She’koyokh Klezmer Ensemble -- Buskers’ Ballroom

This review is from the September 19, 2011 issue of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin.

SHE’KOYOKH KLEZMER ENSEMBLE

Buskers’ Ballroom

Arc Music

www.shekoyokh.co.uk

The She’koyokh Klezmer Ensemble has become somewhat of a sensation in British music circles for their tight, soulful variation on traditional Ashkenazic klezmer music musically informed by strains and influences from Sephardic, Roma, Balkan and Parisian jazz traditions.

The joyous dance tune “Russian Shers,” which opens the album and gives various instrumentalists the chance to interact with each other in a way that lots of fun, is among my favourite tracks on the CD. Others include “Bendi Glendi,” in which guitarist Matt Bacon demonstrates his great facility on a Django Reinhardt-like jazz tune; “Hora with Onions,” a Naftule Brandwein tune that becomes a showcase for violinist Meg Hamilton; “Rampi Rampi,” a Turkish Roma piece in which percussionist Vasilis Sarikis and singer Cigdem Aslan – who was born in Istanbul – are highlighted; and “Train to Orestiada,” which features clarinetist Susi Evans on an arrangement that’s imagined as a Ukranian klezmer band playing in a Greek nightclub in Athens.

While I’ve called attention to a few of the She’koyokh musicians as pertaining to the cited selections, they and the rest of the band – Oliver Baldwin on tambura, Robin Harris on trombone and Ben Samuels on mandolin – are all delightful throughout the 14 selections clocking in at more than an hour.

--Mike Regenstreif

Little Princess: Tim Sparks Plays Naftule Brandwein

Tim Sparks
Little Princess: Tim Sparks Plays Naftule Brandwein
Tzadik
timsparks.com


(This review was published in the September 7, 2009 issue of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin.)

Naftule Brandwein, who came to America in 1908 and became known as the “King of the Klezmer Clarinet,” was, arguably, the greatest of the first generation klezmer musicians in the New World. His 78 RPM recordings, now reissued on CD, have provided inspiration and tunes to countless klezmer revival bands in recent years.

This set of 10 Brandwein pieces is the fourth excursion into Jewish music by Tim Sparks, a highly innovative guitarist from Minnesota best known for his recordings of folk, jazz and blues. Working with bassist Greg Cohen –- known for his work with Tom Waits –- and Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista, Sparks has done a superb job of reimagining music composed for the clarinet as finger-style guitar pieces.

Owing to the origin of the music, and certainly to the contributions of the percussionist, there’s an Eastern Europe-meets-South America groove to many of these tunes. These are not traditional klezmer interpretations, but it is a fine album of Jewish music that will have great appeal to lovers of sublime acoustic guitar playing.

--Mike Regenstreif