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Friday March 30, 2007

Clarinetist disappoints in posthumous CD

by aron rivin
j. intern

Klezmer clarinetist German Goldenshteyn’s posthumously released CD, “A Living Tradition,” should be the soundtrack of a farce.

With its polka rhythms and cartoon instrumentation, it would have been the perfect musical accompaniment to the sloppiest, most ridiculous slapstick sequence of an early Woody Allen flick, or an alternative anthem for Larry David’s HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Goldenshteyn and eight handpicked musicians recorded the album over four days in a hotel room that had been closed off for repairs, with little to no arrangement and no rehearsals.

You can tell the band was having fun, feeding off one another’s lines and enjoying playing music for the sake of playing. There’s a playful, improvisational feel to their sound.

But you can also tell that they recorded themselves in a hotel room.

And the part about not rehearsing? That’s not a good thing.

The result is klezmer bordering on circus music. The album’s overall sound is flat, and none of the musicians achieve anything interesting individually or as a group. Compared to something like the Alexandria Kleztet’s “Delusions of Klezmer,” or any of the many other modern klezmer CDs easily available in stores or on the Internet, this album’s total lack of soul or beauty is a bit embarrassing.

The opening track, “Concert Freylakhs,” is a disjointed mess of tuba, accordion and Goldenshteyn’s giddy clarinet, which sounds a bit like a well-played recorder. Think “Thunder and Blazes,” the typical circus theme (you hear it in the Benny Hill music), with a Yiddish touch.

“Bulgars Medley” evokes “The Song That Never Ends,” and when a five minute song feels like it will never end, you know something’s wrong.

On “Moldavian Freylakhs,” a light, airy piece, Goldenshteyn — in his 70s when he recorded this album — sticks with the lower registers. It quickly becomes apparent that without trills, his “voice” is rather dull and emotionless.

Across the rest of the 16 total tracks, the lack of tonal or emotional dynamics grows increasingly boring and more than a little grating.

Granted, music is made for different purposes. Traditional klezmer is the staple of weddings and family celebrations and is intended for dancing — but a good album should still be able to stand on its own. Minus the kosher wine and twirling in-laws, this music feels horribly out of context — and it’s simply not good enough to have it any other way.

It seems safe to bet that Goldenshteyn’s importance in 20th century klezmer music is greater as an ethnomusicologist than as a recording artist.

Over four decades, Goldenshteyn transcribed more than 800 songs, most of which had been previously unheard in the West, and breathed new life into a klezmer revival movement crippled by a dearth of written material.

It’s unfortunate that his only CD can’t make the same kind of impact.

“A Living Tradition” by German Goldenshteyn (Living Traditions LTD, $15).

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