David Krakauer Brings His Acoustic Klezmer Quartet to Keene
KEENE, NH, 1/5/10 - The internationally acclaimed clarinetist David Krakauer will bring his klezmer quartet to Keene State College’s Redfern Arts Center, Wednesday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m. Krakauer will also conduct a lecture demonstration on the history of klezmer and its influences on American music at 2 p.m. at the Redfern. The lecture demonstration is free and open to the public.
Krakauer redefines the notion of a concert artist. Known for his mastery of myriad styles, including classical chamber music, Eastern European Jewish klezmer music, and avant-garde improvisation, Krakauer lies way beyond “cross over.” His best-selling classical and klezmer recordings further define his brilliant tone, virtuosity, and imagination.
As one of the foremost musicians of the vital new wave of klezmer, David Krakauer tours the globe with his celebrated ensemble. While firmly rooted in traditional klezmer folk tunes, the band “hurls the tradition of klezmer music into the rock era” (Jon Pareles, The New York Times). Krakauer has forged alliances among his genre of world music and jazz, rock, funk, and hip-hop. Klezmer music is the traditional celebration music of Eastern European Jewry. This is the music that was played at weddings (and other festive events) for the Jewish communities of Russia, Poland, Byelorussia, Moldavia, Rumania, the Ukraine, the Baltic states, and Hungary, among other countries. Klezmer (which means “music” in Yiddish) was brought to the U.S. during the great wave of Jewish immigration between 1880 and 1920, and is primarily known to us today through recordings made in New York beginning in the early 1920s by musicians who came to America during this time period.
Joining Krakauer on stage will be guitarist and bass guitarist Jerome Harris, who has recorded and/or toured with Sonny Rollins, Jack DeJohnette, Don Byron, Ray Anderson, Paul Motian, Bill Frisell, Marty Ehrlich, and Julius Hemphill, among many others. Also appearing will be percussionist Rickie Barshay, who is most noted as a member of the Herbie Hancock Quartet since 2003 and has established himself as a prominent musical voice of his generation, and accordionist Will Holshouser, who recently toured to Europe and Japan with jazz violinist Regina Carter.
Tickets for the evening performance are available at the Redfern box office, 603-358-2168 or www.keene.edu/racbp, where you can also view many video clips from the season’s Visiting Artists repertoire. Special memberships with special benefits, including free tickets, are also available at the Redfern box office or online.
