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[HAPPENINGS/PReview]
The Klezmatics raise the roof in intimate documentary
by Michael Fox
Photo courtesy of Lloyd Wolf
When a band has been together for
nearly a quarter of a century, a celebration
is warranted. If it’s a Jewish band, you can
assume that a certain amount of tsuris has
accompanied the success.
That’s the case with the Klezmatics,
the world-renowned klezmer band
founded in the mid-1980s in New York’s
East Village. Beloved for their rousing,
soulful performances, the group’s onstage
camaraderie masks a surprising amount of
offstage tension.
Music documentaries, such as
Erik Greenberg Anjou’s excellent The
Klezmatics: On Holy Ground, acknowledge
fans’ demands that their spirits not just be
raised but untethered.
The music is a highlight, with a slew
of toe-tapping numbers and poignant
Yiddish ballads recorded in a variety of
venues. But the heart of the documentary
is the sometimes heated dynamic among
longtime members: Frank London (the
high-energy trumpet player and keyboardist),
violinist Lisa Gutkin (the lone
woman), saxophone and clarinet maestro
Matt Darriau, Paul Morrissett (bass and
tsimbal) and charismatic accordionist,
guitarist and pianist Lorin Sklamberg.
The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground is not
a rags-to-riches chronicle of a successful
group undone by drugs, egos or nefarious
record-company executives. Nor is it a
saga of serious artists forced to compromise
to attain mainstream popularity, or
refusing to bend and therefore suffering
commercial ignominy.
At its core, the documentary is about
the challenge a middle-aged artist faces
to earn a consistent income (and perhaps
support a family). It’s almost incidental
that the art form is an eclectic ethnic
music with avant-garde elements that has
a niche audience.
Anjou filmed the band on and off over
more than four years, and the musicians
graciously (albeit reluctantly, at first)
allowed the film crew to record some of
their meetings. While it is fascinating to
observe mature, mutually respectful adults
fighting fairly – talking straight without
OJM Cinema
manipulation, name-calling
or sugar coating – the tension
eventually darkens the
mood.
Although creative
disagreements are inevitable
when strong-willed musicians
play together, the
real angst on display in The
Klezmatics involves clashing
priorities. London’s numerous
side projects and session
dates complicate scheduling
a Klezmatics tour. And for
some of the other members,
live performance is their
main source of income.
What we glean is that
all the acclaim – and the
inspiration of collaborating
over the years with the likes
of Allen Ginsberg, Tony
Kushner, Itzhak Perlman and Chava
Alberstein, and even a Grammy Award
for best contemporary world music
album for “Wonder Wheel” (2006) – are
tempered by the real-world realities of
making a living.
This valuable documentary amply honors
the band’s steadfast contribution to
Jewish music and culture. Indeed, all the
mishegas melts away when the ensemble
takes the stage and connects, as it always
does, with both Jewish tradition and
diverse audiences.
And it is the songs, with their echoes
of loss, love and friendship, as much as
the musicians’ candid relationship, that
make The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground
such a bittersweet and rewarding
experience.
Michael Fox is a San Francisco film critic and
journalist.
The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground screens at 7 pm, July 19, at the Oregon Jewish
Museum, 1953 NW Kearney, Portland. Members: $8 General Public: $10
503-226-3600.
OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JULY 2012 67