By Michael Kaufman

Amazon.com thinks they know me but they don’t. Why else would they send me the following email:

“Dear Amazon.com Customer,
“Customers who have purchased or rated Mazeltov, Mis Amigos by Juan Calle & his Latin Lantzmen might like to know that Songs from the Depths of Hell is now available.  You can order yours for just $19.09 by following the link below. 

“Songs from the Depths of Hell, Kulisiewicz, Price:  $19.09” 

Yes, I ordered Mazeltov Mis Amigos a while back. It is a clever mix of Latin jazz music with traditional Yiddish songs like Mein Shtetele Belz (played as a pachanga) and Bei Mir Bist du Shein (played as a meringue). The album was recorded for Riverside records in 1961 and included some of the biggest names in 50s and 60s Latin music, conga-drum great Ray Barretto, timbales guru Wilie Rodriguez, and pianist Charlie Palmieri playing alongside African-American jazz greats Clark Terry, Doc Cheatham, Lou Oles, and Wendell Marshall.  “Juan” was actually John Cali, an Italian-American banjo picker best known for his work with the Vincent Lopez Orchestra and his solo banjo offerings. The only “lantzman” was Ed Powell, who sang in Yiddish on the date. 

I purchased the recently reissued CD for many reasons. I love jazz.  I love Latin music. I love Yiddish music. I love funny stuff. And the late Ray Barretto, who lived in Warwick, was one of my favorites.

When my daughter Sadie was little I took her to a free afternoon children’s concert he did in Newark. Barretto and his band played their hearts out for the kids as if it were a Saturday night on the main stage at the Newport Jazz Festival. They even played “Manteca” specially for us after I requested it.

I don’t like that Amazon tracks my purchases and sends me emails about items they think I may be interested in. It seems like an invasion of privacy.  (And you should see some of the emails they sent after I ordered two pamphlets by Karl Marx that I thought Sadie could use when she was taking economics in college!)

After I ordered a book by Steve Crist, editor of the Daily Racing Form, I got emails from Amazon telling me about every new book on horse racing. Since ordering a French press coffee maker I’ve been getting emails about every new kitchen product and gizmo imaginable.

But Songs from the Depths of Hell?

Here is the description: “Aleksander Kulisiewicz, a survivor of Sachsenhausen concentration camp, is a voice of hope in the face of despair. The agony of the songs is intense, but the beauty of the musical expression helps to counter the suffering experienced by so many millions. Sung in German, Polish, Ukrainian, and Yiddish with English translations in the liner notes.” 

Hmmmmmmmm, sounds interesting…..very interesting.  I don’t know how they got there from Mazeltov Mis Amigos, damn their eyes, but they got me on this one. The email provides no more information before closing with “We hope you found this message to be useful” but  at the Amazon site I learned that the album was originally released in 1979 on Smithsonian Folkways. No titles are listed but the 15 songs can be downloaded for $8.99 or purchased on CD for $15.99.

I’ll think about it. I still think it is an invasion of privacy.

Michael can be reached at michael@zestoforange.com.

Tags: Michael Kaufman

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