Rhythmus was a jazz orchestra in the Buchenwald concentration camp in which a total of 23 musicians from 9 different countries played together from 1943 until the liberation.
Czech prisoners around Jiří Žák took the initiative to found this orchestra in the summer of 1943.
Among the French prisoners that later joined, were Yves Darriet – the bandleader , who wrote most arrangements , and Robert Widerman – the band’s singer , who made a career as Robert Clary on Broadway after the war.
Two programs are known to have been performed in November 1944 and April 19, 1945, i.e. 8 days after the liberation of the camp (Ref 1) , including compositions by Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton and pieces by Cole Porter, Fats Waller, Glenn Miller and Louis Armstrong. In The Mood was performed even though this music was banned in Nazi Germany.
„Rhythmus“ – Jazz im Konzentrationslager Buchenwald
At the April 11, 2022 event ‘„Rhythmus“ – Jazz im Konzentrationslager Buchenwald’ — in the Notenbank in Weimar, Germany (Ref 2, 3) — the Big Band and a jazz ensemble of the Hochschule für Musik under the direction of Prof. Gero Schmidt-Oberländer performed 9 or 10 pieces from the programs. In addition biographies of the prisoners in the Buchenwald Jazz Orchestra were made visible using excerpts from their letters and reports.
The French singer Robert Widerman ( Robert Clary ) was shown in a clip (Ref 4) from the documentary film From Buchenwald to Hollywood, The Robert Clary Story (Ref 5).
Robert Clary (March 1, 1926 – Nov 16, 2022) survived thanks to several prisoners, including Yves Darriet (pseudonym Jan Rolan, Jean Roland), Claude Francis-Boeuf, and Jiří Žák. (Ref 6)
REFS
1. Rhythmus | 20221117 | Miracles.Media | URL https://michelvanderburg.com/2022/11/17/rhythmus-20221117/
2. „Rhythmus“ – Jazz im Konzentrationslager Buchenwald | 11 April 2022 | Event by the Weimar festival Rendez-vous with History and the Institut Français in cooperation with the Buchenwald Memorial and the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar. | URL https://www.institutfrancais.de/fr/thueringen/event/rhythmus-lorchestre-de-jazz-au-camp-de-concentration-de-buchenwald-20279#/
3. Jazz im KZ Buchenwald – das gab es wirrklich! | weimarer-rendezvous | Sep 25, 2022 | URL https://youtu.be/HX4X7TJ19nQ
4. Rhythmus | From Buchenwald to Hollywood, The Robert Clary Story | 20230910 | weimarer-rendezvous | Michel van der Burg | https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxqc0jZDzWciMjfefJ0IbMLsnAeaW0Do4U
5. From Buchenwald to Hollywood, The Robert Clary Story by Karen and Richard Bloom and Michel van der Burg | 2023 Edition | 20230202 | URL https://youtu.be/0tKc5T-Sw-E
6. Rhythmus | Robert Clary saved by Yves Darriet, Claude Francis-Boeuf, Jiří Žák in Buchenwald | 20230910 | weimarer-rendezvous | Michel van der Burg | URL https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxXvk60NXXvjBEkctI0vzWGrTU9aojucac
Citation : Rhythmus Jazz Buchenwald | 20230910 | Miracles.Media
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