Beny Krick

‘Ukraine’s Tom Waits’ Keeps Sound of Jewish Odessa Alive

Before the Russian Revolution, Odessa was a kind of New Orleans on the Black Sea - a duty-free haven with a thriving black market and teeming port-side taverns, where you could hear a variety of musical styles: Greek, Roma, Armenian, Georgian. It was famous for its distinctive mélange. It also had a large Jewish community - bankers, workers and Jewish gangsters all lived there.