The Andy Statman Trio will give a rare klezmer music performance in Nashville Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 7:30 p.m. The event, which takes place at the Vanderbilt Divinity School Reading Room, is free and open to the public.
Statman is widely recognized by his peers as one of the musicians at the forefront of the klezmer revival of the late 1970s and early ‘80s. In discovering this instrumental music – the origins of klezmer can be traced to devotional traditions extending back to Biblical times – Statman merged his musical life with the discovery of his spiritual life as a Hasidic Jew.
For more than four decades, Statman has explored and ultimately mastered a multitude of musical genres. As a teenager growing up in New York, he studied bluegrass mandolin with David Grisman. As his interests turned toward the music of John Coltrane, he was mentored by jazz saxophone virtuoso Richard Grando. Dave Tarras, a popular klezmer musician in the Ukraine who later immigrated to America, taught Statman how to play clarinet.
Statman‘s recorded work includes the solo projects Nashville Mornings, New York Nights; East Flatbush Blues: American Roots Improvisations and Original Compositions; and Andy‘s Ramble. He has also appeared on recordings by Stephene Grappelli, Béla Fleck and David Bromberg. Violinist and admirer Itzhak Perlman selected Statman to record with him on a series of klezmer-inspired albums and videos including In the Fiddler‘s House, which was released in 1996. Statman and Grisman have also collaborated on a series of Jewish-inspired albums that include Songs of Our Fathers and New Shabbos Waltz.
Joining Statman onstage will be percussionist Larry Eagle and bass player Jim Whitney.
The concert is sponsored by Vanderbilt‘s Religion in the Arts and Contemporary Culture program in association with the Jewish Studies program.
Media Contact: Chris Skinker (615) 322-NEWS
chris.skinker@vanderbilt.edu