Press honors Gene Bluestein

Fresno Bee Editorial Saturday, August 24, 2002

Gene Bluestein • May 1, 1928 – August 21, 2002

The Bluestein Family performing in Changsha, China in 1989.

Professor’s passions and talents made many lives richer
Gene Bluestein’s life was one of those that defies easy categorization. English professor, musician, folkorist, husband, father, social activist he was all of those things, yet all of those neat little boxes put together cannot contain the whole.

Bluestein’s death Wednesday at the age of 74, is a source of grief for many, but it also serves to remind us of his life and his contributions.

He was a beloved English professor at Fresno State, in part because of his inclusion of music in his literature classes, which went against the grain of stratified academe. He also brought an innovative artist-in-residence program to the campus.

The use of music sprang from Bluestein’s conviction, as his son Evo put it, that “music and dance and art are inseparable from life.” They certainly were for Bluestein and his family. And it’s not possible to separate Gene Bluestein from his family his wife, Ellie, and their children, sons, Joel, Evo and Jemmy and daughter Frayda. All of the children became accomplished musicians, and for years they performed with their father for delighted Fresno audiences in their annual Bluestein Family concerts.

The Bluestein family became famous as a sort of headquarters for high-energy involvement with life. The visiting artists stayed there during their semesters in Fresno, and there was a constant stream of friends, family and activists of every stripe, often lending the place an air of chaotic joy. That was Gene Bluestein’s environment, the perfect place for a kind and gentle man brimming with passion for justice and life.

(locating photo)
The Bluestein Family (l-r: Joel, Jemmy, Frayda, Evo and Gene with banjo)in front of Tarpey Train Station, Friant, CA, circa 1964.
Photo: Gail Smalley

The Fresno Bee Friday, August 23, 2002
Ex-Fresno State professor Gene Bluestein dead at 74

By Mike Osegueda

To Evo Bluestein and his three siblings, it seemed as if their father knew everything when they were growing up.

They would ask him, in that way that kids do, “How do you know?” And Gene Bluestein would answer in French. “It is my job.” It was his job. As a teacher and as a scholar. As an activist and as a man. Learning, knowing and sharing, those were his jobs. too.

Gene Bluestein, a retired English professor at California State University, Fresno, and a folk musician, died Wednesday. He was 74. He is survived by his wife, Ellie; his sons Evo, Jemmy and Joel; his daughter, Frayda; and five grandchildren.”

In the end, every one of his systems broke down but his mind,” said Ellie Bluestein, his wife of 53 years. “He was communicating with us until he was no longer conscious.”

Over the years, Dr. Bluestein had two artificial bypass surgeries and received two artificial heart valves. In more recent years, his lungs became congested, making breathing more of a strain on his heart. He also had a stroke and was diabetic.”

His body was all used up,” Evo Bluestein said. “It was done.”

Gene Bluestein marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez. He performed folk music with his family in Japan in front of a group of dignitaries. He helped found the Fresno Folklore Society. And he taught classes at Fresno State in innovative ways.

Evo Bluestein, who is a musician, said, “I run into administrators and teachers all over the Valley who tell me that he was the best teacher they ever had in their university experience or that he affected their lives so strongly. I hear that all the time.”

A memorial gathering is planned for Sept. 7 at Cynthia Merrill’s School of Performing Arts in Fresno. No other services are planned.

Jemmy Bluestein described his father as a “mensch,” a Yiddish word that literally means “man'” but is used to describe a person who is sensible, mature, nice and considerate to other people.

Gene Bluestein, who was born and grew up in New York City, was described as gentle and loving, but also feisty if he thought something was unjust.

He fell in love with folk music when he was in college after seeing musician Pete Seeger perform. He bought a banjo and mastered it. He recorded four albums for Folkways Records.”

Music and dance and art are inseparable from life,” Evo Bluestein said. “He believed that everybody should do these things; they’re not just extra things, they’re part of life it’s not just for especially talented people.”

Dr. Bluestein used this philosophy in the classroom. He came to Fresno State in 1963 from Michigan State University to teach American Literature, and he used music in his classes. When he did, people in the music department protested, saying, “Why is Bluestein using music? That’s our job,” as Evo Bluestein remembers.His father said, “Sue me,” and kept doing it.

Dr. Bluestein taught in countries such as Finland, Japan and China. He received the Distinguished Lecturer award from Fresno State in 1974 and was a visiting professor at his alma mater, Brooklyn College. “

He really was a great teacher,” said Ellie Bluestein. “He loved teaching. His greatest contribution is that all over the area there are teachers who were influenced by his teaching. And he was a teacher to his children as well.” And they followed in his footsteps, all playing music at one time or another. They performed as a family, even made albums and videos as a group, The Bluestein Family.

Jemmy Bluestein said one of his father’s best traits was his ability to understand people. He said there was a rule that went along with this, one that his father made up called “Bluestein’s Law.” It said that, “Everybody is insecure and nobody gets enough love.””It really explains most of human behavior,” Jemmy Bluestein said. “When you really internalize Bluestein’s Law, you can be more sympathetic, even to people who are nasty to you.”

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Singing to Gene for the last time. l-r: Jemmy, Joel, Frayda, Jade, Evo, Ellie
On Monday night, just as they did when they were younger and their father would call them, the Bluestein children got together in their father’s hospital room and sang him a song.It was a Yiddish song, the song that every Bluestein child played at their weddings, the song that Gene and Ellie Bluestein played when they were young and in love. It’s called “Where Does Love Come From?””

He smiled and kissed our hands,” Ellie Bluestein said. “It was really a nice feeling. The kids didn’t know if they could do it because they were pretty emotional. But they did it.”

 

 

Evo Bluestein School Programs and Fine Instruments