Klezmer

[Elliott <enr01...>]

> To: Mauro Perelmann <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
> Subject: Klez
>
> Hello, Mauro:
>
> My name is Ben Schenck.  I live in New Orleans and play the clarinet.  I
> have been playing klezmer music for 6 or 7 years.  I formed a band in
> 1991 called "The New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars" and had a lot of fun and
> success with them.  I left the band, however, at the end of 1993.  In
> '95, I formed another band, The Panorama Brass Band.  We play Jazz,
> Klez, Biguines from Martinique and folk music from Bulgaria and
> Yugoslavia.  I love all of these different styles.  There used to be a
> Samba school here called "Banda Logun" and I loved to sit in with them
> and lay Klezmer melodies over all the Brazilian rhythms.  One tune that
> worked especially well was "Tantz Tantz Yidelekh."  Do you know it?
>
> I have played Jewish music in many parades here during the Mardi Gras
> season.  I parade with a Jewish parade organization called the "Krewe Du
> Jieux".  Our slogan is "Mardi Gras: It Isn't Just For Catholics
> Anymore."
>
> Of course, weddings and Bar Mitzvahs can be a good source of income and
> if you book enough of these, then it's easier to hold your group
> togethor.  You have to be agressive.  It is also very important to
> realise that everyone loves Klezmer music, not just Jews.  I myself am
> not Jewish, but a Quaker (an obscure Christian religion that emerged
> from England in the 17th century.  We don't have a preacher and we
> worship in silence...)  My current band and my former band are both very
> popular among all kinds of people: white, black, Jew, Gentile, etc...
>
> I'd like to hear more about what you're doing.  And I wish you luck!
> Don't give up.
>
> :Ben
>
> PS:  One of my good friends is a guitar player.  He is Jewish and his
> father was born and grew up in Brasil, so my friend speaks Portugese.