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Klezmer Meets Hip-Hop with Two Turntables and a Clarinet
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Jewish News Weekly, Klezmer Meets Hip-Hop with Two Turntables and a Clarinet >>
On paper, clarinetist David Krakauer and DJ Socalled would seem to have little in common but their Jewish DNA.
Krakauer is a master of traditional klezmer music, while Socalled is on the cutting edge of modern hip-hop. But over the last few years, the two musicians have become friends and collaborators, culminating in a new CD, “Bubbemeises: Lies My Gramma Told Me.”
Krakauer and Socalled will appear Saturday, Dec. 10 at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre and Sunday, Dec. 11 at S.F. State University.
The new CD features a mix of classic Yiddish tunes, like “Rumania, Rumania,” and originals by Krakauer and Socalled (whose real name is Josh Dolgin). Throughout the album, Krakauer’s soulful clarinet bumps up against Socalled’s tricky beats and intriguing samples.
Though a fusion of klezmer and hip-hop may seem a bit off-key to some, for Krakauer it’s a natural fit.
“The most loving thing I can do for this music I love is try to move it forward,” he says of klezmer. “It’s something we can really be proud of as Jews, but you have to move forward. Otherwise it’s just a curiosity. It’ll remain in the museum and die. As if someone should play jazz now like a 1923 King Oliver record.'
The two met at the 2001 KlezCanada Festival and quickly struck up a friendship.
“He handed me a CD he burned of his hip-hop seder,” Krakauer recalls, “I admit I was extremely skeptical. There’s a lot of stupid shtick out there. I put it on my CD player and thought, ‘Wow, this is the most brilliant thing I’ve ever heard.’”
It turned out both Krakauer and Socalled equally revere traditional Jewish music and traditional African American music, from Louis Armstrong to Tupac Shakur.
“He’s a klezmer insider,” says Krakauer of his hip-hop collaborator, “a wonderful accordion player, Yiddish singer and pianist. The beats he makes are funky and interesting.”
Krakauer himself has a sterling pedigree as well. The New York native began clarinet and sax studies at age 10. He became a pioneer of the modern klezmer revival through his association with the Klezmatics, and went on to become a highly demanded soloist, teacher and performer.
Artists he has worked with over the years include the Kronos Quartet, composer Osvaldo Golijov and just about every A-list klezmer superstar out there. He also teaches at the Mannis School of Music, Bard College and New York University.
His muscular style of playing brought an aggressive voice to klezmer, resonating with audiences around the world. “I go for a lot of power,” he says. “I’ve always gone for my own sound and different fingerings, taking the old models like Dave Taras, then putting John Coltrane into the mix. I’m always going for the shout and abandon.”
As part of his mission to move Jewish music forward, a few years ago he commissioned new works from promising young composers, among them Socalled. “He did a kind of klezmer suite with beats,” he says. “One of the pieces worked out so well I included it on my record ‘Twelve Tribes’ in the fall of 2001.”
Now the two are on the road together, along with Krakauer’s six-piece band Klezmer Madness. Their aim: get the people up on their feet.
“With Socalled, I feel like I’m getting back to redefining the Jewish dance tradition,” he says. “I put that out as a kind of a dare, to come to our shows and start dancing.”
That’s not the only reason he’s in this game for the long haul. Above all, through his music, Krakauer says, he is on a personal quest for a renewed Jewish spirit.
“Just by playing Jewish music, you make a statement,” he says. “It’s a message of brotherhood and sisterhood. It’s about being a Jew in the world who sees a moral responsibility for what I do and say. I’m not waving a flag. I’m just saying this is great music. Let’s share.”
-Dan Pine 12/01/05 >> go there
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