Anthony Russell (American singer)

Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell is an American singer and musician who performs in Yiddish. He is African-American and Jewish.

Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell
Background information
Born1980
Fort Worth, Texas
GenresYiddish, klezmer, Jewish music, African-American music, opera
Years active2012-present
Associated actsVeretski Pass
Websitewww.anthonyrussellbass.com

Early life

Russell was born in 1980 in Fort Worth, Texas to a Christian family, moving around frequently as a military brat as his father was in the US Navy. When Russell was seven, his family settled in Vallejo, California. Encouraged by his mother, a former classical pianist, Russell gained a deep interest in music. He describes himself as an autodidact, teaching himself to read and play music, and gaining a detailed knowledge of the Bible. He was homeschooled from 6th grade.[1]

He earned a degree in music at Holy Names University in Oakland, California.[1]

Conversion to Judaism

At the age of 27, Russell attended his first Shabbat prayer service. After meeting and beginning a relationship with Rabbi Michael Rothbaum, he started attending a local Conservative synagogue and celebrating Jewish holidays. He formally converted in January 2011, taking the name Mordechai Tzvi.[1][2] He traveled to Israel, where he studied Yiddish at Tel Aviv University.[2][3]

Personal life

Russell is openly gay. He met his husband, Rabbi Michael Rothbaum, in 2007, on date at a New York Mets game in Queens, New York[4]. They were married in a Jewish ceremony in June 2015[5]. Since 2017, he has lived in Massachusetts.[2][6]

Career

After graduating from Holy Names University, he began a career as a bass opera singer in San Francisco and New York. His professional debut was in the world premiere of Appomattox by Philip Glass.[6][7] He has stated that formerly he deliberately avoided singing Negro spirituals to avoid stereotypes of African-American classical singers.[8][9] After converting to Judaism, Russell considered studying to become a cantor, but ultimately decided against it. He encountered the Yiddish song "Dem Milners Trern" ("The Miller's Tears") while watching the film A Serious Man, which led to him researching the work of singer Sidor Belarsky and early 20th century Jewish music. He has cited Paul Robeson and Josephine Baker as personal inspirations.[10][7]

In January 2012, Russell was invited to perform at the Sholem Aleichem Cultural Center in the Bronx, New York. There, he met Yiddish vaudevillian Shane Baker, who invited him to be a guest performer at the Manhattan JCC, jumpstarting his career.[1] In 2017, Russell won Der Yidisher Idol, a Yiddish singing competition inspired by American Idol.[11]

In addition to his performance of traditional Yiddish art song, Russell has blended traditional African-American and Ashkenazi music to create his own musical style. He sometimes performs in a duo called Tsvey Brider ("Two Brothers") with pianist/accordionist Dmitri Gaskin. He also collaborated with the klezmer group Veretski Pass on a project called "Convergence".[8]

He has had performances in Yiddish both in the US and internationally, including in Toronto, Montreal, Mexico City, Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Symphony Space in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and Limmud Fests across the United States and Europe.[7]

Discography
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References
  1. Ghert-Z, Renee. "Just your typical 6'1 African-American Yiddish singer". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  2. Miller, Robert Nagler (2019-02-14). "A harmonious marriage of Negro spirituals and Yiddish song". J. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  3. "It's cool and fringe, it's Yiddish - Israel News - Jerusalem Post". www.jpost.com. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  4. Ghert-Z, Renee. "Just your typical 6'1 African-American Yiddish singer". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  5. Wall, Alix (2015-09-25). "The rabbi & the singer unite in song and love". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  6. "Tsvey Brider". tsveybrider.com. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  7. "BIO". Anthony Russell. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  8. North, Bonnie. "Black, Jewish, & Gay: Singer Anthony Russell Finds His Musical and Spiritual Home in 'Convergence'". www.wuwm.com. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  9. Wall, Alix. "Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell's Roots Music Without Borders". East Bay Express. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  10. Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf (2015-06-15). "African-American singer in love with Yiddish songs". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  11. "The Opera Singer's Yiddish Spirituals". Tablet Magazine. 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
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