the surprising return of "Misirlou"

[Seth <rogovoy...>]

The song that refused to go away is back, in a classical/surf-rock fusion by
none other than the Kronos Quartet!

While its klezmer origins are dubious, "Misirlou" has often been included in
what perhaps Zev Feldman might describe as the modern klezmer's
"co-territorial" or "cosmopolitan" repertoire (although I hate to put words
into his mouth).

Perhaps made most famous by Dick Dale's surf guitar version in the
early-'60s, the "Balkan/Middle Eastern" melody has been recorded by several
prominent klezmer outfits, most notably the Klezmer Conservatory Band.

Does that make it a klezmer tune? I don't know, any more than Kronos's
version -- which includes (gasp!) surf-rock drums courtesy of Liverpool-born
drummer Martyn James of the Mermen -- will make the song "new-classical."

It just might, however, give the string quartet it's first pop-chart hit.
Who knows, a novelty like this could go all the way to number one?

It's found on Kronos's brand-new "world music" album, "Caravan" (Nonesuch).

Of course this isn't the first time Kronos has dipped its collective toe
into klezmer: they fully immersed themselves (there's that darn water
metaphor again! sorry D.M.) in the idiom on "THe Dreams and Prayers of Isaac
the Blind," Osvaldo Golijov's suite featuring guest clarinetist David
Krakauer (and also on Nonesuch).

Fun stuff....

--Seth Rogovoy

“When I began reading this book, I knew very little about klezmer. Seth
Rogovoy writes about it with such style, passion, and intensity that you can
practically hear the music dancing off the page. Now I am excited to begin
playing it myself.”

– superstar rock drummer Kenny Aronoff (Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Melissa
Etheridge) on
"The Essential Klezmer: A Music Lover's Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul"
coming in mid-May from Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
http://www.algonquin.com/catalog/pagemaker.cgi?1-56512-244-5

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