Neranenah, a word that means “to come together and sing,” is the rebranded name for the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival. Neranenah will kick off its 2025 season Sunday at Studio Theatre at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center with a live performance of jazz music with ties to Milt Gabler, the founder of Commodore Records.
The independent label, founded in 1938 in mid-Manhattan, made its mark on music history by recording Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” and other songs by jazz legends such as Lester Young, Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins and Eddie Condon.
Gabler is the uncle of actor Billy Crystal, who has lauded his uncle for his contributions to music history. Crystal’s father Jack worked as a promoter and producer for Commodore Records, and the Crystal family owned the Commodore Music Shop in New York City, which became a hub for jazz aficionados. In his 2013 memoir, “Still Foolin’ Em,” Billy Crystal recounts meeting Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong as a child and credits jazz with influencing his own creative sensibilities.
Credit: DUSTIN CHAMBERS
Credit: DUSTIN CHAMBERS
Joe Alterman, the executive director of Neranenah and a jazz pianist who will perform in Sunday’s show, talked with Crystal over Zoom about his uncle’s record label in advance of the show. Clips from their recorded conversation will be interspersed between songs during the musical performance.
In one clip, Crystal tells the story of how his uncle came to record Holiday’s then controversial song “Strange Fruit” about lynching. As Gabler’s story recounts, Holiday’s producer at the time, John Hammond, and her record label, Columbia Records, refused to record the song because of its dark subject matter. She took the song to Gabler. Crystal recounted his uncle’s words:
“He told me, ‘He locked the door. It was a rainy day, it feels like a movie. And she sang it for me a cappella. And he said, ‘I cried like a baby.’ And he said, ‘this has got to be heard. I don’t care if we make a dollar.’”
In January of 1939, Gabler and Holiday recorded “Strange Fruit.” Years later, in 1999, the song was named by Time Magazine as the “song of the century.”
“Strange Fruit” and other Commodore Records songs will be performed Sunday by Alderman on piano and a band, Karla Harris (vocals), Justin Powell (trumpet), John Sandfort (tenor saxophone), Kevin Smith (bass) and Justin Chesarek (drums).
An Atlanta spoken word artist, Adán Bean, who has been a TEDx speaker and won the 2017 National Poetry Slam Song, will also recite a poetic monologue during the show.
Sunday’s show is the third Neranenah has done focused on a record label with Jewish roots. Past shows included one on Chess Records and another on Atlantic Records. All of Neranenah’s programming focuses on culture and music with a Jewish connection. Alterman said he hopes the events are unifying for the Atlanta community at large.
“Neranenah’s past seasons have been a testament to the power of music to create bridges between communities,” said Alterman. “We’re proud to continue that tradition in 2025 with programming that inspires, educates, and entertains.”
The show, which will take place at 7 p.m. at Studio Theater (1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs) is the kickoff performance for Neranenah’s 2025 season.
The next show in the series, “Sounds of Jewish America: The Brill Building Era & Beyond,” will be Feb. 13 at The Dupree (6120 Powers Ferry Rd NW, Atlanta). This performance will focus on the iconic Brill Building in New York, which became a creative hub for talents like Carole King, Burt Bacharach, Neil Sedaka, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
For more information on Neranenah’s 2025 season, visit neranenaharts.org.
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