The Twelve Tribes

[elliott_simon <elliott_simon...>]

I received my copy of the new Klezmer Madness CD in the mail 2 days 
ago. Been listening to it quite a bit. Had to get some thoughts down on 
paper. Ari---If you desire, please feel free to post on the 
shack...happy holidays to all....elliott

The Twelve Tribes
David Krakauer?s Klezmer Madness
By:  Elliott Simon

        The packaging of the new Klezmer Madness CD, The Twelve Tribes, 
combines the ancient symbols for each of the twelve tribes with a World 
Trade Center intact view of downtown New York City. The CD itself is 
also a juxtaposition of Jewish themes, klezmer influence and NYC 
downtown jazz with rock, blues, Latin and even techno. The result is an 
album that is a delight to listen to while at times challenging the 
listener to redefine their views of both klezmer and jazz. The title 
piece kicks the album off with a solid bass and drum line that would do 
any blues/rock band proud over which Krakauer  plays a catchy jazz 
melody and alternates solos with some hot electric guitar. It is this 
genre that Klezmer Madness excels at, that mixture of musical styles 
that breathes new life into traditional klezmer infusing it with 
guitar, drum and bass and in the process speaks to a new generation. 
There is plenty of traditional klez here to satisfy anyone, but all of 
it has a jazz/blues almost rock edge provided by Kevin O?Neil?s guitar 
playing. Certain cuts such as Kozatske/Der Ziser, the latter a 
Brandwein tune, fall somewhat short, and the electric guitar/clarinet 
mix doesn?t quite come together as it should. Other standards such as 
The Gypsy Bulgar, best known as a tsimble tune played by Moscowitz, is 
brilliant in its ability to keep the feel of the original while using 
the guitar to update the music and make it a Klezmer Madness piece.  On 
all the tracks David Krakauer?s playing is, well, David Krakauer. It is 
distinctive, it is his sound, and from the first note you know whom you 
are listening to. The tone has a clarity and the sound a feel that is 
unparalleled in the world of  klez/jazz bands. Queen of the Midnight 
Fax is a doina over a Latin sounding rhythm that has the seductiveness 
of Ravel?s Bolero. Table Pounding is similar, with a repetitive 
escalating beat that mirrors a group of people around a table singing 
and pounding louder and louder. This is new music that mixes styles at 
will. You come away with the feeling that the band has a huge spice 
rack of all possible musical styles at its disposal. They add a dash of 
Latin, a few teaspoons of rock and even a tablespoon of 60?s television 
schmaltz to their basic klez/jazz feel to come up with a sound that 
breaks new ground. Is that the theme from the Munsters in Television 
Frailachs? Chusen Kale Mazel Tov and the Dave Tarras Bulgar are 
familiar sounds and fans of the band will feel very at home when they 
listen to them. As If, the closing piece on the CD mixes techno beat 
with Krakauer clarinet playing. Always mixing always trying new 
combinations while at the same time staying true to the roots. Der Gasn 
Nign, appears again on this CD, as it did on Klezmer NY. This version 
is more soulful and slow,  funeral dirgelike with the clarinet crying 
out for the lost souls in the streets of NY. As the familiar melody is 
mutated and escalated to the end of the piece, the band joins into a 
tension building crescendo that is released by a final simple 
repetition of the clarinet line in traditional style. The New Year 
After is a testimony to the events of 911. The song was inspired during 
the Rosh Hashanah service one week to the day after September 11th. The 
shofar sound and cantor chant distressing David Krakauer and inspiring 
this complicated and powerful piece. By using the 
Teki?a/Shevarim/Teru?ah/Teki?a  chant structure of a long full note 
followed by 2 short staccato note measures followed again by the long 
full note the clarinet and electric guitar present the idea that what 
was once whole and is now broken will become whole again. This album 
presents a band that is extending its boundaries further than the three 
previous CDs. One hopes that they will never run out of new musical 
combinations, will continue to take risks and to break new ground in 
their redefining of both jazz and klezmer . 

*diehard fans in other parts of the world can purchase it through 
www.amazon.fr  at a reasonable price



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