Klezmer: Jewish Music from Old World to Our World
Yazoo (www.shanachie.com)

Add another to a near glut of klezmer retrospective anthologies. This one is a companion to Henry Sapoznik's book of the same title (available at www.livingtraditions.org) which is reflected in the lack of accompanying notes.

There is no arguing the power of the WWI-vintage cuts. In addition, Sapoznik has furnished samples of other commercial (i.e. recorded) Jewish musics that existed in parallel with traditional klezmer. So the contents include a cantor singing a prayer, Yiddish musical theater tunes, oddities like Dixieland and swing adaptations of Jewish melodies, patter from a 1938 Yiddish music radio program and the ca. 1990's efforts of the revivalist and "fusion" bands, some of whom seem to have an attitude similar to the swing adaptations of the late 1930's.

A few of the cuts are already available on other albums, but there are also several beautiful rarities reissued for the first time. Performers include Abe Elenkrieg's Orchestra, Belf's Orchestra, The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Sam Musicker, Andy Statman, The Klezmatics and sixteen others. - Stacy Phillips