Re: klezmer

[Dean Bandes <deanb...>]

I'm an amateur klezmer player (double in brass -- trumpet and
baritone horn) with a group that meets at the Jewish Community
Center in Newton, MA.

Our director is Glen Dickson, clarinetist and leader of the
professional klezmer band Shirim (he has appeared in the movie "The
Imported Bridegroom" and played for that recent movie "Stranger
Among Us" or whatever it was).  He has had such leading Boston area
klezmorim as Dave Harris (trombone), Mimi Raphson (violin), and
Eileen Stahl (clarinet) substitute for him when he can't make a
rehearsal.

Shirim's CD "Of Angels and Horseradish" came out maybe 1 1/2
years ago.  Of course you have to take my recommendation with a
grain of salt since I know some of the group, but I think they are
right up there.  The CD has some old stuff and a few new pieces that
Glen wrote.  It includes vocals, with "Coney Island" which switches
from Yiddish to English every tenth word, it seems, and "Trombonik
Tantz" with Moshe Waldoks, one of the authors of "The Big Book of
Jewish Humor", as the guy who won't stop talking.  Shirim's
vocalist Rosalie Gerut was the music director for "The Imported
Bridegroom", by the way.

A couple of summers ago I took one week of vacation time to attend
Hankus Netsky's course "Yiddish Music Performance Styles" at the New
England Conservatory summer school.  I'm sure I'm the worst
trumpeter ever to lug my ax through those hallowed halls -- but it
was a good use of a vacation week!

Dean Bandes deanb (at) ma(dot)credence(dot)com

Zum Gali Gali Rubber Stamps P.O. Box 187 Newton Highlands, MA 02161

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