Essential listening? Klezmer!

[flagstaffcharlie]

I always love it when I hear klezmer music. I have the Mel Bay book of easy klezmer tunes.

What are some essential albums and/or artists?

[DougC]

Oy, where to begin? As the mandolin player for Eisner's Klezmorim I have about 300 tunes in my book. But as a mandolin player I see the world of klezmer music a little differently than a clarinet player would. This would be a good topic for Andy Statman... Anyway the point is that the mandolin can be a driving rhythm instrument, or a melody instrument. Then there is string based music vs brass band music. The older style is all string music. No clarinet or trumpets. Often our arrangements copy the melody of original sources played on clarinet. And the mandolin part is often the trombone part. And always the second or secund violin rhythm part doing double stops as in bluegrass chops.

One can do a whole arrangement on mandolin, chord - melody style like some jazz guys do. However it is not for beginners! I'm working on some of this stuff when the band is not here. Mostly I'm doing mandolin - violin arrangements (and some cool mandola - viola stuff) with my wife, the Eisner in Eisner's Klezmorim.

The Ger Mandolin Orchestra has some nice arrangements but usually one has to adapt band music to string music arrangements.

Find some recordings of Khevrisa by Budowitz, or Chicago Klezmer.

Tunes - Moysha Emmet, Mama is Gegangen..., Odessa Bulgar, Chernowitzer, Old Bulgar, National Hora.

[mandocrucian]

https://www.amazon.com/Singing-Waltz...eff+warschauer

[DavidKOS]

But as a mandolin player I see the world of klezmer music a little differently than a clarinet player would.
.

I have had the same issues. I try to use clarinet ornaments when I can, steal from the violin, and even from accordion and particularly cimbalom stuff.

Another source of inspiration would be balalaika bands that often play similar - if not some of the same - tunes as a Klezmer band.

Here's another few links:

http://www.belfology.com/

http://www.belfology.com/pdf/BelfAll41.pdf

Transcriptions of some Romanian Klezmer music

http://www.ph.unimelb.edu.au/~daewe/...at_klezmer.pdf

Pete Sokolow's 80's work, with many tunes

http://www.dolmetsch.com/klezmer.pdf

guide for clarinet, but musically useful

http://www.ilanacravitz.com/music&sound.htm

more resources

http://joelrubinklezmer.com/wordpres...-Played-It.pdf

good articel from a top clarinet player

http://www.klezmershack.com/contacts/klezwords.html

Lots of articles

http://www.dinayekapelye.com/jmfiddle.htm

on Jewish fiddle - steal these ornaments!

http://www.evolocus.com/Audio/Feidman1993.pdf

more tunes

http://www.nealbrostoff.com/wp-conte...ik-Klezmer.pdf

a chapter worth reading

[flagstaffcharlie]

Thanks everybody! I'm going to have to sink some cash into a few new albums!

[DougC]

You guys amaze me. I thought I had seen everything klezmer and like Chuck, I'm gonna be listening to a lot more Klezmer music.


A number of years ago Jeff Warshauer took our mandolin class at KlezKanada to the main stage for an 'alternative' mandolin based klezmer gig. Most of the evening was full of horns, clarinets, trombones and drums at very loud levels. Well our little mandolin band got a huge reception. People loved it.

Now I want to do the same in the larger world. But I'm not getting any younger and I'm not an aggressive talent with a video camera. So younger mandolin players need to take over.

My goal, and I might create a blog on the topic, is to teach people about, or have a resource for, mandolin family or string band based klezmer music.

[DougC]

Since the topic is Essential Listening Klezmer, thought I'g go back to a big source for most of us klezmorim and post it here. Then I'll give one guy's take on a klezmer tune - Oy Tata iz Gut on guitar. So put the headphones on and enjoy - and there will be a quiz afterwards.