klezmer - what's good, what's not; what's funny, what's serious?

slocki and Jordan to thread!

anyone to thread! (thx rosemary)

Slocki to thread!

I haven't heard very many funny klezmer records (well, the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars have some funny tracks), but then I really haven't listened to a ton of klezmer. From my recent klezmer excursion, here's what I ended up liking most:

Klezmatics, anything

Klezmer Conservatory Band, 'Yiddish Rennaisance' (Don Byron and the singer on this record absolutely tear it up)

Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band - Pretty damn good klezmer. For Canadians.

David Tarras & the Musiker, 'Tanz!' - from the 50s, probably the oldest thing I've listened to. The arrangements are a little repetitive but the playing is great.

New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars, 'Manischalfwitz'

Frank London's Klezmer Brass All-Stars, 'Brotherhood of Brass' - not the mindfuck I was hoping for maybe, but it's pretty raw and has some great moments.

Plus a smattering of Tzadik stuff (I love Masada of course, but the New Klezmer Trio record I have was a little subdued for my tastes).

(x-post, haha)

like i think i said on the other thread:

naftule brandwein - the king of the klezmer clarinet
anything by abe schwartz
anything by dave tarras

of course even the early-20th-century american stuff can hardly be called "authentic" but who cares

that was an xpost! me and jordan rushed the thread!

jordan's modern recommendations are good! also check out this:

http://cstrecords.com/html/blackox.html

they are my friends and they are excellent

Wait, I thought your klezmer friends were the klez/hip-hop thing? :>

that's another friend!

peter shapiro has a comedy klez album from about 1960-odd. it's all set in a jewish deli starts with a track called "how much is that pickle in the window" and has a cartoon picture of a red-faced old dude with a massive sausage on the cover. guess this and the new orleans klezmer all-stars tracks i've seen have led me to believe there's more comedy klezmer than there actually is. cheers, i'm listening to this stuff coz i really wanted to hear something different and being a gentile, i know nothing about it whatsoever so all info massively appreciated.

Slocki is down with the scene.

Also, a word to the wise: playing a klezmer gig the night before Easter Sunday = not such a good idea. The Klezbian Wedding Band did this and the first set was just fine, and then EVERYONE left (presumably to get up for church in the morning).

it's hard to avoid the comedy elements in most later and most of it is kind of aggravating (esp cutesy klezmer revivalist stuff), but that element is a part of 20th century n american jewish culture and shouldn't neccessarily be completely dismissed

nah, not at all. i'd just like to approach it by getting to know the serious stuff 1st. i mean, to my ears, initially klezmer is quite funny-sounding anyway (in that it makes me smile and sounds like music people have fun to) but i'd like to get to know about it properly and diving straight into the comedy stuff would probably end up putting me off.

for sure! listen to the naftule brandwein and tarras stuff though, it's really beautiful and a very good example of what "classic" american klezmer was!

Rob Weisberg sometimes has klezmer bands on Transpacific Sound Paradise, check out the archives.

I've always liked this article by the Klezmer Conservatory Band drummer on the development of klezmer drumming, and it's got other links.

Man, I heard this record at a friend's house once...I can't remember the name, but I think it had Bulgarian Wedding Band in the title. It was just sick, like Mahavishnu-dub-klezmer. Any ideas? I'm going to have to ask him and track it down.

playing a klezmer gig the night before Easter
I wouldn't have expected that many non-Jews to show up to a klezmer gig, but I guess it depends where you live.
S: Toronto's Dave Wall. He plays in about a million klez bands, and he genuinely speaks Yiddish, which is always a good thing with klez singers.

Haha, here I would be surprised if there were any Jews there (okay, there were two that I know for sure). It wasn't a Jewish-affiliated gig at all though, just a jazz club.

For 70s/80s revival: The Klezmorim

so what did you end up listening to dave?