 The Ethnic Clarinet
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2002-11-14 23:27
Has anybody been to KlezKamp? Any comments?
This years event is 12/22-12/27 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia.
For more information, see:
http://livingtraditions.org/docs/index_kk.htm
Last, while in Philly, having never been there before, and with limited time available, what are the drop-dead things I have to see?
Regards
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Kat
Date: 2002-11-15 01:29
I've never been to KlezKamp, but had thought of going at the point I wavered between forming a Klezmer band and an international band...
Everything I've heard about KlezKamp is great...a klezmer band from Madison, WI, called Yid Vicious has gone there to work on style and repertoire. I know their former clarinetist from grad school days...
I'd go there if I were more into klezmer, and less into Balkan (hence my yearly pilgrimage to the EEFC Balkan Camp...lol!)
Can't help you with info on Philly, though...
Katrina
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2002-11-17 00:14
Katrina,
Balkan/Klezmer crossover is OK. Musical co-conspirator Nan Nelson plays mando, tambura, bass, dumbek, balalaika, and domra in a variety of groups. I think she was at Balkan Camp this year.
Regards,
Ralph
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Kat
Date: 2002-11-17 03:56
Yeah, I think she was in the beginning Bulgarian kaval class...tell her "hi" if I'm remembering the right Nan!
At this point, I'm not ready to diversify stylistically...it takes me a little time to pick stuff up even just on clarinet, and klezmer stuff is sooooo specific! It has one thing going for it though...the meter is usually even!
All the best,
Katrina
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2002-11-19 16:23
Katrina,
OK - will pass this link on to her roommate (Nan is e-mail challenged.)
Regards
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Steve Epstein
Date: 2002-12-15 05:38
Ralph, if you are still going to be around Philadelphia on Dec 29, you can join our open band for English Country Dancing on that day; on Jan 2 you can play with our open band for contradancing. Not Balkan or klezmer, but that's the best I can do.
A "C" or really good transposing ability would be helpful, if you decide to come.
Steve
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2002-12-16 18:25
Steve,
Gosh, I am flattered. But, KlezKamp is 12/22-12/27, and I am headed for Texas to tickle my nephews, while they can still be tickled.
Regards,
Ralph
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Steve Epstein
Date: 2002-12-18 20:39
"The terms "rag-tag" and "contra" seem to go hand-in-hand."
Absolutely. I think it's called the "folk process". It's better that way:-)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2002-12-20 18:43
Is this process documented or certified (ANSI, ISO9002, etc.)?
Let me review the documention...
Regards
|-(8^)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sandee
Date: 2002-12-31 18:14
Hi, Ralph, Steve -
Look under the heading "sight-reading at gigs".
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2003-01-07 20:24
You bet. The contra gig we did was 80% sight-reading.
BTW, KlezKamp was a blast. About 370 participants/staff. The "master class" I was assigned to was led by Ken Maltz (Kapelye) and Paul Pincus (85 yrs old, student of Leon Russianoff, played with Tarras and Brandwein.) There were some very high-powered participants, including Dr. Rebecca Rishkin of Ohio University and one of her students. This class was really wonderful.
I can write on this more if there is interest.
Regards
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sandee
Date: 2003-01-07 22:58
Let me echo Ralph's endorsement of KlezKamp. The intermediate classes I took were also led by some hi-power folks, excellent teachers, incredible personalities. Plenty of learning opportunities, even if you've never had a chance to play klezmer with anyone else. The music is still ringing through my head!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Kat
Date: 2003-01-09 22:18
Please, go on, Ralph!!! Who else was teaching? What all went on?
Enquiring minds...
Katrina
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Steve Epstein
Date: 2003-01-10 06:58
Re: Sandee's post: I could not find "sight-reading at gigs" in the bulletin board search.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2003-01-12 21:52
Katrina,
Hope this will all fit.
KlezKamp 2002 was December 22-27, 2002 at the Hilton in Cherry Hill, NJ, across the river from Philly. This was their 18th year.
Sunday 12/22 was arrival day, the events were Monday-Thursday, with breakfast and departure on Friday. Monday-Thursday were organized into 4 sessions each day, 1-1/2 hour each, two in the morning, two in the afternoon, with short breaks. The fee structure for most attendees included meals, which were glat Kosher.
The classes I took were:
=>AM1 Modal Modulations (Josh Horowitz)
This was an extensive exploration of Freygish (a.k.a. hejazz) mode used in many klezmer tunes. Starting by comparing it to Jewish Cantorial modes, and extending into how to get in and out of freygish by tonal shift, mode shift, and traditional chord changes. Stu Brotman and several other people sat in, making the presentation that much richer. The handout contained numerous examples throughout, which the participants were able to play, and ask questions about. The handouts were almost publication ready, and an excellent ongoing source guide.
=>AM2 Yiddish for Musicians (Michael Wex)
Michael Wex is an authority on Yiddish, Jewish culture and history, and religious law. The class was actually an extended lecture on the religious, historical, political, and cultural phenomena that caused the Yiddish language to develop as it did. We did not learn a lot of Yiddish. The several non-Jews in the class at times had trouble following. We all nonetheless enjoyed this class and learned a lot from it. At the end of the class I felt like I had just listened to the first 20% of a really good book on tape, only to find that the rest was checked out.
=>PM1 Masters (Ken Maltz and Paul Pincus)
This was a real joy. The level of players was varied, from advanced to what I might call intermediate. I can’t remember all the peoples’ names: Dr. Rebecca Rischin (Ohio University), her student Angela Opell, Gary Gould (a pro from LA), and several others. The course blurb said to bring a piece to work on, but we pretty much each worked on new pieces every day, whatever we wanted to. I worked on a Dave Tarras doina, a Tarras sher, a chusidl medley the Klezmer Fusion Band put together, and the last day invited comments on ornamentation in another sher medley. Dr. Rischin was most comfortable playing from music, the rest of us played to a large extent from memory. Gary Gould let me play his Buffet, serial number in the 43,000’s, with a wonderful, big, easy and open sound – what a treat! Ken and Paul are very positive and warm guys, with an enormous amount of playing experience.
Paul told a story of a wedding he played early in his career. The other wind player didn’t show, so he played the whole event on clarinet. After he had been playing quite a while, he noted that one of the guests, sitting in a corner and listening to him intently, was Simeon Bellison, who beckoned for him to come over during a break. Now Mr. Bellison was Leon Russianoff’s teacher, and Mr. Russianoff was Paul Pincus’ teacher. Mr. Bellison wanted to know how he played the way he did, and Paul couldn’t really explain it beyond “I don’t know, I just play it.”
=>PM2 Advanced Yiddish Dance Band (Pete Sokolow)
Pete Sokolow and Ken Maltz were in Kapelye on the soundtrack of “The Chosen”. This generated several stories during this and PM1. Pete started as a sax/clarinet player, but taught himself to play stride piano and has for the last couple of decades been mainly a pianist. He has a decidedly “society” sound that he plays in, which puts an entirely new sensibility onto the repertoire at hand. He makes no apologies for this – it has been how he has earned his living for many years (he is in his early 60’s) so his approach needs no apologies. He gave us each a fake book, and worked the classes like gigs. We read the books and he called out lead changes (“violins”, “accordion”, “D7 into the next tune”, etc.) Then, we played 45 minute sets at two of the nightly dances. The books were not extensive, but well organized so that he could play for dancing without getting boring or running out of materials. Sections were labelled Freilachs/Bulgars, Chusidls/Shers, Terkish/Zhok, Waltzes, and Theater/Fox-Trots/Rumba/Tango. The idea was that if people kept dancing, you could keep playing from tunes the waltz section until you were ready to stop. Then you can pick up with the next tune if people want a waltz later. Each section had about 10 tunes and he was selling the books, so I bought 2 (one in B flat, on in C). Gary Gould sat in on tenor during the dances – he and Pete really pushed me to sell some of my clarinets to get a tenor – not a bad idea.
During the evenings, there were a variety of events, such as the dances mentioned above. One night, Merlin Shepherd and a staff band played a continuous medley of freylachs for an hour straight. Merlin plays klezmer exclusively on a 1920’s Albert system C. Another night there was a silent move with Pete Sokolow accompanying.
Margot Leverett and a mandolin player were playing pieces from their forthcoming Klezmer Mountain Boys crossover CD.
Mitch Mernick, KC2EFR (a radio ham) of the Steve Jacobson Memorial Amateur Radio Club, had a low-power FM stereo transmitter in the lobby, and was playing CD’s and doing interviews between 8AM and midnight. Unfortunately I couldn’t pick this up from my room the far end 9th floor.
There were jams going on in the lobby at all hours of the day and night.
And on and on. I didn't leave the hotel until Thursday night, and then only to ship a box of books home.
Check out their website (www.livingtraditions.org).
Regards,
Ralph
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Kat
Date: 2003-01-13 03:47
Thanks Ralph!
I always wondered the type and level of workshops that were held at KlezKamp. Maybe I'll make it there one of these years!
xoxo,
Katrina
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2003-01-13 15:07
Katrina,
Do it, next year!
I'm glad I did it this year - next year timing and finances will probably not make going possible for me. I regret having waited so long, because several people who I really wanted to hear were ill (they are in their 70's).
Regards,
Ralph
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sandee
Date: 2003-01-19 18:07
Hi Ralph -
Could you go a little further into why to get a tenor sax?
Thanx!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2003-01-22 16:16
Sandee,
It is just another good tool in your arsenal to get work, I guess. Tenor has a big sound, provides good contrast to the clarinet, and works well for dancing. It is a relatively easy double for clarinetists to learn (as opposed to flute, oboe, bassoon, or violin,) especially if you already play bass clarinet.
Regards
Ralph
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
