Bye Bye Love

(Pictured from left Professor Mel Rosenberg, Professor Danny Levitan, Rector, Tel Aviv University)

Bye Bye Love

I have spent most of my life at Tel Aviv University, student, lecturer, professor. I started out 36 years ago as a starry-eyed young M.Sc. student, right after the Yom Kippur war. Lat week I submitted my letter requesting early retirement. There are many reasons for my desire to retire eleven years early, some stemming from my own personal journey, which has been diverging from the university's path for some years. Though I am critical of what is transpiring on campus, I love the university, and it has been an integral part of me. Here I fell in love, became a scientist, and enjoyed a career as scientist and inventor.

Yesterday I chanced upon the log book I kept as a Ph.D. student. On Nov. 18th , 1979, I carried out a little experiment which showed how readily bacterial cells become attached to oil droplets. It formed the basis for my thesis work, and a significant part of my subsequent career. http://garfield.library.upenn.edu/classics1991/A1991FE76400001.pdf

As a retiree, I will maintain an office here at the Medical Faculty, and a research lab, and I plan to continue my current studies on bad breath and related topics. And of course, not being involved in university administration will hopefully allow more time to write children's stories and perform and sing for both adults and kids. See http://www.melrosenberg.com/ to learn about everything I love to do.

Yossi Vardi Walks into my Life

Yossi Vardi Walks into my Life

Yossi Vardi is an enormously successful entrepreneur who spearheaded the Israeli internet hi-tech revolution of the past fifteen years (and before that he had an amazing career as well). We met several years ago, through the auspices of Prof. Dov Lichtenberg (Yossi's classmate and my Dean at the Medical School). For whatever reasons, we hit it off. Yossi connected me with the HED big band, and I even performed at one of his international internet conferences (without either of us knowing!)

When Yossi began inviting me to his un-conference camp for the weird, "Kinnernet", I didn't attend for several years, as I did not feel competent enough in the internet world (most of the participants are internet mavens and aspiring leaders) to attend. But when Alon Amit joined my team, I asked him to bring me 'up to scratch', and he did his best. So although I still don't twitter much, I do have over four hundred facebook friends, have several active websites (http://www.meltells.com/ ,where children can read and listen to all my children's books for free

and http://www.smellwell.com/, which cotains many research articles and facats about bad breath and body odor and http://www.melrosenberg.com/), where people can read everything about me and many dormant ones (such as http://www.wikishmedia.com/), just waiting for the right moment.

I attended my very first Kinnernet in 2007, and was amazed. There were heads of major corporations there swallowing swords, walking tightropes, playing amazing music, cooking cholent at midnight, etc. etc. I phoned my wife "Honey, if you thought I was 'bad', you have to come see these guys!". My daughter Assif puts it like this: "Once a year an alien spaceship lands at the Kinneret, and Dad hangs with his 'other family' for a couple of days". These people are all over the place – they make robots that make robots and fly toy helicopters and play computer games in real helicopters. And when they're not at kinnernet, they're busy shaping our world.

You can't apply for Kinnernet, you only get invited. And you only get re-invited if you're out there, running workshops, singing and dancing, inventing gizmoes, and making a public spectacle of yourself. I just participated in the first Kinnernet in the US, organized by Yossi Vardi and the indomitable Jeff Pulver. Amazing! Smaller and more intimate than the Israeli one (100 participants instead of 200), cushier (high class rooms and toilet paper), less doodads (some, like the real helicopter, or Didi's clock made out of ten bicycles, are head to bring on the plane), but the same lateral people doing their mishigas. What a wonderful world of the weird!

A Tribute to Chet Baker@ the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival

Thursday, February 26

I have loved the song and music of Chet Baker, trumpetist and singer, ever since I was 'introduced' to him by my friend and jazz afficionado Eli Marcus way back in the 80s. I never heard him in person, but was lucky to meet (and briefly perform with) a Belgium sax player who had played with him .

Chet had an amazing gift for melody and rhythm. He also knew how to pick the most amazing songs that have stood the test of well over half a century - Gershwin (But Not for Me, Someone to Watch Over Me), Frank Loesser (I've Never Been in Love Before, Let's Get Lost),Jimmy van Heusen (Imagination, It could happen to you) Rogers and Hart (My heart stood still, Dancing on the Ceiling,and of course My Funny Valentine). You will find jazz musicians, and singers the world over still playing these tunes.

Chet had a knack of playing and singing these songs like no one before, or since. I just watched a video interview with Russ Freeman (one of Chet's mainstay pianists, dating back to his glorious younger days) in which he said that although Chet could read notes, he didn't care for the chord changes (maybe didn't even 'know' them) and started to play as soon someone told him what the first note was. Why am I writing this? I have long maintained that too many jazz teachers and institutes teach horn playing (in particular) according to the same 'school', and then most young horn players end up playing really well, but with licks remarkably similar to one another, and without their own 'voice'. Chet was one of those who found his own voice early on. Was it because of his collaborations with Gerry Mulligan, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, etc. I think not. He had his own musical brain which was unique. Was it because he wasn't into reading charts and chord changes? I think so. He had to find his own notes, and did he ever. Musicians and critics in the 50's (some of whom denigrated him for his singing, how petulant in retrospect) may have been jealous of his fame and glory (there were jazz police then, too), but they missed the point - he did his own thing and the audience responded.

Next Thursday evening (Feb. 26th, 8:30 p.m.) I am fortunate to be performing at the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival (Cinemateque) with the great trumpet player Evgeny Verisotsky and a terrific band, in a tribute to Chet. We will sing and play his (and our) favorite songs, in his spirit. Chet, whatever the details of his troubled life and disputed personality, has had a great effect on my singing in particular. If you can't make it to the festival, check out his major influence in my most recent CD, "The Essential Mel". Whoever he was, demon, angel or both, he has brought me and many others great inspiration as a performer and listener.

I understand there are just a few tickets left, check out www.jazzfest.co.il. If you do come to the cinameteque on Thursday evening, be sure to wave hello! Don't expect us to play Chet's signature "My Funny Valentine". He took it with him.