Joshua Nelson (Photo by Jessica Pearl)
When he was 8 years old, singer Joshua Nelson heard a voice that stirred him. It was a powerful and rich sound that came from his grandparents’ record collection; the young Brooklynite had discovered legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson.
“Mahalia Jackson was the first time I woke up and said, ‘Wow, it’s great to be black,” he says. “We were taught we had to act a particular way or we had to behave a particular way, and when I heard Mahalia Jackson, I said, ‘Oh no, somebody got something wrong, that’s not the way it is,’ ’cause this woman is being marketed commercially, sounding exactly like where she came from and people are buying her records.”
For a young man with a dual existence, being comfortable with his own skin and beliefs would be paramount as he developed into an artist. Nelson, an African-American Jew, would eventually meld a vocal style similar to Jackson's with traditional Jewish hymns, something he describes as kosher gospel.
“It’s not a matter of being black and trying to be Jewish or black and trying to look Jewish, It’s being black and Jewish and that’s the dichotomy of my world, he says. “Two things all blended into one. So my music you know, it’s authentically Jewish, and it’s authentically black.”
He’s released three recordings, performed in several countries and was on the bill of the Richmond Folk Festival in 2012. The kosher gospel sound is an unusual mix of words and music that he delivers in a natural, unforced manner, whether he’s singing a foot-stomping version of “Adon Olam” or a faithful rendition of Jackson’s haunting “Elijah Rock.”
Nelson’s fondness for Mahalia Jackson goes beyond typical adulation. He’s studied her career and life intently, not confining his pursuit of knowledge to articles and books, but embedding himself with the departed singer’s family, friends and associates for several years, seeking first-hand information. The 44-year-old is writing a song about a moment that solidified Jackson’s role in the civil rights era. It’s a story that’s become public knowledge recently, but Nelson says he’s known about it for years.
The song is called “Tell Them About the Dream.” It refers to the words Jackson spoke to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 as his speech at the March on Washington began to waver off course. The young pastor put his notes aside and shared his vision for the nation that would become a milestone in American history.
“I find it atrocious that she’s overlooked in the black community. I think it’s horrible,” he says. “Because Mahalia was really the mother of the civil rights era …”
Nelson says being black and Jewish allows him to occupy a rare space that provides for a broader view of society.
“I always lived in two worlds. I lived in the black world and I lived in the Jewish world. And in the black world … I was light skinned with hazel eyes and good hair. In the Jewish world I was dark-skinned with nappy hair and nobody even recognized my eyes,” he says. “So I knew from the get-go [that] I was in the middle of these two mountains, in that valley, and I knew that what people saw was not really the truth. What they saw was their view. I took that as an understanding that you can’t pay too much attention to what people think.”
Nelson’s performance is part of an extended visit to Temple Beth-El, from Dec. 8 to 10. The concert is at 7 p.m. Saturday. He will also be participating in a service, dinner and panel discussion on understanding race and religion through music, a topic Nelson seems particularly suited for.
“Part of Judaism is not just about Jews, it’s really the world at large, about being a light to nations and doing whatever possible to bring people together,” he says. “And right now is actually a good time for people to be coming together.”
Joshua Nelson performs at 7 p.m. on Dec. 9 at Temple Beth-El, 3330 Grove Ave. $20. bethelrichmond.org/event/joshua
