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| KlezKamp 26: Online Donations For your convenience, click on the button below to donate using a credit card.
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The Tradition Lives:
For his 2006 Living Traditions recording (LTD 1803), the late Moldavian Jewish clarinetist German Goldenshteyn prepared more music than could fit onto one disc. Here are the tunes not used on that CD – plus a number he chose for a prospective Volume Two – played by some of his most devoted admirers. Aaron Alexander: poyk Songs:
Last December, in an unused basement room of an old Catskills hotel, a group of klezmer musicians gathered to pay tribute to a gentle musical giant, one of the most beloved players of the contemporary Yiddish music world: the late Moldavian clarinetist German Goldenshteyn. We were at the 25th annual KlezKamp, where–in addition to our usual bevy of classes and performances–we were recording a CD in honor of the late master musician. Four years after we’d participated on his only recording, we again joined together to record a new album dedicated to the memory and lasting influence of our friend and teacher, German Goldenshteyn. This is that recording. Around January 2005, clarinetist Alex Kontorovich and I first discussed the possibility of making a recording of German Goldenshteyn. Alex was taken with the “live bandstand sound” on The Protocols CD by the The Youngers of Zion that Mark Rubin, Cookie Segelstein and I had recorded and mixed in under six hours–with no overdubs and in fewer than three takes. Alex wanted to make a record like that with German and we would do it at the following KlezKamp where all the musicians would already be gathered for the week. German, quiet and modest, was thrilled with the prospect of making a record and unstintingly gave himself over to the task. Alex carefully reviewed German’s massive repertoire, and he and German assiduously chose tunes and musical styles that not only complemented each other but also offered a brilliant bird’s eye view of German’s stunning music library. Alex also brought in engineer Jeff Baker, who set up his portable, on-site recording gear in an out-of-the-way guest room the hotel was renovating. Aaron Alexander and Susan Watts joined Alex, Cookie, Mark and myself on the bandstand. Arranging ourselves around the room and the furniture–Cookie had her own booth: the bathroom–we set ourselves up as best we could. And then, with German and Alex seated side by side, we began. For the next four days when we weren’t teaching, we got up early, went to bed late, forsook meals, skipped time with friends and missed the late night jams that are a highlight of KlezKamp. We recorded. While German was still profoundly musical, by this time he had lost a great measure of his wind. Alex was aware of this and had fully internalized German’s sound and every subtle, delicate nuance of his playing. During the recording, Alex, seated with his knee barely grazing German's, would near silently mimic the older man’s playing until German ran out of wind. Then, seamlessly, Alex would play until German regained the lead. Alex’s "ghosting" of German's playing was an act of true generosity and musicality which continues to move me to this day. The session reminded me of another recording where I’d experienced the same kind of conviviality, high-level musicianship and musical interplay–and an undeniable sense of historic importance. It was the 1991 recording of “Klezmer Plus!” with clarinetist Sid Beckerman and tenor sax player Howie Leess. On that CD, conductor/pianist Pete Sokolow chose essential tunes from Sid’s playbook and created a rock-solid foundation in the rhythm section that allowed us to play from deep within, and freed Sid and Howie to create a timeless reflection of themselves at the height of their powers. Alex’s similar approach to Pete’s is what made the original German recording so successful. He and German had woven carefully chosen repertoire into musically interesting medleys, relying on musicians who were both profoundly in touch with German’s style, and who had tremendous “ears” as they played from the barest of “roadmaps:” a simple lead sheet with chords. One of the unsung members of the original German recording is also featured on this new anniversary CD: Moldavian composer Emil Kroiter, whose music German enjoyed playing. Fans of Kroiter’s music might recognize his compositions but not their tempos or harmony accompaniments. For, while the Moldavian music of today is played at breakneck tempos awash in a whirlwind of chords–think bluegrass–we play the music the way German did: sweet, and simple with straight-ahead chord changes and a heat-seeking dance beat. Think old time music. Think Yiddish old time music. The original German recording was very simply produced and required little post-production: given that most pieces were in the can in only one take, final copies were in hand in a matter of weeks. We finished the CD by May in time for German’s upcoming June European tour. It was fortuitous that we did. Only two weeks after first copies of the CD were delivered to him, German Goldenshteyn died of a heart attack at the all-too-young age of 71. That he would leave us on the cusp of his greatest personal musical triumph was an ironic end to his life. It was deeply touching and bittersweet that German’s family buried him with a copy of the CD in his casket. As we gathered to honor our teacher and friend on the fourth anniversary of his original recording, I secretly wondered if we could once again channel even some of the musical magic–the irresistible collective energy that characterized the music we'd created with German. With the first note, I knew we had. It may seem trite to say that German was there in the room with us. But the powerful ease and smooth creation of the music we made, the intuitive and shared music we crafted were all powerfully redolent of our time with him. In playing his music, his great gifts are still there for all to share for all time. Henry Sapoznik |
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