Known bizarrely for a time as the Jewish Benny Goodman, Ukrainian-born klezmer clarinetist Dave Tarras was the relatively reliable and refined answer to the wickeder Naftule Brandwein. Born in 1897, Tarras emigrated to the United States in 1921. He quickly rose through the ranks of Jewish musicians, first as a dependable sideman and later as a composer and band leader himself. Consisting mainly of skillfully remastered 78s, this diverse anthology collects two-dozen Tarras performances in a wide variety of settings (including samples of Jewish radio circa 1940). Tarras was a nimble wonder, with a singing tone and a seemingly endless stream of musical ideas. This album both captures Tarras's brilliance and preserves a form of music poised between the live-wire "crudeness" of European klezmer and the cool pop swing of the '50s. --Richard Gehr
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Dave Tarras -- One of the Klezmer greats:
Dave Tarras was one of the pioneers of American klezmer music and an inspirer of the contemporary klezmer revival bands. Listen and enjoy these original recordings of this clarinet genius.
An emeser oytser:
Henry Sapoznik's notes alone are worth the price of this collection, so the extraordinary sound quality (for recordings from this era) makes it nothing less than a metsie fun a ganef! Just a few of the highlights: Moyshe Oysher's Yiddish scat in "Chassidic in America," the Barry Sisters (performing as the Bagleman Sisters and, I think, the Yiddish Swingtette), and the inimitable Seymour Rechtzeit's "Hopkele," not to mention the nostalgic WBBC Brooklyn patter. Mostly, though, with this CD I've finally... more info
Wisdom and humor:
This selection of 23 virtuoso cuts includes five repeats from the enchanting Music from the Yiddish Radio Project, on which Dave Tarras figures a large role.
The repeats include Moishe Oysher's classic nigun, Chasidic in America (1958), Dayenu (1950), Bridegroom Special (1940), Die Golden Chasene (1945), and my favorite, Abe Ellstein's rendition of Second Avenue Square Dance (1950).
The music is just as wonderful a second time, even if you already own the Radio Project. Aside from the repeats, this... more info
When swing and klezmer meet:
In these recordings Dave Tarras plays with several orchestras in the span of about 30 years. If you are looking for a collection of clarinet solos, for which Tarras became a legend, then this is not the right cd, but rather you should get the two cd's titled "Dave Tarras - Master of Klezmer Music" (Global Village). On the other hand, here you can find a colorful and heterogeneous collection of tunes, some of which traditional (doynas, freilekhs, horas...), others more strongly influenced by the musical... more info
