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CD Review
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Barnes and Noble.com, CD Review >>
BY Mark Schwartz
The whole world is Jewish when you listen to the Klezmatics. From the aching shtetl melodies to tenderly arranged instrumental ballads, raucous Latin stomps to soulful boogie-woogie, and, of course, barnstorming freylekhs, bulgars, and Yiddish labor songs that make up their repertoire, it's hard to imagine a sound the veteran New York band's incapable of pulling off. Rise Up! (Shteyt Oyf!) -- their first new album since the 1998 collaboration with Chava Alberstein, The Well -- comes after a long bout of tsuris that included the departure of fiddler Alicia Svigals, record label holdups, and the trauma of 9/11. But as the rebellious title indicates, the Klezmatics return absolutely energized. The elegiac "Klezmorimlekh Mayne Libinke," sets the stage, exhorting musicians to play with the warning "Oy, If had I ever thought of my last day / I wouldn't have frittered my time on earth away." The calls to dance, sing, and resist that follow grab life by the matzoh balls: "Kats Un Moyz" is an instrumental romp peppered with Latin piano and
percussion; the eerie "Barikadn" recasts a song from the Vilna resistance of the '20s. Holly Near's bluesy "I Ain't Afraid," a duet with Adrienne Cooper, confesses fear only for "what you do in the name of your God" -- urging "don't let the letter of the law obscure the spirit of your love." Traditional numbers, from a rapturous "Yo Riboyn Olam" to a positively Zappa-esque "Makht Oyf," replete with rubber duckie, benefit from the band's eclectic approach. The only thing apparently in short supply are dance numbers, easily filled with the likes of the irrepressible "Tepel," which features a "faux Hasidic boys chorus" and showcases Loren Sklamberg's supple voice at its show-stoppingest. The rich musical backgrounds of the Klezmatics -- trumpeter Frank London, reedsman Matt Darriau, percussionist David Licht, bassist Paul Morrissett, and fiddler Lisa Gutkin -- bring elements from jazz, salsa, and Celtic music to the table, creating Jewish music with a truly universal appeal. Here's hoping many more will heed the call to Rise Up!
04/30/03
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