Re: Giora Feidman

[Fred Jacobowitz <fredj...>]

Hy,
        Giora Feidman is originally from, I believe, Argentina (or is it 
another South American country?), the son and grandson of musicians. He 
has been playing Klezmer all his life. He played bass clarinet in the 
Jerusalem Symphony for many years before retiring to perform his Klezmer 
act. He is blind in one eye and it looks to me that he wears a glass eye, 
though I'm not positive. He is a cultural icon in Israel and has 
personally been at least 50% responsible for the renaissance in Klezmer 
appreciation worldwide. Needless to say that he is a remarkable performer 
and musician. He lives in Queens, New York with his wife. He used to play 
on a clear plastic clarinet but seems now to prefer an old black plastic 
one. I believe that this is because he has wrist problems (a common 
occupational malady among clarinetists) and the wooden ones are too heavy to 
hold on his thumb.
        Hope this helps.

Fred Jacobowitz

On 19 Nov 1995, Hi8067 wrote:

> Shalom aleichem. I need to know all I can find about Giora Feidman. I have
> a CD 'Viva La Klezmer' which is strange. The liner notes are in German. I
> would like to feature it on my weekly Jewish Hour here in Orlando, but I
> can't make out much of the German. If anyone could tell me a few facts
> about Giora,where he came from, a bit of his history,the music he
> plays,etc. I would be grateful.
> Thanks. A shaynem dank.  Hy Meltz,the Jewish Hour on Radio in Orlando.
>