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The Essential Klezmer
You can hear it in the hottest clubs in New York, the hippest rooms in New Orleans, Chicago, and San Francisco, and in top concert halls around the world. It's a joyous sound that echoes the past. It's Old World meets New World. It's secular and sacred. It's traditional and experimental. It's played by classical violinist Itzhak Perlman (his all-klezmer album in his all-time best-seller!), the hypno-pop band Yo La Tengo, and avant-gardist John Zorn. It made the late great Benny Goodman's clarinet wail. It's klezmer and it's hot!The Essential Klezmer is the definitive introduction to a musical form in the midst of a renaissance. It documents the history of klezmer from its roots in the Jewish communities of medieval Eastern Europe to its current revival in Europe and America. It includes detailed information about the music's social, cultural, and political roots as well as vivid descriptions of the instruments, their unique sounds, and the players who've kept those sounds alive through the ages. Music journalist Seth Rogovoy skillfully conveys the emotional intensity and uplifting power of klezmer and the reasons for its ever widening popularity among Jews and Gentiles, Hasidim and club kids, grandparents and their grandkids.A comprehensive discography presents the "Essential Klezmer Library," extensive lists of recordings, artists, and styles, as well as an up-to-the-minute resource of music retailers, festivals, workshops, and klezmer Web sites.The Essential Klezmer is as entertaining as it is enlightening.; Invalid Reading Level code.
320 pages, Paperback
First published May 12, 2000
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25 people want to read
About the author
Seth Rogovoy
3 books38 followersSETH ROGOVOY is a writer, award-winning critic, book author, lecturer, teacher, and radio commentator.
He is the author of BOB DYLAN: Prophet, Mystic, Poet (Scribner, November 2009), a full-length analysis of Bob Dylan’s life and work, and THE ESSENTIAL KLEZMER: A Music Lover’s Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music (Algonquin Books, 2000), the all-time bestselling guide to klezmer music.
Termed “American Jewry’s greatest Dylan scholar” by Religion News Service, for over a quarter century, Seth’s work has appeared in the English-language national Jewish newsweekly, the Forward, to which Seth is a contributing editor.
Seth is editor and publisher of The Rogovoy Report – an online magazine of cultural and critical news and observations — and BerkshireDaily — a five-day a week e-newsletter aggregating news, features, and commentary from around the corner and around the globe.
Seth also does cultural, editorial and marketing consulting. He is the programming consultant for the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Mass., where he curates the center’s the annual YIDSTOCK: Festival of New Yiddish Music, which debuted in summer 2012, and which continues under his artistic direction.
Seth lives in Hudson, N.Y., and New York City.
He is the author of BOB DYLAN: Prophet, Mystic, Poet (Scribner, November 2009), a full-length analysis of Bob Dylan’s life and work, and THE ESSENTIAL KLEZMER: A Music Lover’s Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music (Algonquin Books, 2000), the all-time bestselling guide to klezmer music.
Termed “American Jewry’s greatest Dylan scholar” by Religion News Service, for over a quarter century, Seth’s work has appeared in the English-language national Jewish newsweekly, the Forward, to which Seth is a contributing editor.
Seth is editor and publisher of The Rogovoy Report – an online magazine of cultural and critical news and observations — and BerkshireDaily — a five-day a week e-newsletter aggregating news, features, and commentary from around the corner and around the globe.
Seth also does cultural, editorial and marketing consulting. He is the programming consultant for the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Mass., where he curates the center’s the annual YIDSTOCK: Festival of New Yiddish Music, which debuted in summer 2012, and which continues under his artistic direction.
Seth lives in Hudson, N.Y., and New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 15, 2016
A nice light book that provides a general overview of Klezmer music, its place in Eastern European Jewish life and subsequent emigration to the United States. Overall, a good book that gives one a quick background to the music, and a road map to follow for listening.
The chapters are relatively brief, providing more an overview than deep dive into the subject matter, with a limited focus on the roots of the musical genre. More attention is given to the relatively recent history in the United States, concentrating on the individuals and groups that have led the resurgence in interest.
Even here, there is a limited focus on a few groups and names. While many of the key groups mentioned, should be familiar to those with a passing knowledge of the music, others seem to fall into the cracks, while John Zorn, receives a half chapter of discussion, which is almost equal in size to the amount of space given to three of the other major bands (Brave Old World, The Klezmatics, and Itzhak Pearlman) in the previous chapter.
One drawback is that relatively little focus is given on the actual music, and its variations and rather the styles are sporadically interspersed with the history. Names of individual bands, musicians, notable the individuals who sparked the catalyst and their history are more developed, but while the names of songs are provided, less detail is available on what makes them unique.
One huge positive is the detailed discography provided, including titles, bands, labels, and details on various recordings. However, while a list of 'core' discs is provided, you need to search out the details within the chapter to find out why the lists are crucial to the music.
The chapters are relatively brief, providing more an overview than deep dive into the subject matter, with a limited focus on the roots of the musical genre. More attention is given to the relatively recent history in the United States, concentrating on the individuals and groups that have led the resurgence in interest.
Even here, there is a limited focus on a few groups and names. While many of the key groups mentioned, should be familiar to those with a passing knowledge of the music, others seem to fall into the cracks, while John Zorn, receives a half chapter of discussion, which is almost equal in size to the amount of space given to three of the other major bands (Brave Old World, The Klezmatics, and Itzhak Pearlman) in the previous chapter.
One drawback is that relatively little focus is given on the actual music, and its variations and rather the styles are sporadically interspersed with the history. Names of individual bands, musicians, notable the individuals who sparked the catalyst and their history are more developed, but while the names of songs are provided, less detail is available on what makes them unique.
One huge positive is the detailed discography provided, including titles, bands, labels, and details on various recordings. However, while a list of 'core' discs is provided, you need to search out the details within the chapter to find out why the lists are crucial to the music.
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March 1, 2024This is a good companion book for anyone interested in exploring the genre of Klezmer. The introduction and chapters 1 and 2 provide a solid framework to understand the origins of Jewish music and klezmer music. This being said, the final three chapters contain some intriguing information amidst descriptions of many specific bands and albums. These final chapters aren’t bad, but I’d recommend treating them in almost the same way as the final discography- read them at an ad hoc basis as you delve into different contemporary klezmer artists.
October 10, 2013
Wonderful ~I was prompted to add many of the artists to my Pandora music stream
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews