Klezmer King, the

ABE SCHWARTZ – The Klezmer King
Columbia/Legacy, 2002

USA – Abe Schwartz was one of the early giants of modern klezmer. On this collection of recordings from 1917 through 1935, we get to hear Abe as bandleader or violinist in a variety of settings along with other greats, including his “discoveries,” Naftule Brandwein and Dave Tarras. These old recordings are rather “flat”, but very clean (only a few scratchy tracks).

Try any track. Fo’s Picks: 1, 4, 8, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21

01. lively, folksy percolation
02. lumbering Hasidic medley, livens up
03. upbeat, almost carnival atmosphere
04. strong vocal + trio, nifty harmony
05. scratchy orchestra, Russian tune
06. good clarinet intro, then perky
07. airy, somewhat rustic quintet
08. slow, clarinet twitters, happy ending
09. hey, it’s a Levine song! (see below)
10. upbeat orchestra, laughing clarinet
11. violin + piano: dramatic, then peppy
12. bouncy, w/ clarinet/violin in unison
13. Romanian hora: slow, then uptempo
14. good, lively vocal w/ trio backing
15. orch. waltz, has a carnival/circus sound
16. “serious” orch. composition, tells a story
17. long intro, then fast silliness at the end
18. fun vocal, with light orch. backing
19. Nino Rota-esque, laughing/trilling accents
20. upbeat, gliding dance; perky clarinet
21. fun novelty with lots of gruff spoken word
22. quick, lively bounce in Russian style
23. slow, schmaltzy vocal and weeping violins
24. plodding march; nice clarinet, though
25. robust version of a well-known song

[Fo] - 9/25/02

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WHAT’S A “LEVINE SONG” ????

In 1927, young millionaire Charles A. Levine tried to bankroll the first airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Charles Lindbergh beat Levine’s man (Clarence Chamberlain) to the punch by two weeks. To save his investment, Levine decided to ride along when Chamberlain made the flight to Europe, thus becoming the world’s first transatlantic airline passenger. A small feat, perhaps, but it was enough to make him a major celebrity in a community that needed a few heroes. Levine was honored in a number of popular Yiddish songs, hastily written and recorded in the summer of 1927. Another one of these, with translated lyrics, can be found on the “Yiddish Radio Project” compilation that came through the A-File in Spring 2002.

For the full story, see http://www.yiddishradioproject.org/exhibits/levine/

Sadly, Levine’s achievement is now almost entirely forgotten.