Schmaltz & Pepper
Schmaltz & Pepper
Independent SP01 (schmaltzandpepper.com/store)
During a “random” chamber music gig he played back in November 2023, stellar musician and principal TSO clarinettist, Eric Abramovitz, commented to fellow virtuoso, violinist Rebekah Wolkstein, that he had always wanted to be in a klezmer band. Wolkstein’s reaction? “Let’s do it!” And right there, she got out her computer, started scheduling stuff and Schmaltz & Pepper was born.
Six months later, the band was playing concerts and summer festivals, wowing audiences with their dazzling mastery and musicianship, performing original, sassy, sophisticated and, yes, schmaltzy (in a good way) material in breathtaking arrangements!
And now we have their brilliant, eponymous debut CD. Rounding out this klezmer supergroup are three more top-tier, award winning musicians: Drew Jurecka on violin and bandoneon; pianist Jeremy Ledbetter; and Michael Herring, bass. Their jazz, swing, classical, Roma and European folk music infused brand of klezmer is virtuosic, soul-stirring, innovative and just plain fun! The track titles, alone, are entertaining: Mozart the Mensch, Gefilte Fugue, Tango Shmango, Manischewitz Mazurka, to name a few. And then there’s the rip-snorting (pun intended) The Yiddish Bullfighter. Wolkstein, also an accomplished vocalist, treats us to both a humorous lament about trying to find the perfect (non-musician) man in I’m Sorry Mama, and a delightful, “Modern Major General-esque” romp in Evil Eye.
Schmaltz & Pepper have upended the traditional boundaries of klezmer music, joyously Stirring the Pot (see track 1) on the Jewish and world music stage.
