Klarinet Archive - Posting 000149.txt from 1994/07

From: Josias Associates <josassoc@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Klezmer Music: More in Response to Lisa Clayton's Question
Date: Thu, 21 Jul 1994 16:42:04 -0400

I am substituting this week for a friend in the pit for a
performance of "Fiddler on the Roof," and the subject of Klezmer
music came to mind once again. So I thought I would share some of
my thoughts and observations.

DISCUSSION IN THE ICA JOURNAL

An article entitled, "Ethnic Corner: The Clarinet in
Klezmer Music," by Joel Rubin appeared in the May/June 1991
issue of the ICA's journal, THE CLARINET. The article is
memorable not only because of what it said, but also because of
what it omitted. (I was pleased to learn that I possessed a tape of
the playing of Dave Tarras, who was mentioned prominently in
Rubin's article.)

What Rubin omitted was mention of Giora Feidman, which
prompted a flurry of energetic protest letters to the Editor,
including highly critical ones from such symphony stalwarts as
Kalman Bloch, Michelle Zukovsky, and Yehuda Gilad. There was
also a letter from Giora Feidman criticizing the author for having
missed a "golden opportunity" to explain to the clarinet community
that the real meaning of "Klezmer" is that it is a concept.
(I smiled with the thought that, assuming that Dan Leeson had read
Feidman's letter, it must have driven him up the wall.) Also
contained in that issue was a rebuttal by the author.

The firestorm did not subside with that issue, however. A
number of additional letters on the subject -- all worth reading --
were printed in the May/June 1992 and July/August 1992 issues.
The printed barrage culminated with a funny, totally
tongue-in-cheek letter from Dr. Robert S. Newman, who offered an
ersatz history of klezmer music. One of the things that caught my
eye was mention of the famous klezmer clarinetist,
Benny Artyshawsky. What is amusing is that Newman may not have
known that, before Artie Shaw shortened his name to its present form,
his original name was not too far from Newman's fictional
creation -- something on the order of Arthur Warshawsky -- and that
Shaw could actually play klezmer-style clarinet. An example is his
Gramercy Five recording of "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?" in which he
plays (using pinched and bent notes) a klezmer-like solo based on the Russian
theme, Kamarinskaya.

OTHER GROUPS

Several years ago, I heard an entertaining group performing
in Leucadia, California. An ensemble that seems to disband and
reform from time to time, they bill themselves as "The BIG
JEWISH BAND: The band that's no aggravation." Led by R.A.
Robboy, many of its players are from the San Diego Symphony.

Over thirty years ago, one of the LA radio stations carried
a program airing every Sunday afternoon, which featured the
Barry Sisters singing yiddish songs in an Andrews Sisters style
and also offered live (I think) ethnic instrumental music. The
program's theme song was a hard-driving, viscerally exciting
quasi-klezmer tune that never seemed to get announced. After
unsuccessful attempts to locate the recording, I gave up the
search. Then a few years ago, quite by accident, I came into
possession of a monaural tape copy of some old 45-rpm vinyl records
containing this tune, Mazeltov Dances, which was the last of a group
of eight songs and dances performed superbly with great technical
precision by the same ensemble. No wonder the band sounded so great. It
was composed of top commercial artists from the jazz and symphony fields.
Led by clarinetist Mickey Katz, an alumnus of the Spike Jones band, the
group's other musicians were: Manny Klein, trumpet; Sy Zentner,
trombone; Benny Gill, violin; Nat Farber, piano; Sam Weiss, drums;
and Larry Breen, bass.

I suppose that, to purists, the Mickey Katz recording might
not qualify totally as klezmer music, but to me it's close enough,
and whatever it is called, it's still my favorite of the genre.