Hit Music producer Michael Goldwasser presents ‘From Moses to Marley’

For Judy Adelson, Michael Goldwasser is more than a hit-making producer who has worked with the likes of Jason Mraz, Janelle Monae, Kelly Clarkson and Yoko Ono — he’s a friend.

“He showed up in Great Neck, where my husband was the associate rabbi, at a tot Shabbat,” she said. “Our kids sort of grew up together. It’s rare when, as an adult, you meet someone and decide right away you’re going to be friends with them, and that happened with us.”

Adelson described Goldwasser as a “great person” before adding that he’s a “talented and interesting” guy.

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But those descriptors don’t tell Goldwasser’s whole story.

Besides his work with the artists already mentioned, he is a leading producer/mixer/remixer in the reggae scene, producing the seminal work “Dub Side of the Moon” for his band Easy Star All-Stars. His most recent solo project, “Goldswagger” — a collection of R&B, soul and funk — went to the top of the UK Soul Chart. If that isn’t enough, his work has been heard on dozens of TV shows and feature films.

Not bad for a Jewish boy from Queens, who says he grew up in a “traditional” Jewish home, with a rabbi father, and strongly attached to “Judaism both as a religion and a culture.”

“I’m humbled and fortunate to have had this career,” he said. “It’s pretty amazing to me as a music fan that I have worked with artists that I grew up listening to.”

Goldwasser said he doesn’t take for granted that the music he’s created, both as a singer and producer, has been heard by millions of people, and that he’s had the opportunity to perform on stage in front of tens of thousands.

The Pittsburgh Jewish community will hear from Goldwasser on May 8 and 9 at Beth Shalom Congregation, when he serves as its visiting cultural ambassador. He’ll discuss a variety of subjects during a program titled “From Moses to Marley.”

During Shabbat services Friday night, Goldwasser will present “Dub Side of the Jew,” examining his journey as a rabbi’s son who became a successful music producer. During the Saturday morning service he’ll present “The Making of Ascent,” explaining how he and recording artist Matisyahu collaborated on a song about antisemitism that was released in the wake of Oct. 7. Following Saturday’s service, Goldwasser will present “Shabbat Shi’ur: Lions of Judah,” examining the deep liturgical, cultural and historical connections between Judaism and reggae music.

“Reggae is heavily influenced by the Rastafari movement,” he said. “They don’t like to call themselves a religion, but the Rastafari movement shares a lot of concepts, iconography and even liturgy with Judaism. They took many things from Judaism, filtered through Christianity. They focused on many parts of the Tanakh that are sacred to us as Jews.”

Goldwasser credits his parents for exposing him to all forms of music, but said he was drawn to reggae because many of the lyrics focus on social inequality, injustice, the plight of the downtrodden and the oppressed — all things he saw as Jewish issues.

Adelson said that despite Goldwasser’s success and deep understanding of both reggae and Judaism, the musician was uncomfortable with the title “scholar in residence,” which is why a different title is being used during the weekend.

“Michael kept saying, ‘I’m not a scholar.’ He suggested we use the term ‘cultural ambassador,’” she said.

Make no mistake, though. Goldwasser has the chops to hang the term scholar around his neck.

Adelson noted he attended Hunter College High School in New York, a selective school for high achieving students. In addition to his student accolades and music career, Goldwasser is also a teacher. He is an adjunct professor at Marymount Manhattan College, teaching the course “The Art and Business of Record Production.”

He’s spoken extensively about the subjects he’ll discuss during the weekend, but speaking on Shabbat presents one unique challenge different than lecturing at a college.

“I can’t use any multimedia,” he said. “Normally, when I’m talking about this, I would play musical examples and use PowerPoint showing the various things that I want to talk about. I’m certainly capable of doing it, but it’s an interesting challenge.”

While in Pittsburgh, Goldwasser will also present a lecture at Pastor Tim Smith’s Center of Life nonprofit in Hazelwood. The lecture is adapted from Goldwasser’s college courses on the holistic life of a record producer. He’ll discuss the real-world skills required to succeed as a producer, including relationship building, discipline, time management, career planning and navigating the business side of the music industry.

Adelson said the talk at Center of Life was a natural fit.

“Pastor Tim Smith has spoken at Beth Shalom on a few occasions,” she said. “He’s a good friend to the community. We’ve wanted to see how our two communities can work more closely together.”

Regardless of which event you attend, Adelson said she wants people to feel like “they’ve discovered something new” and “had their curiosity sparked with a sense of hope.”

Judaism, she noted, has many different doors — the sanctuary doors which lead to connection through prayer, acts of loving kindness, and cultural activities are only a few examples.

For Adelson, the larger question is, “How do we shine our light as Jews on the wider world?”

Goldwasser, she said, is an example of the different ways Jews can interact with that world.

“He has a rich and wide, varied circle of professional and personal friends. We should all find ways to widen our circle,” she said. “Over the last few years, because of the trauma happening in the world, we’ve all retrenched. It’s a natural, protective response to take sanctuary amongst ourselves, but that’s not good for Jews. We’re only .2% of the world population. We won’t survive if we isolate ourselves.”

For Goldwasser, there’s a North Star for all of his work and relationships.

“The Jewish people and Israel are very central to my life,” he said.

And music, he said, adds joy and meaning.

“Music is meaningful to most people,” he said. “It’s really an honor to be able to participate in bringing meaning to people.”

To register for Beth Shalom’s “From Moses to Marley,” go to bethshalompgh.org/visiting-cultural-ambassador. The program is free; however, Friday evening’s services are followed by a potluck dinner. The dinner requires a separate registration. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.