The Sklamberg Lurje Judelman Trio
Featuring one of the leading voices of the Klezmer revival, Lorin Sklamberg and darling of the international Yiddish scene, Sasha Lurje (Latvia/DE), this new transatlantic collaboration perform Yiddish music ranging from old folk ballads to cantorial masterpieces, from Chassidic chants to Yiddish resistance songs, as well old pop and theater songs. They're joined by fiddler Craig Judelman (USA/DE), whose background with old time folk music -Yiddish and otherwise - provides the perfect counterpoint, along with Mr. Sklamberg’s accordion, for these two incredible voices. This small all star band packs a big punch, inviting audiences into the dark and passionate inner world of Yiddish song.
The Klezmer style originates with the Yiddish speaking Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe, and was originally mainly instrumental and played for dancing at celebrations. Typical instruments are - Violin, Cimbalom, Clarinet, Accordion, Flute. Bass, Drums and Piano are common too. Scales tend toward the harmonic minor sound with the instruments playing in a vocal style. It is strongly influenced by Romani travelling musicians, and later by American Jazz. That went both ways - Jazz players like Benny Goodman have a sound familiar to anyone listening to Klezmer clarinet. Perhaps the most influential artist to borrow heavily from this archetypal sound is Leonard Cohen
Lorin Sklamberg comes to this trio from the New York based Klezmer group The Klezmatics. He is a founding member, and plays the piano, accordion and sings. The band The Klezmatics won the 2006 Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music Album for “Wonder Wheel” which utilized some of the thousands of unrecorded songs and lyrics of the legendary dust-bowl story-teller Woody Guthrie. [Goin Away to Sea]
Lorin grew up in LA but moved to NYC in the 80s. He is the Sound Archivist at the YIVO center in NYC.
Sasha Lurje was born in Riga, Latvia, the largest Baltic city and famous for the incendiary chess of genius Mikhail Tal. She has been singing since she was 3, and through theatre and improv found her connection to Yiddish language and culture. She has by now played every Yiddish festival in the world (perhaps), including some that she founded! She also has her own contemporary rock band Forshpil. She also sings with Alan Bern’s project the Semer Ensemble, and she is in the highly energetic project “Goyfriend” with Klezmer collective Litvakus.
She is a longtime faculty member at Yiddish Summer Weimar, and is a co-founder with Craig Judelman of the Seattle Yiddish festival.
Craig Judelman is an American born composer and fiddler who grew up in Seattle. He studied at Bard College, and traveled all over exploring folklore and folk music. He also was drawn in by the theatre and was for a while the composer in residence for the Rural Academy Theatre in North Carolina. He studied Jewish folk music with David Krakauer of the Klezmatics. He was in an old-timey band from Brooklyn - The Dust Busters - heck they even played on KEXP.
