Avenue A to the Great White Way:
Yiddish and American Popular Songs 1914-1950

Tanz! With David Tarras and the
Musiker Brothers

Sony Legacy

Anyone who has listened to National Public Radio's "Yiddish
Radio Project" on All Things Considered
knows the story: While visiting the crowded office of an elderly radio show
host, Klezmer scholar Henry Sapoznik literally stumbled over a treasure trove
of old 78 records featuring long-lost radio broadcasts and rare Jewish music.
This spring, two-and-a-half decades since the start of the Klezmer revival,
Sony Legacy is finally issuing some of the greatest Klezmer music ever recorded
for the first time on CD. Until now these landmark recordings were passed
around on scratchy 78s and countless tapes. Produced by Sapoznik and Michael
Brooks, these remastered performances sound like they were recorded yesterday.

The Klezmer King, a compilation of 25
tracks produced by Abe Schwartz, includes recordings from 1917 to 1927. Among
them is a rendition of Der Shtiller Bulgar (The Quiet Bulgar), by the Jewish
Orchestra, imbued with the wonderfully ragged energy that makes Klezmer such a
kick to listen to. Schwartz may be best remembered for introducing three great
clarinetists to listeners: Naftule Brandwein performs brilliantly on
"Roumeinishe Doina" (and more). Dave Tarris plays the haunting "Dovid'l Bazetzt
Die Kalleh" (Little David Seats the Bride). And Sam Beckerman plays the joyful
"T'kias Shofer Blosen" (Blowing the Ram's Horn).

Avenue A to the Great White Way: Yiddish
& American Popular Songs 1914-1950 is a two-CD, 50-song compilation
illustrating what happened when Klezmer music came to America and encountered
the theater, the movies, and the pop charts. Included are songs sung by Molly
Pican, Al Jolson, and Irving Berlin. We hear how "Der Shtiller Bulgar" is
slowed down to become "And the Angels Sing," a hit for Mildred Bailey. Also
included: a delightfully silly "Palesteena" by Eddie Cantor, "Yiddisha
Charleston" by Norman Glantz & His Orchestra, and the ever-popular
"Roumania, Roumania" by Aaron Lebedeff.

Perhaps
most sought after CD will be Tanz!
(Dance!) With David Tarras & the Musiker Brothers. Recorded in 1955 and
featuring the clarinet virtuosity of Tarras and his son-in-law Sam Musiker, the
album perfectly fuses the wailing Klezmer sensibility with jazz improvisation.
The 16 cuts (some previously unreleased) range from Bulgars to Tangos.
Musiker's arrangements on this recording have, more than any other source,
provided the jumping off point for the hundreds of Klezmer bands thriving
today. Klezmer aficionados will recognize cuts like "Papirossen," and "Sam
Shpielt," but you've never heard them performed so infectiously.

--- Ron Netsky