JAMMIN’ WITH THE SALMON

“Struttin’ with Some Barbecue” by Louis Armstrong is probably the best song title.  It has action, smell and humor.

The worst title is “Rise Up to New Jewish Music.” A couple Jewish bands go for that sort of thing.  They are not playing klezmer — which peaked a while ago.  They are playing “New Jewish Music.”

Anything new is old.

Several newer klezmer bands don’t use klezmer in their names.  Like Shtreiml, Golem and the Kosher Spears.  (That last band is made up.)

“Yiddishe Cup,” the name, gets the job done around town, but doesn’t get us any gigs at Ashkenaz or other mohel’s-edge international music festivals.  “Yiddishe Cup” is bubbe’s procus (grandma’s stuffed cabbage.).

Before Yiddishe Cup released its latest CD, Klezmer Guy, I test-drove several album titles.  One was Jammin’ with the Salmon.

Smokin' salmon

Nobody understood it.  “Nobody” was my wife, Alice.  I didn’t run the title by anybody else.  I didn’t want the aggravation of more artistic input.  I’m not running a democracy.  I settled on Klezmer Guy. It gets the job done.

— Bert Struttin’

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