New Klez Dispensers CD

[Alex V Kontorovich <alexk...>]

Hi everyone, great seeing so many of you at KlezKamp. I just wanted to 
let you know that the new Klez Dispensers CD, "New Jersey Freylekhs" 
will be coming out in just a few weeks. We went into hiding for a little 
while preparing this project, but I'm really happy with it and hope it 
will do well. We'll have some big CD release parties both in NYC and in 
Princeton, NJ, so look out for info on our website, 
www.klezdispensers.com. There you'll find some sound clips and complete 
liner notes (by none other than Pete Sokolow!) on the website, but to 
whet your appetites, here are some excerpts. Take a look:

 It was at KlezKamp, officially known as the Yiddish Folk Arts Festival, 
that I first became aware of a remarkable group of young musicians who 
call themselves the Klez Dispensers. As is my wont, I was presiding at 
an informal jazz session around the piano in the lobby of the Catskills 
hotel where KlezKamp 1999 was being held. I was joined by two rather shy 
teenaged musicians who instantly endeared themselves to me, playing 
bebop with the originality and maturity that one associates with far 
older, more experienced players. These, I soon learned, were Ben Holmes, 
a trumpeter from New York, and Alex Kontorovich, a Russian immigrant who 
played alto sax at the session, but was at KlezKamp to learn the classic 
Yiddish style of clarinet playing.
...
I will go out on a limb and state that I feel that this band, the Klez 
Dispensers, is the finest young group playing classic American klezmer 
style that I have heard, both individually and collectively, and this 
recording proves it.
...
As a practitioner of the American school -- I played with Dave Tarras 
and almost all of the first-generation Americans, and some Europeans, in 
my formative years (1958-1970) and up until the present -- it is my 
greatest honor and pleasure to be part of this offering, which pays 
tribute to the work we did and, in some ways, improves upon it. To my 
mind, this album represents an updated conceptual continuation of the 
American klezmer landmark recording called "TANZ!" (1955), a 
collaboration between Dave Tarras (1897-1989), the clarinet giant of the 
era, and his son-in-law, Sam Musiker (1916-1964), a legendary klezmer 
and jazz performer on clarinet and saxophones who strove to achieve his 
musical ideal, a true synthesis of klezmer music and modern swing -- the 
swing of the 1940s, with just a touch of bebop.
...
Included here are some traditional pieces, newly arranged to suit the 
band's style, and, more importantly, compositions by several members of 
the band which are stylistically true to the aforementioned American 
form, and are extremely effective in extending and updating the genre.
...
 Make no mistake, this is serious music played by serious virtuosi, each 
of whom could carve out a full-time career in music if he or she chooses 
to do so. In addition, these people possess astounding intellects and 
have obviously thought deeply about the direction they want the group to 
take musically. As any educated listener can hear, this new Klez 
Dispensers album combines the traditional with the new in a logical, 
non-gimmicky, extraordinarily _musical_ package. As you may surmise, I 
feel that this effort is meant for the more sophisticated musical 
audience, an audience that can appreciate the incredible artistry, 
originality, and sheer hard work that went into the production of this 
wonderful product by these superb young artists. Klez Dispensers, the 
spirit of Sammy Musiker smiles upon you -- continue, and give new life 
and validity to our tradition.


                     Peter Sokolow
                     "Klezmerfats"
                     September, 2003

-- 
_________________
Alex V. Kontorovich

434 W120th St. Apt 7E1
NY, NY 10027
(212) 531-0538


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