Klarinet Archive - Posting 000178.txt from 1996/05

From: Fred Jacobowitz <fredj@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: klezmer
Date: Wed, 8 May 1996 21:48:43 -0400

Barbara,
You don't say where TAMU is or where you are this summer so I
can't tell you where you can find instruction in Klezmer. However, I'll
answer your other questions: 1) Yes, one can learn to play Klezmer-style
clarinet. I have taught my student to do it and he is fast becoming ready
to sub for me in gigs. 2) There are no books on how to sound like a
Klezmer. Only fake books with the lead sheets of some tunes. 3) No, you
don't necessarily need a different set-up, though a free-blowing,
somewhat soft set-up helps. I used to play with on Symphony set-up and
then switched over to a different mouthpiece on which I put softer reeds.
But I did this mainly to reduce wear and tear on the mouthpiece. 4) My
favorite Klezmer clarinetist is Kurt Bjorling, from the Chicago area, who
now plays with a group called "Brave Old World". Their previous
clarinetist, Joel Rubin, is also excellent (he left - they didn't fire
him) so you can't go wrong with their recordings. David Krakauer in the
"Klezmatics" is also superb. In the
"well-worth-listening-to-but-not-quite-up-there-with-the-others
category, there's Max Epstein, an octogenarian (now living in Florida) who
started playing way back when Klezmer was an epithet, not a definition, and
Sidney Beckerman, another octogenarian veteran Jewish clarinetist, who
lives in Brooklyn, New York and plays in "Klezmer Plus".
And finally, I hope you won't feel that I am tooting my own horn too
much by mentioning, uh, yours truly. I play in Machaya Klezmer Band in the
Baltimore/Washington DC area and we have two recordings out which are not
yet available in record stores, but ARE from mail order Judaica
catelogues.
If you are in my area, I will be glad to show you how to play Klezmer.
There is also a winter Klezmer workshop called KLEZKAMP which happens
over the X-mas break in New York State. If you want to e-mail me
privately, I will send you the name and address of the contact person.

Fred Jacobowitz
Machaya Klezmer Band in the Washington, DC/Baltimore area

On Wed, 8 May 1996, Barbara C Johnstone wrote:

> I know that two questions at a time is asking a lot ... but I have a lot
> of summer ambitions. How does one learn to play klezmer-style clarinet?
> Are there books on the subject? Do you need a different set-up? What
> klezmer groups have particularly interesting clarinetists that could be
> heard on recordings?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Barbara Johnstone
> bcj@-----.edu
>