10:00 Klezmer Roots and Klezmer Toots – Evergreen Forum (SPB)

Come on a musical journey in sound, film, and story through one of the earliest kinds of fusion music. Stretching from Istanbul to Ithaca (NY), Haifa to Hollywood, Russia to Roseland, it is a world populated by draft dodgers (from the czar’s army), refugees, financial failures, and geniuses of the bent note rivaling Muddy Waters. In this music we’ll see how sounds can poke a finger in the eye of misery, and we’ll dip into a tradition so rich we’ll have to go on a diet.

LEADERS: Bob Mehlman taught English at The College of New Jersey for nearly 40 years and worked in psychological counseling services as a psychologist. He plays clarinet in the band Odessa Klezmer and Greek music in the band Baklava. Bill Selden directed the Geology Museum at Rutgers University. Well-versed in Balkan music, he plays accordion with the klezmer band Tzu Fil Dovids, Greek music with Baklava, and Bulgarian and Macedonian gajda and kaval.
WEDNESDAYS: 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon 8 weeks: September 26 through November 14
LOCATION: PSRC