Swinging Klezmer lights up WHAT

By: , October 18, 2011

Its roots may be in the Yiddish tradition, but Klezmer music as interpreted by the Bart Weisman Group brings a zesty, modern swing to the stage on Saturday, October 22 at the Wellfleet Harbor Actor's Theater Julie Harris Stage.

Weisman’s drums are joined by Monica Rizzio on violin and vocals, Clayton March on clarinet and mandolin, Alan Clinger on guitar and Laird Boles on bass, as WHAT expands its fall music season.

A well-known face on the Cape's jazz scene, Weisman brings a twist to the Klezmer tradition. He’s been playing and recording the genre for more than 25 years, performing Klezmer for the Boston Pops and numerous times at the White House for Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

It's "Jewish jazz"

Klezmer comes from the Hebrew words “kley,” meaning vessel or instrument,” and “zemer,” meaning song. During the vaudeville era, many European musicians rich in the Klezmer tradition began to meld their sounds with Dixieland, jazz and show tunes, absorbing more and more American influences replete with brassy arrangements and virtuosic style.

As it crossed over, Klezmer could be heard in hits such as Benny Goodman’s “And the Angels Sing,” the Andrews Sisters' “Bei Mir Bis Du Schon” and Cab Calloway's “Ot Azoy.” Weisman’s band will be playing the latter two songs.

As organizer of the annual Provincetown Jazz Festival, Weisman has turned his attentions to the Cape Cod music scene.

“I came here and wanted to work with established musicians on the Cape,” he says. “Like you want to buy local, I wanted to work local.”

He moved to the Cape because his wife, photographer Amy Heller, had spent her summers in Provincetown as a child, and her sister, Julie Heller, owns an art gallery on Gosnold Street.

“I had never lived in a small town where you walk down the street and people know your name,” Weisman says. “It took me a while to get used to not hearing airplanes or helicopters and all the things we got used to in Washington.”

If you go...

WHAT Julie Harris Stage, 2357 Route 6, Wellfleet (next to the Wellfleet Post Office)

Tickets: $15

For more information: 508-349-9428