Re: Cartoon music klezmer?

[Solidarity Foundation <svzandt...>]

Ari,

I read your comments in defense of the Klezmorim with great interest.
However, I consider them to relate to the sociology of music and the
history of your own musical taste, not to the quality of the music.
I clearly stated that I found a small proportion of their stuff quite
beautiful, but the way they played a freylakhs or a khusidl "crass."
It reminds me exactly of cartoon music. I suppose I have the disadvantage
of having discovered klezmer music at about the age of three, that
means about 1949, and by age ten I already had a little collection of
old klezmer 78s which had either been bought at bazaars by my father or
given to me by my friend Marty Nitzberg when he found them discarded by
somebody in the basement of his apartment building. Thus I have always
considered that cartoon-music style of playing to be crass. The
comparison to Statman and Feldman was yours, not mine. 

Also, I said that the violinist (what is her name?) who played the
Taxim on "Streets of Gold" played it extraordinarily well. If she
could do it, if Statman and Feldman could do it, if Alpert and
Waletzky could do it, all at that time, I don't see why we need to
hold the klezmer revival to a lower standard.

I take your word for it that they had a good stage show. I never
questioned their historical importance. I still say most of their
stuff sounds like cartoon music. 

Itzik-Leyb