, through his examination of the lyrics - "I don't care if I never get back" - showed us how "baseball", in this song - which is really a song looking for community - is actually a metaphor for America and wanting to belong to it.

ROLLING STONE ROCK CRITIC Alan Light

Journalistic Alan Light helped us examine the Jewishness of Bob Dylan's music at Temple Sinai. When asked what - beyond Dylan's happening to have been born Jewish - was Jewish about his music, Light said, "It's his way of constantly questioning - of…

Journalistic Alan Light helped us examine the Jewishness of Bob Dylan's music at Temple Sinai. When asked what - beyond Dylan's happening to have been born Jewish - was Jewish about his music, Light said, "It's his way of constantly questioning - of answering questions with more questions."

Salute To Hollywood

Salute To Hollywood's Bob Spiotto and Deb Bowman explore the Jewish imprint on 1989 Academy Awards Best Original Song winner "Under The Sea", from the Disney film, "The Little Mermaid" at the Breman Museum.

Salute To Hollywood's Bob Spiotto and Deb Bowman explore the Jewish imprint on 1989 Academy Awards Best Original Song winner "Under The Sea", from the Disney film, "The Little Mermaid" at the Breman Museum.