{"id":14842,"date":"2013-06-26T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T12:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/?p=14842"},"modified":"2013-07-01T08:53:18","modified_gmt":"2013-07-01T12:53:18","slug":"the-klezmer-blindfold-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/2013\/06\/26\/the-klezmer-blindfold-test\/","title":{"rendered":"THE KLEZMER BLINDFOLD TEST"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yiddishe Cup<\/strong><\/span>‘s<\/span><\/strong> Bert Stratton tries to identify musicians and songs from selected recordings.\u00a0 Stratton received no prior information.\u00a0 Ratings are 1 to 5.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

1. \u201cOy Avram\u201d<\/span><\/strong> Yiddish Princess<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

This recording reminds me of Daniel Kahn, the young Jew in Berlin.\u00a0 Maybe he\u2019s not so young.\u00a0 Let\u2019s call him 35.<\/p>\n

Middle age is a long slog, isn’t it? What about 63, is that still middle age?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>What\u2019s really, really old? Anybody 10 years older than yourself.<\/p>\n

The lead<\/span> singer on this is Sarah Cooper — or whatever her name is.\u00a0 She has a leaf blower in her right lung.\u00a0\u00a0Sing, baby, sing! I give it a 5.<\/p>\n

Sarah Mina Gordon, vocals; Michael Winograd, synths; Avi Fox-Rosen, guitar; Yoshie Fruchter, guitar; Ari Folman-Cohen, bass; Chris Berry drums.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

2. \u201cBlooz\u201d<\/strong><\/span> Michael Winograd\u2019s Infection<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

My philosophy is do something new every day, but always in relationship to the past and tradition.\u00a0 If I have Kashi Island Vanilla today, I go with Kashi Autumn Wheat tomorrow. Sugar Pops, no thanks.\u00a0 Corn Pops, double no thanks.\u00a0 Call them what you will.\u00a0 Joe’s O\u2019s or Cheerios?\u00a0 Depends.\u00a0 I’ll go with Joe’s on Mondays and Cherrios on Tuesdays.\u00a0 And don’t forget Ralston’s Tasteoos.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Miguel Winograd<\/p><\/div>\n

This tune?\u00a0 This is the Wino, Michael Winograd<\/a>, on clarinet. He constructs his tunes with great care: one note, then silence, then another note.\u00a0 Give it a 5.<\/p>\n

Michael Winograd, clarinet; Frank London, trumpet; Daniel Blackberg, trombone; Brandon Seabrook guitar; Michael McLaughlin, accordion; Jason Nazary, drums.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

3. \u201cSher 199\u201d<\/strong><\/span> Bessarabian Hop<\/em>. Michael Winograd\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Again with the Wino?\u00a0 He\u2019s sucking up all the klezmer oxygen.\u00a0 Is he living in Barcelona?\u00a0 New York?\u00a0 L.A.?\u00a0 He probably has three houses.\u00a0 He’s big.<\/p>\n

His clarinet is Canadian, that much I know.<\/p>\n

I have no idea who his sidemen are, but they are very, very flexible.\u00a0\u00a0 They play with time and stretch out the composition. The accordion is a little choppy. It\u2019s a 4.<\/p>\n

Winograd, clarinet; Joey Weisenberg, mandolin; Patrick Farrell, accordion; Pete Rushefsky, tsimbl; Daniel Blacksberg, trombone; Nick Cudahy, bass; Richie Barshay, drums. <\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

4. \u201cEpstein\u201d<\/strong><\/span> Poykler\u2019s Shloft Lied<\/em>. Matt Temkin\u2019s Yiddishe Jam Band<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

That’s got to be Temkin. He wears his hat backwards and hangs out in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

I know another backwards hat-wearing drummer, but in Cleveland. My guy is Greek and does apartment cleanups after fires. Married to a Jewish girl.\u00a0 Plays some Jewish.<\/p>\n

Frank London is on trumpet. That’s a no-brainer.\u00a0 He\u2019s on every klezmer record.<\/p>\n

Clarinet and keys? I have no idea.<\/p>\n

\"\"Temkin hires sidemen from the same\u00a0 Brooklyn Home Depot parking lot as Winograd.\u00a0 I wish the Home Depot in Cleveland had this kind of talent.\u00a0 Give it a 4.<\/p>\n

Temkin, drums; Mike Cohen, reeds; Binyomin Ginzberg, keys; Brian Glassman, bass; Rachel Lemisch, trombone; Allen Watsky guitar: Frank London. trumpet.<\/small><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

5. \u201cBaladi\u201d<\/strong><\/span> Balada<\/a>. Bulgarian Wedding Music<\/em>.\u00a0 Yuri Yunakov <\/em><\/p>\n

This is Slavic Soul Party. \u00a0Heavy brass and breakneck tempos. These guys drink slivovitz by the gallon. I have one word for them: slow down. Give it a 3.<\/p>\n

Yunakov, alto sax; Neshko Neshev, accordion; Lauren Brody, synth; Seido Salifoski, dumbek; Catherine Foster, clarinet; Carol Silverman, vocals.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

6. \u201cShake Hands<\/strong><\/span> with your Uncle Max\u201d The Jewish Songbook<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 Jason Alexander <\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Who is the singer?\u00a0 He bears a strong resemblance to an incompetent.\u00a0 Give it a 3.\u00a0 No, a 2. \u00a0\u00a0I’m seeing ghosts, I\u2019m fainting. Give it a 1.<\/p>\n

Alexander, vocals; Mike Garson, piano; Chuck Berghofer, bass; Don Heffington, drums; Marc Ellis, guitar.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

7. \u201cMazl Tov<\/strong><\/span> Dances\u201d You Should Be So Lucky!<\/em> Maxwell Street Klezmer Band<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"A Mickey Katz tune, yes!\u00a0 This is KCB [Klezmer Conservatory Band].<\/p>\n

Yes, I know the Mickey Katz reboot is over, but not for me. I knew Mickey’s cousin.\u00a0 She was in a nursing home in Cleveland.\u00a0 She was about 100.\u00a0 My hobby is Mickey’s geo-hagiography.\u00a0 I walk by his [former] apartment in Cleveland Heights all the time.<\/em><\/p>\n

The music is harmonically deep and soulful.\u00a0 Give it a 5. Thank you, KCB!<\/p>\n

Ralph Wilder, clarinet; Alex Koffman, violin; Ivo Braun, trumpet; Sam Margolis, trombone; Gail Mangurten, piano; David Rothstein, bass; Steve Hawk, percussion.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

8. \u201cMeshugge<\/strong><\/span> \u2019bout my Myed\u2019l\u201d Klezmerfats!<\/em>\u00a0 Peter Sokolow<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"

Pete Sokolow<\/p><\/div>\n

Sokolow is — forgive me — an animal.\u00a0 A rhythmically complex animal.\u00a0 Not only can he bang out chords, he can play — and can he talk; he’ll drey<\/em> you a kup<\/em> for three straight hours at KlezKamp, and all good stuff.\u00a0 Read his interview<\/a> with professor Phil Brown. That\u2019s the best musician interview ever.<\/p>\n

Pete combines earthiness, gravity and buoyancy.\u00a0 What\u2019s his weight these days?<\/p>\n

I like to guess ages and weights. I’m taking this blindfold off.<\/p>\n

Oh jeez, why didn’t you tell me you’re 500 pounds!<\/p>\n

Pete, he’s ancient.\u00a0 He’s 73.<\/p>\n

A 4 rating.<\/p>\n

Sokolow, piano, vocals.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

9. “Ko Riboyn Olam” <\/strong><\/span>Stempenyu’s Dream.<\/em> \u00a0 Steven Greenman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Greenman, about to rob a bank<\/p><\/div>\n

I cheated.\u00a0 I should put my blindfold back on. This is Greenman, the LeBron of klezmer violin.\u00a0 But Steve didn’t take his talents to South Beach.\u00a0 He stayed here [Cleveland]. Give Greenie a 5, on that alone.<\/p>\n

Greenman, violin, vocals; Michael Alpert, violin, vocals; Pete Rushefsky, tsimbl; Mark Rubin, bass.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

10. “Rumenye”\u00a0<\/strong><\/span> Homesick Songs<\/em>.\u00a0 Golem<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Golem<\/p><\/div>\n

This is Reverend Gary Davis singing in Yiddish.\u00a0 Joking, man.\u00a0 Really out there, but good. It’s Ezekiel’s Wheels.<\/p>\n

This is meaty.\u00a0 I’m guessing the band weighs 1423 pounds, total.\u00a0 I’m close.\u00a0 What’s for lunch?\u00a0 Give it a 4.7.<\/p>\n

Annette Ezekiel, vocals, accordion; Aaron Diskin, vocals; Alicia Jo Rabins, violin; Curtis Hasselbring, trombone; Taylor Bergren-Chrisman, bass; Laura Cromwell, drums.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yiddishe Cup‘s Bert Stratton tries to identify musicians and songs from selected recordings.\u00a0 Stratton received no prior information.\u00a0 Ratings are 1 to 5. *** 1. \u201cOy Avram\u201d Yiddish Princess This recording reminds me of Daniel Kahn, the young Jew in Berlin.\u00a0 Maybe he\u2019s not so young.\u00a0 Let\u2019s call him 35. Middle age is a long […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-klezfiction","category-klezmer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14842"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15243,"href":"https:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14842\/revisions\/15243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}