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Notes on Nifty
Naftule Brandwein, the "King of the
klezmer clarinet" landed in New York City
by of Istanbul in 1908, and set about
providing a soundtrack to the boisterous
life of the newly arrived immigrant
community of the Lower East Side. With an
eclectic style combining Jewish, gypsy and
oriental flavors, Naftule's music
reflected his roots in Galicia, a musical
crossroads east of the Carpathian
Mountains in what is now Ukraine. He made
a handful of recordings in the 1920's that
have become a goldmine for klezmer
musicians.
Much has been said about his legendary
antics, performing in an Uncle Sam costume
wrapped in electric lights, playing with
his back to the audience to conceal his
fingerings, sporting a neon sign draped
around his neck that flashed his name, and
playing for gangsters, although it's hard
to imagine any significant musician in
1920's Manhattan not playing for gangsters
at one time or another. You might say
Naftule was the original downtown artist.
This CD is a celebration and exploration
of his music from a contemporary
perspective. If you're not already
familiar with Naftule Brandwein I hope you
will listen to his original recordings and
compare them to our interpretations.
It is once again my humble pleasure to
collaborate with Greg Cohen and Cyro
Baptista, two of the biggest hearts and
biggest ears in the music biz. A big
thanks to Greg and Cyro for great playing,
generous ideas and giving it everything at
the end of a busy cycle of sessions and
gigs.
- Tim Sparks
Little Princess is for Maddie, Kayla,
Cassandra and Ashley
This CD is dedicated to my friend Mary Ann
O'Dougherty 1953-2009
Recorded February 18, 2009 at EastSide
Sound, NYC
Thanks to Marc Urselli, a brilliant
engineer and excellent host, Kazunori
Sugiyama, for his ears in the mixdown,
Chyrll Sparks, love, support, back rubs,
My friends at Riad Miski in Marrakech
where this all came together, Ari Davidov
and Mordecai Spector, for help with
translations and general good spirits,
Charlie Hoffman, for making the wonderful
guitar used on this recording, Duck Baker,
for encouragement and jokes. Most of all
to John Zorn for challenging me and
inspiring this work.
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