Customer Reviews

The Essential Klezmer: A Music Lover's Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music, from the Old World to the Jazz Age to the Downtown Avant Garde

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I'm not entirely unbiased -- Seth has generously praised my most recent book -- but as someone who writes on Jewish music regularly for several papers, I can honestly say that this is the book on klezmer to start with. Seth's ecumenical, eclectic taste and balanced view of the current scene make him a superb tour guide for either a first-time visitor or an old klezmer hand. As a working music journalist, he has interviewed all the key figures in this music -- even the notoriously reclusive John Zorn -- and clearly he has asked the right questions, because his chapters on recent music are insightful and zesty. And the book's lengthy critical discography makes it an indispensable guide for the listener and record buyer.

Seth Rogovoy has written a rich history of Klezmer music that should prove to be an important contribution to the field of Jewish music. He has captured the spirit and meaning of this most wonderful and expressive musical traditon that is currently in the midst of a significant rebirth. This is an intelligent and loving tribute both to the musical tradition, and to the men and women who have performed Klezmer from generation to generation.

The author does a great job of putting the technical and artistic components of Klezmer music into an historical and cultural context and following its evolution within that context, as well as independent of it. He does it in a way that is both entertaining and scholarly without being ponderous. The discography is an invaluable resource.

If you are new to klezmer music like myself this book is very interesting and helpful. A friend took me to a Klezmatics concert and I loved the soulfulness and the jazz-like energy of the music. But I'm not Jewish and needed to know more about what I was hearing. The Essential Klezmer is so clearly written and well organized that you can start anywhere in the book and find out whatever you want to know, whether it's about particular musicians, the history of the music, klezmer in movies and on the internet, or avant-garde groups. The 80 plus page discography is especially helpful.

Having helped kick-start the klezmer revival, I'm delighted to see for the first time a book that gets the story right. Seth Rogovoy's readable account brings to life the personalities, bands, and stylistic experiments that shaped -- and continue to shape -- this hip, passionate, influential genre. Rich in detail yet down to earth, "The Essential Klezmer" will appeal, I think, to both the novice and the aficionado. The discography alone makes this slim volume indispensible; it should be required reading in any college course about klezmer music. (Disclosure: I was interviewed for the book, but didn't see the manuscript until publication.)