Klarinet Archive - Posting 000463.txt from 1995/05

From: Fred Jacobowitz <fredj@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Klezmer arrangements?
Date: Fri, 19 May 1995 06:40:13 -0400

Lisa,
As one of the only practicing Klezmer (that is, Eastern European Jewish
dance music) musician on this BBS, (possibly THE only?) I can tell you
that I have never
heard of any such arrangements. First, there is NO market to speak of
(listeners, yes) and no other Klezmorim I know of would bother with one.
Klezmer, like
any largely-improvised style (such as jazz) eschews formal arrangements.
Those
you hear on recordings are either specially done for the recordings (such
as the ones my band, MACHAYA KLEZMER BAND did for our recordings) or have
naturally eveloved over time to be the general arrangement of the group,
adjusted for the personnel who happen to be taking part at the time. My best
advice is to get a book called, I think, "Klezmer Arranging" by Pete
Sokolov, a New York City keyboards player who teaches this subject (among
others) at the annual Klez Kamp. It will at least get you started. It is
published by TARA Publications, on Long Island (New York), who publish "The
Complete
Klezmer", (co-authored by Pete) - a wonderful anthology of Klezmer tunes which
are different from those in the
Kammen books. Also, just get any recordings and copy their arrangements.
That's really the best way to do it. We Klezmorim all steal each other's
arrangements and tailor them to our own instrumentations. I'm glad you're
interested in Klezmer. It's both an awful lot of fun and good money on
the side, once you get past the need to rehearse alot for each gig.
The Kammen books Connie is referring to are essentially lead
sheets (AKA fake books) with an occasional harmony line or countermelody
thrown in. The chords are usually pretty accurate with a few exceptions.
These books were actually Jack Kammen's band's own "book", so they
contain a certain amount of "non-standard" idiosyncracies with regard to
order of melodies, repertoire, placement of repeats and chords. You can
e-mail me fof more information if you wish. I have lots of information
about historic recordings of "the real thing", if there is such a thing,
which are, at least, much more reflective of the style than most of the
"johhny-come-lately" bands out there (and boy, is there alot of shlock!).

Fred Jacobowitz

On Sat, 13 May 1995, Josias Associates wrote:

> On Sat, 13 May 1995, Lisa Clayton wrote:
>
> > I've been enjoying the listing of music and arrangements for
> > clarinet. I've been saving a lot of them for future reference.
> >
> > I'm wondering if anyone here knows of any klezmer arrangements
> > that are along the lines of dixieland arrangements-- i.e., books
> > of arrangements that are arranged for all the instruments in
> > the ensemble.
> >
> > Thanks in advance for any info.
>
> Lisa,
>
> I believe that the book Ken Ulansey referred to is the Kammen
> International series of "Dance Folios," which, it seems, have been published
> for time out of mind by J. & J. Kammen Music Co. I have four books
> that comprise Folios Nos. 1 and 9 for Bb tenor saxophone/Bb clarinet and
> piano accordion. There are also books for piano solo, violin/mandolin, Eb
> alto saxophone, tenor banjo, cornet/trumpet, trombone, and drums.
>
> There's a lot of mix and match stuff involved here, with
> considerable unison playing. There are, however, or have been, groups that
> play special arrangements, possibly along the lines that might interest you.
> One is the Jerusalem Jazz Band from Israel, which plays a style they call
> "Dixie Frailach." I don't know if they have anything published, but for
> the last two or three years they have performed at the annual Sacramento
> Jazz Jubillee during the Memorial-Day weekends, and I have one of their
> commercial tapes.
>
> Another group, which is no longer in existence, was Mickey
> Katz's, which, for many years, performed on a weekly radio program in
> Los Angeles. I have a tape of some killer recordings that group made ca.
> the 1950s, and I wonder if that music might be published. If, in your
> search, you are able to track down some of this music, I would
> appreciate knowing what you found.
>
> Connie
>
> Conrad Josias
> La Canada, California
>