Hatikvah Music

Neither is a Jackie Wilson recording of "Yiddishe Moma," which prompted an avalanche of calls when Hatikvah supplied it to FM radio station KCRW for its annual pre-Chanukah program. The store also boasts a collection of Ladino music so rich and varied that it has attracted collectors from all over the world, including institutions such as Yale University. And, of course, there's the klezmer. This cluttered, unassuming storefront encompasses it all - the hauntingly bittersweet sounds of old European masters, 1920s-era clarinet greats such as Naftule Brandewein and Dave Tarras, and newer groups riding the wave of klezmer's revival, including the Machaya Klezmer Band (whose bouncy spirit is what usually draws people in from the street). This is the world of Simon Rutberg, Hatikvah's diminutive, sandy-haired and energetic proprietor. On most days, he can be found bent over boxes of new shipments, ringing up customers from behind the counter, or on the phone with fanatical klezmer fans - many of them non-Jewish - who make pilgrimages to Hatikvah from Canada, Germany and other far-flung spots where Jewish soul music has captured the hearts of a modern generation. "This is the largest collection of Jewish music in the world," says Rutberg, gesturing toward a wall stacked with titles from floor to ceiling. "I know, because I look everywhere for sources, so I know what's out there. When I say 'Jewish music,' I mean Ladino, Klezmer, cantorial, Chassidic and Israeli music, not just stuff recorded by a singer who happens to be Jewish." Other music stores, such as Hatikvah's neighbor, Hataklit, and Rhino Records in Westwood, also boast inventories rich in Jewish music, but neither collection is as extensive or as eclectic as Rutberg's. Without hesitation, Rutberg can scan his inventory and pluck out most anything: popular American oldies ("If you can believe it, 'Connie Frances Sings Jewish Favorites' is the biggest-selling Jewish album of all time," he says as he pulls out a CD emblazoned with a picture of the Catholic pop singer) and lesser-known discoveries that emanate from Hatikvah's speakers like voices from another world. There's the Scottish-born Jewish vocalist Lena Rothstein, who lives in Austria and sings in Ladino. Rutberg also carries what he calls "Holocaust music," recordings made in Europe during the war. Asked about an old recording by Shoshana Damari, a Yemenite-Israeli folk singer and sort of a cultural icon of the Jewish state's early years, Rutberg produces it without missing a beat. He then recommends a compilation of old klezmer recordings by Brandewein, Tarras and others entitled "Yikhes." It's a collection put together by Joe Rubin, who also produced "A Tickle in the Heart," a poignant film about klezmer musicians. That's what a visit to this retail Jewish archive does: It satisfies the longing to retrieve one's own musical memories, and sparks the discovery of new ones. Perhaps that's why Hatikvah draws such a varied group of music lovers - from European collectors, to actors Leonard Nimoy and Ron Rifkin, to a stream of curious passersby. And Rutberg is, in a very real sense, an archivist, providing an outlet where exotic, obscure, new or forgotten music can be heard and promoted along with the more commercial stuff. Although Hatikvah does not sell used records, it has become, in recent years, the last stop for those trunkfuls of music that sit neglected in people's attics for years. "Look at these," he says, extracting a thick cardboard folder from a random pile. Inside are dozens of mint-condition records from the early part of the century, their titles peeking through the brown paper sheaves. "People send me this stuff all the time," Rutberg says. "Their parents or grandparents die, and when they go through their stuff, they find these old recordings. I really don't know what to do with them, but when they say they're going to throw them out, I take them. Some of this is just impossible to get." A few weeks ago, Rutberg was sent a shipment of 300 old 78 recordings, dating back to 1910, decades before the establishment of the Jewish state. "Some of it is labeled 'Palestinian Hebrew Music,'" he says with a laugh.