An Isle of Joy

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote their first hit, “Manhattan,” in 1925. When I imagine the New York City of 99 years ago, I think of my father’s grandparents, who had arrived here from the Russian Empire two decades earlier. And I think of all the other immigrant groups living side by side in that moment and wonder: What if America had actually been a melting pot? More than in name only. What if, instead of retreating to separate silos, new arrivals had shown cultural interest in one another?

That was on my mind when I created this arrangement of “Manhattan,” for my debut album Letters of Transit. It’s kind of a goof, quoting melodies from the dominant areas of immigration to New York at the turn of the last century. In another time, I would have described my what-if? fantasy as something like Spike Jones for the NPR set—except no one remembers who Spike Jones was, and pretty soon the same will be true for NPR.

Every time I listen to this track, I smile at the musical wit of percussionist Satoshi Takeishi. I love his dry sense of humor.

Mulberry Street, ca. 1900 (Library of Congress)