Meet Hersh from The Jews Brothers

You probably know Hersh as the band leader of The Jews Brothers Band, which has been entertaining New Zealand with Klezmer music since 1994. I caught up with Hersh on a sunny afternoon in Ponsonby, where he hangs out regularly at a café, busy writing a book on astronomy.

How did a nice boy from Brooklyn come to be living in NZ?

I met my partner, Linn, in the late 70s in New York. I was playing in the Latin music field and she worked in piano bars. At first we were friends and collaborated on various music writing projects. I went to live in Miami Beach from 1982 to 85 and Linn would come visit me, and it went from there. Our son, Joseph was born in 1985 and we decided to bring him up in New Zealand. I have always felt very much at home here.

Tell me about your background.

My grandparents were all from Eastern Europe and had come to New York in the 1880s. Both my grandfathers were from the Ukraine. One grandmother was Romanian and the other from the Baltic Coast, probably Estonia. Language wasn’t an issue because they all spoke Yiddish.

One grandfather was a musician from Kiev and the family legend is that the only possession he brought with him on the boat to New York was his violin. Two of my uncles and one aunt were involved in Broadway theatre production. Lots of Jews in America were either entertainers, comedians, musicians, song-writers or involved in show-biz in one way or another. My own music lessons started at about 7 years of age and my first instrument was piano-accordion.

In the 1950s, we spent our summer holidays in the ‘Borscht Belt’ in the Catskills. These were hotels and resorts which catered specifically for Jewish people, mainly from New York.

In the Borscht Belt you could get anything from a plush hotel to a self-catering bungalow, there was something to suit everyone and the hotels were all Kosher, serving Ashkenazi food such as borscht and blintzes.

My family owned The Raleigh Hotel. Set on 200 acres it catered for everyone and everything. There were lots of activities: a large swimming pool, all sorts of planned athletic competitions, ballroom and Latin dancing, bingo and other games as well as a baseball team that would compete against other hotels in the resort. You could go boating, fishing, walking. Most resorts would accommodate a few hundred people and there were two very large hotels that held about 2,000 people each, the Concord and Grossingers.

The Raleigh Hotel in The Catskills

The Raleigh had all the ‘big acts’ of the day perform for its guests.

Every kind of entertainment was offered at The Raleigh.

Every night there was a three act variety show and every hotel would try to put on the best acts. There was usually a dance act, a singer, and a comedian. The show was preceded and followed by two alternating bands; the show band itself and a Latin band playing for dancing for the guests. The Jews in this period loved to do the ‘Mambo’ and ‘Cha cha cha’.

The Raleigh had acts like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis Junior, Jackie Mason and Rodney Dangerfield. Jackie Mason tried out a routine on me one night for a roast he was doing the next night for a well-known comedian, Jackie Leonard. Sammy Davis made a special appearance, since my uncle was producing the Broadway show Mr. Wonderful at the time with Sammy in the leading role.

Anyway, I would sit in on the rehearsals of the Latin bands and by 12 or 13 I was jamming on piano along with them. That was the kind of music I loved most. By then I was I playing both the accordion and piano.

At 18 I started to play with Orquesta Broadway, a Latin band playing Cuban Charanga style music with Afro-Caribbean rhythms which later became known as salsa music. I was their piano player and my brother was on bass, the others being local Latinos, both Cuban and Puerto Rican.

I moved around a bit, living in LA for two years from 1969-71, but there wasn’t much of a Latin music scene there, it was more Mexican. I moved back to NY in 1973. I moved to Miami for a few years from 1982-85, again playing Latin and sometimes a little jazz.

In New Zealand I founded The Nairobi Trio and played with them for a couple of years, in the late 80s. We did private parties, corporate gigs, cafes, bars and restaurants. I then withdrew from playing with them and, with Linn, formed a trio called French Toast since Linn does the chanson French style of singing really well. We still work with this unit today.

In the late 80s Klezmer music started to enjoy a renaissance in Europe and the US. I was sitting in a café in Grey Lynn with Linn and a couple of muso friends and we heard klezmer on the radio. This was the style of music played by my grandfather and I knew this style – it was in my blood. I said:
“Boys let’s play this music!” So Linn and I and the others started playing it. We were well received, so we kept doing it!

Between 2001 and 2009 we did four albums, many national NZ tours and four European tours, playing festivals in Germany, Denmark, Belgium, The Netherlands and the UK. These included the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague and the special 20th anniversary WOMAD festival in Reading. We even played in a jazz festival in the Faroe Islands!

What are your latest projects?

I am currently rehearsing with Kiwi-Russian star Yulia for a new show which will recreate exactly a legendary Edith Piaf concert at the Olympia. There is a full orchestra and I’m on accordion.

It will be at The Civic, Auckland, on 3 & 4 July. We are also bringing the show to both Wellington and Christchurch in July, one night each. More details and the trailer here.

Hersh is currently rehearsing a new show with Kiwi-Russian star Yulia.

We are kept busy playing with our French Toast Trio but which nowadays also features our added-on gypsy swing guitarist.

You can see Hersh and Linn playing with French Toast at these venues:

· Epolito’s Pizzeria, 166 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn.

French Toast plays the third Tuesday of every month, 6pm till 8:30.

New York style pizza by the slice, just $5, this place is like old-style Little Italy. Deelish!

· Hallertau Brewery, both Clevedon as well as Riverhead, each about once a month, always on a Sunday afternoon 1pm – 3.30pm, but the dates vary. (Next one is 25 July 2021.) Great home-made beers and excellent menu.

· Hoppers Garden Bar, 134b Ponsonby Rd.

One Tuesday night per month, the date is variable – call for details.

Meanwhile, Linn and Hersh are both writing books – Linn is recording an audiobook about her musical career and Hersh is writing on astronomy.

You can find out more on The Jews Brothers website and listen to the band on Spotify.

By Val Graham

Meet Hersh from The Jews Brothers