Louis Armstrong. Photo: Wiki Commons.
Mutual indebtedness — and reciprocal “gift giving” — are at the core of the relationships between African-Americans and Jews. In the realm of popular music, Jewish composers and performers who were profoundly influenced by ragtime and then jazz included Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, and Fanny Brice.
But exchange and borrowing were two-way streets. Paul Robeson embraced Yiddish songs — including “ Zog nit keynmol,” the Warsaw Ghetto resistance song, and “The Kaddish of Rebbe Levi-Yitzhok of Berditchev.” Louis Armstrong privately told Cab Calloway that his signature scat singing style was inspired by Jewish ritual davening, but did not want to create religious controversy by publicizing it.