Klezmertunities
One of my fellow Palos Verdes Symphonic Band members introduced me to klezmer music last year, and it has become a major part of my life. I had heard some of the music before, like Havah Nagila, but had never heard the term klezmer. This man, named Alan, plays the baritone in PVSB, and didn’t know much about me as a percussionist. One day, I started guest conducting for PVSB. This put me on the map as far as people in the band knowing who I am. This was the case for my new friend Alan. He found out that I played saxophone, and he had been hoping to find someone to play soprano saxophone in his klezmer groups, South Bay Klezmer Jam and Klezmer Arts Institute of Los Angeles. So he invited me to his home for a jam session, and our music lives have since melded together.
I only own an alto saxophone, so Alan asked around and found another fellow PVSB member Howard, who had a soprano sax that he wasn’t playing. Even though he hs never met me, he is allowing me to borrow his instrument indefinitely. I am still in shock over this, at is it a beautiful, expensive Cannonball instrument in great shape since he has only played it a couple times in the two years he has had it. I ended up getting a sticky low C# key, and took it to Long Beach Woodwinds & Brass to get it checked out. They charged me only $20 to treat the pad, look over the rest of the instrument, and give advice on how to maintain it. I thought I would end up spending $100+, so I left feeling extremely happy, and have not had a problem with my low C# every since. Howard even offered to reimburse me for the repair, but I enthusiastically declined.
Alan and Howard have opened up a whole new world of performance for me, which I am extremely grateful for. I play with KAILA most 1st sundays of the month at the West LA farmer’s market, and got to play my first Bar Mitzvah gig with SBKJ recently as well.
The stage vibe is super casual, and takes all of the uptightness out of classical performance. I go to Alan’s house almost every week to rehearse with SBKJ and it is always the highlight of my week. KAILA rehearsals are also an amazing experience, sitting in a cozy backyard with a bunch of professional musicians basically just jamming. There is no pressure to get all of the notes right, because they want you to go off and noodle around anyways. It is a lot like playing jazz, but there is no pressure to improvise an entire solo. It is just ornaments here and there, like krechts, grace notes, turns, and trills.
KAILA at the West LA Farmer’s Market
On the left is Gustavo, the leader of KAILA, and sitting down with the hat is Alan on the baritone.
Speaking of ornaments, there is one called Lisa’s favorite, which I believe is where you repeat the note you just played as a grace note for the next note. Lisa Gutkin plays the violin/fiddle for the Klezmatics, a popular group in the klezmer world. She hosts online workshops every week, and I am lucky enough to participate in them. She teaches us klezmer songs completely by ear. As a classical musician who considers sheet music my comfort zone, this is a very new and exciting adventure for me. I have never enjoyed improvising, and I don’t have great memory, so learning by rote has never been my forte. Lisa breaks everything down into smalll chunks and makes sure each person gets to play that chunk before moving forward. She gives each person specific critiques and helps them become a better musician with every piece of advice she gives. She is also very patient with all of us who have singing dogs that can’t help but sing along while we play our instruments.
I am loving all of the klezmertunities that have popped up. I had been searching for an outlet to perform on saxophone. Thank you so much for reading. Let me know if you’re interested in getting involved in klezmer music. I’ll see you on the next one and on my socials!
