Unusually rich in both spirit and history
is traditional Jewish klezmer music. Its unique blend of jazz,
folk and even classical idioms results in an exuberantly irresistible
and completely contagious musical form.
The holidays are a particularly special time for performances
of klezmer music, and the long-running Klezmer Conservatory Band
is one of its foremost proponents. The 11-piece band’s annual
holiday concert at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall on the
Upper West Side of Manhattan on Dec. 5 is part of several holiday
programs presented by the New York Philharmonic throughout the
month.
"We’ve done six or seven of them now, and it’s usually sold
out or close to it," says one of the group’s founders, Borough
Park native Judy Bressler. "I think Lincoln Center gives
us a certain kind of audience, a broader spectrum of people who
attend our concerts."
One constant for the group when performing live klezmer music
– whether at a wedding, a bar mitzvah, a club, or a large concert
hall like Avery Fisher – is how infectious it is to the audience.
"People get up and dance all the time – even at Lincoln
Center," Bressler, 51, says with a laugh. "We always
encourage people to take to the aisles. Normally, I even go out
into the hall itself and lead dances during the concerts, but
at Lincoln Center, I can’t [because of the way the stage is set
up].
"But people always know what to do. It’s a great sight at
Avery Fisher Hall to see hundreds of people dancing in the aisles.
When you give people the opportunity to do something they don’t
normally get to do, it’s a lot of fun to watch."
That klezmer causes such reactions in its listeners isn’t surprising
because, after all, klezmer’s roots are in instrumental dance
music of the Jewish people from Eastern Europe.
"There are many traditional dances, and it’s party music,
celebratory music played at weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs,"
Bressler explains. "[During concerts] I sing Yiddish folk
songs, which was the common language in Eastern Europe. I introduce
the songs to bridge the language gap.
"All of this music has a very universal appeal. The subject
matter is universal: whether it’s love songs, or lullabies, or
drinking songs, these are all things that transcend the Jewish
culture."
The Klezmer Conservatory Band was founded in 1980 while Bressler
and several others were students at the New England Conservatory
of Music.
"Our band leader, Hankus Netsky, was a member of the faculty,"
she explains, "and I was studying different kinds of music
at the time, like jazz and world folk music. My main interest
was Yiddish song, and several of us started having klezmer ’jam
sessions’: we’d hear old 78 records, and we’d try to reproduce
and play the music.
"At first, [the sessions were] very informal. Then the idea
came that we should do a concert. That first concert was very
well-attended, and afterward, people came up to us and asked
us to play weddings and other social events. So the band just
took on a life of its own."
The band has performed all over the world, including many jazz
and folk festivals. Bressler sees many similarities between these
musical styles.
"We’ve played jazz festivals because there is a certain
amount of improvisation in the klezmer tradition, as there is,
of course, in jazz," she says. "And there’s fusion
in the mixing of styles as well, which appeals to the jazz audience.
Jewish people have historically moved around so much that there’s
a lot of cross-pollination. You can view klezmer as Jewish folk
and jazz music."
As much as she is looking forward to this annual holiday performance
at Lincoln Center, it will also be bittersweet for Bressler:
Dec. 5 is her last concert as a member of the Klezmer Conservatory
Band.
"It’s been a great pleasure to work with them for all these
years, but I am looking forward to my new show, ’Cabaret Jude,’"
she says, referring to her new performance piece that encompasses
American and Yiddish songs, music, comedy, drama and dance, in
which Bressler will be accompanied by a quartet.
"I will be concentrating on song repertoire rather than
instrumental music, which we do now in the band," says Bressler.
But after nearly a quarter-century of performing with her colleagues
in the Klezmer Conservatory Band, Bressler knows that she can
never say never.
"They are all my dearest friends," she says. "I’m
sure I will play with them again one day."
The Klezmer Conservatory Band performs
at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall (located on the southwest
corner of Broadway and West 65th Street in Manhattan) on Sunday,
Dec. 5, at 3 pm. Tickets are $55, $45, and $25. For more information,
visit www.newyorkphilharmonic.org
or call (212) 875-5656.
