Sy Kushner

Double Review

1) Music Book and CD:The Klezmer Fake Book, Volume II

Various Artists (ca. 1913-1939)

The Klezmer Fake Book/Compact Disc

Volume Two
for C Instruments

Contents:

A Vivat far di Mekhatunim
Der Khusid Geyt Tantsn
Drohibitsher Khusid
Flaskadriga
Fun Tashlikh
Title Unknown
Rumanian-Bulgarish
Der Muzinikal
Rusishe Sher
The Philadelphia Sher
Shulem's Bulgarish
Grichisher Tants
Terkish-Bulgarish
Sadegurer Khusedl
Tate Ziser
Zeydn's Tants
Russian Sher
Vi Tsvey iz Naftule der Driter
Di Rayze Nukh Amerike
Baym Shotzer Rebbe Oyf Shabes

total time: 65:50
published in 1996

Tel. and Fax: 914-632-7793
sykushner@aol.com

Review by Henry Doktorski:

When I first received The Klezmer Music Fake Book Volume Two (with accompanying CD) in my mail, my first reaction was "Wow!"

This work is, in my opinion, a significant musicological contribution to students, performers, scholars and other lovers of Klezmer music. (The cover photo -- of fiddle, clarinet, trumpet and antique accordion -- is artistic and very attractive.)

The CD features some of the great soloists and ensembles of Jewish music of the early twentieth century, such as the Ukrainian State Jewish Instrumental Ensemble (1930), Al Glaser's Bukovina Kapelle with clarinetist Dave Tarras (1939), the Abe Elinkrig Orchestra (1915), accordionist Mishka Tsiganoff (1929), clarinetist Naftule Brandwein (1922), accordionist Max Yenkowitz with tsimbalist Goldberg (1913), the Abe Schwartz Orchestra (1920), the State Ensemble of Jewish Folk Music of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialists Republic (1930) and others.

The CD is a re-release of an assortment of 78 LP discs -- some recorded nearly eighty years ago! -- and understandably includes some nasty scratches and record noise. The accompanying music book gives fairly accurate transcriptions -- in lead sheet format (melody and chords) -- of the music on the CD. Sy Kushner's transcriptions were undertaken with painstaking care; he even noted the krechtz (also known as boip) with a special marking (^) in the score.

Mr. Kushner, who began accordion lessons at the age of nine and in 1964 released his first recording: "The New Jewish Sound" by The Mark 3 Orchestra and Singers. He has performed at venues including the World's Fair, New York's Town Hall and Carnegie Hall. He became known as a leading innovator in contemporary Jewish music by his progressive uniting of Klezmer and rock music. Today -- according to the CD booklet notes -- he is known as one of the foremost Klezmer accordionists in the United States.

Mr. Kushner wrote in the Introduction: "There are limitations in transcribing music. The feeling and style of the music cannot be captured in print. It is therefore most important to listen to the original recordings of the music transcribed for this book. . . This book, along with the compact disc, represents a commitment to help preserve a rich Jewish music culture forgotten for forty years."

I congratulate Sy Kushner for his important role in the re-discovery of Jewish folk music and I heartily recommend this book/CD for all lovers of Klezmer music. The book is also printed for Bb instruments.

My reaction to the second CD, KlezSqueeze!, was less enthusiastic.

Granted, there is a lot of fine playing on the album (tsimblist Alexander Fedoriouk deserves special mention) and the arrangements (including the variations of the accordion stops or registrations) were interesting, but overall I felt that, for some of the time at least, the accordion was not played very expressively and occasionally Kushner's technique was less than adequate, as was apparent in the sloppy ascending chromatic runs in Odessa Bulgar.

However, my primary complaint is that the sound of the accordion overpowered the ensemble. Listen to the first four tracks: they all feature the accordion and they all basically sound the same (with few exceptions); I detected hardly any dynamic variation to speak of. Even when the tsimblist had a solo, the accordion distracted my attention from (and seemed to minimize) Fedoriouk's fine playing.

In contrast, track number five -- Lustige Khasidm -- (which features clarinetist Ken Maltz) makes a huge difference: this cut features some absolutely superb musicianship with extremely tasteful balance. Why? The accordion tacets for the first minute or so, and when it finally appears, it enters quietly and sensitively and does not dominate the other musicians. This is beautiful chamber music. The ending is extremely satisfying, as the motif of the theme is repeated one last time in the lower register.

Despite my criticisms, several tracks are outstanding (by any standard) and deserve special mention. Track number six -- Shulem's Bularish -- features Kushner's accordion played with finesse and delicacy in the rubato section and with great verve and gusto in the 2/4 dance section. In Fun Tashlikh the rich (and often humorous) bassoon register of the accordion is featured and both the tsimbl and string bass get in some great solo licks.

In contrast, track number five -- Lustige Khasidm -- (which features clarinetist Ken Maltz) makes a huge difference: this cut features some absolutely superb musicianship with extremely tasteful balance. Why? The accordion tacets for the first minute or so, and when it finally appears, it enters quietly and sensitively and does not dominate the other musicians. This is beautiful chamber music. The ending is extremely satisfying, as the motif of the theme is repeated one last time in the lower register.

Despite my criticisms, several tracks are outstanding (by any standard) and deserve special mention. Track number six -- Shulem's Bularish -- features Kushner's accordion played with finesse and delicacy in the rubato section and with great verve and gusto in the 2/4 dance section. In Fun Tashlikh the rich (and often humorous) bassoon register of the accordion is featured and both the tsimbl and string bass get in some great solo licks.