By Eric George Tauber
SAN DIEGO — The Lyceum Theatre was pretty packed on a Tuesday night –not too shabby- for the 17th Annual Klezmer Summit. The upper gallery featured Yale Strom’s photo portraits of the Jews still living in Eastern Europe. Shot in stark black and white, they evoke a mystical world where time waits with baited breath and spirits of the dead dwell among the living. Downstairs is Yosef Schweig’s Jerusalem: Of Heaven and Earth. Taken in the 1930s, they show a time when our holy city was mostly a ghost town, forlorn but not forgotten so long as there were prayers on our lips.
Klezmorim Yale Strom and Hot Pstromi were the featured act. Blending old country traditions with new world innovation, the ensemble included Strom on violin, some bluesy sax and bass, jazzy drum work and the nimble fingers of Fred Benedetti on guitar. Feeling kind of like a casual party at a musician’s house, talented artists dropped in and out for various numbers.
From Novosibirsk, on the Pacific side of Russia, came Alex Gourevitch on clarinet. His wailing solo evoked a child, cold and frightened, crying for her mother. Then, things got a lot livelier….
As accomplished a musician as Yale is, he knows he’s no singer. So he leaves that to his lovely wife, Elizabeth Schwartz whose rich alto is filled with humor and heart. They were joined by local jazz great Gilbert Castellanos on the horns for an original song, Café Jew Zoo. It’s a sexy, noir number inspired by a trip to Berlin. Houses there were appreciative, but as a Jew singing in Yiddish, Elizabeth felt like an exotic animal on display.
Regaling us with back stories, 85 year-old Bert Turetsky played a couple of bass solos, tributes to his late parents filled with mournful affection. Then Myla Wingard Rosen (the daughter of SDJW’s music writer Eileen Wingard) held her own with Yale in a peppy fiddle duet.
The concert ended with a big sing-along as arms embraced shoulders and swayed. The refrain was mostly “Oy yoy yoy,” so it didn’t matter if our Yiddish was less than fluent. The house leapt to their feet in fervent applause and filled with smiles. If you missed this year’s Klezmer Summit, don’t shry and plotz. Jfest 25 is just getting underway with more to come.
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Tauber is a freelance writer who specializes in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com