KlezKanada

Yes, I know KlezKanada has been over for a while.

So, if you've been reading so far, you will know what KlezKanada is.  KlezKanada differs from the European klezmer workshops in several ways.  First of all, KlezKanada has had 15 years now to grow and mature.  The result of this is a very diverse program of study which allows for the student of klezmer to find a great deal of interesting things to do. 

Second of all, KlezKanada, is a residential program in the style of KlezKamp.  While KlezKamp is located at a hotel in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York in the middle of winter (not much incentive to go outside), KlezKanada is held at a summer camp in the Laurentian mountains of Quebec, about an hour north of Montreal.  This area, near Ste. Agathe-des-Monts (if you want to know more about this area in the 1950s, read Mordechai Richler's "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz), is historically a resort area for Montreal Jews.  Nestled in this area, right on a lake, is Camp B'nai Brith, which KlezKanada takes over for a week after the campers head home for the summer at the end of August.  So, the weather is usually a big bonding factor for the participants of KlezKanada.  It gets cold at night, and can be very pleasant and lovely during the day.  Or it can rain.  This year, it was quite nice (although cold at night), until Shabbes when the rain came.

Third, KlezKanada is probably the biggest klezmer workshop in the world.  This year (not even close to the biggest it's been) hosted over 220 participants, and faculty.  Going back over my records, I find that the 2006 edition (my first KlezKanada) had 430 people, total.  This creates a large community of klezmer-philes who come from all over the world.  I don't recall if I mentioned this before, but many Europeans and others that I encountered on my travels would ask me about KlezKanada before KlezKamp.

Fourth is the large number of young people.  KlezKanada has a large scholarship program, subsidizing musicians, scholars and others under the age of 35.  While there is only a small group of younger people at places like Weimar or KlezFest, and even KlezKamp, KlezKanada teems with kids, teens, and young adults.  Especially gifted and talented young musicians.

This year's edition was also fascinating.  By bringing over The Other Europeans, there was a heavy emphasis on Moldovan and Roma music this year.  It was great to meet and talk to these great "other" musicians, and it also injected some amazing new life into KlezKanada.  This was actually an interesting contrast with Weimar, which normally explores the links between klezmer and another music and this year focused exclusively on Jewish music (calling this year "Yiddishkayt").

KlezKanada is also great for the student concert -- held in the "gym" which is tranformed every year into a great sounding concert space.  This event allows the students to perform what they've been preparing all week long.

KlezKanada is also demographically more similar to KlezKamp.  It's certainly more Jewish than the European workshops, and the programming does reflect this.  There is more Yiddish and religious content, and there is a large contingent of observant Jews who can attend easily because Camp B'nai Brith has a kosher kitchen.

So what is there to say about KlezKanada?  Great people, lots of fun, lots to learn, but it still feels like a week long "hang" with friends.  Informants have told me that a lot of the teenagers who come year after year have built a large group of friends and continue to continue attending even without their parents!  For them, and for many others, the community, and being surrounded by Yiddish language, and Jewish music and dance is more important than making great music.

Better late than never

So here, without very much more ado (this very introduction serves as some ado, it would seem), I'll get to blogging about the last two klezmer workshops I participated in this summer, beginning with KlezFest London.

Those of you who have been following the brilliant writings herein will already know that not only have I participated in (or observed) several klezmer workshop this summer, but I've attended KlezKamp and KlezKanada multiple times over the years. 

So, it is with these experiences in mind that I write about KlezFest. 

First of all, my own experience was tainted by the airline (Easyjet) delaying my baggage.  But otherwise, KlezFest (and the UK Klezmer scene) turns out to be a fascinating mid-point between Germany (and Poland) and North America.  In terms of size, demography as well as geography, KlezFest sits between the two poles (Poles?) of klezmer revival scene.

It's similar in structure to the North American camps, but contains a plenary session of dancing and singing in the mornings, which is made possible by the smaller numbers.  Along with some of the other workshops, dance, and playing for dancing, is becoming a much more central part of the curriculum.  Additionally, I've been seeing a real trend towards singing Chassidic nigunim.

For example, KlezFest held a Chassidic style wedding party on the Thursday night, with an all-star wedding band including Jeff Warschauer, Frank London, Guy Shalom, Merlin Shepherd, Michael Alpert (on Badkhones) and others!  KlezFest had invited members of the Lubavich community to come and lead dancing, and as I expected (having attended a Lubavich wedding before), the dancing and music was nothing like we had been studying all week.  In fact, contemporary Lubavich weddings bear little resemblance to anything that is being taught as traditional Jewish wedding music and dance, particularly along the lines of what someone like Zev Feldman has been researching and lecturing about.

However, like every other place I've been, it was the people that gave the workshop its character.  Mostly Londoners, the people of KlezFest were a lot of fun to hang around.  They were very inquisitive about my research, and once again, it was great to hang out at night after the day's activities.

To paraphrase Jeff Warschauer and Deborah Strauss, leaving London is tough, because it's tough to leave that community behind.  It would be amazing to bring all of those great people at KlezFest to KlezKanada 

Playing for dancing

Home

Well, I've arrived home for a brief pause in my travels and it's definitely a little strange.  Welcome is seeing the fam again, my own bed, and my shower.  Inconsistencies of the last 2 can take their toll!  It's also nice to use a computer that isn't slow as hell for a couple of days!  It also will be nice to rip the CDs I've picked up along the way to my computer and actually be able to hear what they sound like.

The air in Toronto is thick and heavy.  It's like nothing I experienced in the last 2 months, and a little bit a rude reminder of how humid the T-dot gets.  I went for a run last night, and while it was only about 25 degrees (Celsius for all you American out there), the humidity made it much stickier than a comparable temperature in Europe.  I kept telling the Europeans that the heat in Toronto was different because of the humidity, and feeling the air last night totally backs up my statements!

I haven't written about my experiences in London and that will probably come soon, but KlezFest was great.  It's a very warm, welcoming group of people, and there seems to be a very active klezmer scene over in England.

I also haven't written about my wonderful experience with Easy Jet, who conveniently forgot to load my bag onto the plane from Dubrovnik, and kept me waiting until Thursday (5 whole days) before I could get it.  Fortunately, I had my clarinet and computer with me, but just about everything else (clothes, notebooks, audio recorder, glasses, toiletries) were in my bag.  And yes, I know you shouldn't leave your glasses in your checked baggage.  Now.

Anyways, I will definitely talk more about klezmer and KlezFest soon.  But being a musician as well as an academic, I leave for KlezKanada tomorrow, and in the interim, I have many things to prepare for a series of gigs that I have in the weeks following my return!

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is possibly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  For someone like me who is enamoured by both mountains and water, Dubrovnik is the perfect place, as it has both.  Riding down the coast from Split, the visitor is treated to amazing views of the Adriatic sea, and mountains and islands that follow the coastline. 

Dubrovnik itself is spectacular, with exceptional beauty wherever you look.   It's an old city, and at one time actually rivalled Venice for dominance of the Adriatic. 

For most people, especially us Jews, when we refer to "after the war," we're talking about World War II, now more than 65 years in the past.  When people in Dubrovnik refer to after the war, they're talking about something that happened not even 20 years ago.  So important is the city to the tourist trade here in Croatia, that already, the city has been restored to splendour after taking a beating during a 7 month long siege in 1991.  Original methods can be seen to restore parts of the old city, in part because it is a UNESCO heritage site.

I took a walk around the city walls (for about 10 Euros), and you can see how fearsome the city's defenses are.  And while they have been tested in recent memory (Dubrovnik was seiged but never taken), today they serve as tourist attractions.  In fact the Pile Gate, which is designed to bottleneck opposing armies should they try to storm the city, now creates bottlenecks of tourists trying to come into the old city.

All in all, I really do love this city, but again, I don't think I would come back in the summer. 

Florence

For a nice Canadian like yours truly, Italy can be a little tough to deal with.  It seems that its basic state is a low level of chaos.  Italians do what they want until they get pushed back into conformity, their tempers flare easily, and they talk loudly and boisterously, and animatedly (especially with their hands). I think this kind of living necessitates a level of emotional engagement that I, as a mere observer and traveller, don't particularly want to rise to.  It reminds me a little of Israel, where to get any service at all, one must engage in a minature battle to hold the ground you have claimed for yourself, and constantly fight to move forward towards the person who's going to help you.

Shining examples of this is the stereotypical Italian driver, and by extension, the pedestrian.  The Italian driver (especially of motorcycles and scooters) makes other drivers know that they have to worry about him or her.  They are agressive, unpredictable and unrelenting.  They weave in and out of traffic, taking corners at high speed, and quite generally make life of the pedestrian interesting to say the least!  In Italy, the pedestrian crossing a road must never assume a driver will stop.  One must time a road crossing to make sure not only that there are no cars (motorcycles/scooters) approaching, but also that none will just appear out of nowhere and attack.  Which brings us to Jaywalking.  While in Eastern Europe, Jaywalking is a no-no, and is almost never seen (especially by older people), in Italy, it is a spectator sport (with some of the onlookers wondering if they get to witness a big splat today or not).  Jaywalking is practiced liberally and enthusiastically. 

Another example is what goes on in the Italian trains.  Being summer and high tourist season, the trains are generally packed, and probably overbooked.  So what happens?  Well, getting to your seat (if you have a reservation) can take up to 10 or 15 minutes because the aisle is jammed with people who have just sat down wherever they wanted and now must move out of the way for the people who have that seat.  And then, there are the people who have already been kicked out of one seat and move to another, and have to move again at the next stop when the owner of the new seat comes aboard.  It's a game of musical chairs at almost every stop, except there's no music, and usually everyone ends up with a chair (though not always). 

However, as a mild-mannered Canadian, it takes an effort to counteract our conditioned niceness, which I find quite exhausting and unbecoming by the end of a day of sightseeing, especially when fighting the crowds.  Alas, I probably won't return to Italy in the summertime.

Venice

I'm now here in Florence, and a quick comparison with Venice reveals how little Venice resembles Italy.

I have very mixed feelings about Venice.  While I met some really cool people at the hostel, I spent most of my time there travelling alone, and perhaps this skewed my perspective a little. 

While I think that Venice is a unique place on this planet, and one that must be seen in a person's lifetime, Venice of today only exists for the tourist.

It is the home to some of the great architectural works, some great art works, and of course its unique place as a city of canals, but it is a city that has no real other function than tourism.  This bothers me quite a bit.  Every other place I've been has been a functioning city, but Venice seems to be a shell of its self.  It is a city of great beauty and exploring the alleys and backstreets can be a very enjoyable experience, but when you hit the main tourist areas, it's a fight to keep your lunch down at the sight of the tourist mob and the kitsch vendors trying to capitalize on it.  In fact, it's quite stressful navigating the sites, so much so, that I usually needed a break at the Hostel, which was located on the quiet island of Giudecca.

It's not that I don't like Venice.  It's quite an amazing city actually.  I also enjoy pondering the history of the places I've been.  North America is really quite bereft of history in comparison.  And to contemplate the history of a city going back to the 6th or 7th century is quite amazing.  In fact, one of the activities I did was a tour of the Jewish Ghetto. The enclosure of a small area for the Jews of Venice in 1516 was actually the first use of the term, which means "foundry" in Italian.  Jews have been in Italy since the expulsion from Babylon, but the synagogues in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice all date to the 16th century.  Most stunning of which was the Levantine Synagogue, still in use today, and built in the late 16th century... of course, photography wasn't allowed, so I have no pictures.

So my verdict on Venice:  see it at least once, but preferably not in the summer with all the silliness.

Lots of tourists

I know some of you will be clamouring for some real photos....

Campanile at San Marco Square

Interior of the Doge's Palace

Ljubljana/Bled

Ljubljana turned out to be a great stop to recharge my batteries (sort of, but I'll get to that a little bit later). 

Most people know little of Slovenia.  It's the eastern- and northernmost country of the former Yugoslavia.  It was also the first to declare and achieve independence (following a brief 10-day war when the other Yugoslavs didn't particularly like that idea).  Slovenia has been a member of the EU for years now, and even uses the Euro as the currency (something that even Poland, and the Czech Republic can't even claim).  I've read that some people ascribe the invention of democracy to the 7th century Slovenia. 

Howver, Slovenia is tiny, with only 2 million inhabitants, and Ljubljana, it's biggest city and capital only has about 275,000 residents, many of them students.  Ljubljana has also been a provincial capital for Napoleon, and the Habsburgs, and as such, is the home to some wonderful architecture and squares, as well as a castle. 

Because of this, it's a small and lovely city to stroll around in (except when it's raining), with actually quite a quirky little nightlife to go along with it.

While travelling alone for this portion of my trip (until I get to London for KlezFest), I've been fortunate to meet up with some really interesting people, especially in Ljubljana, which seems to attract a more hardy and inquisitive visitor than somewhere like Venice (which is an expected stop on the European tour). 

Heading to Bled (see more below), I met up with a couple of Australian law students and spent the day with them, and then killing time in the hostel before my train to Venice on my last night in Ljubljana, I found Maria and her cousin Max from England, and Matt, a Malaysian living in Hawaii with whom to hit the town.

Bled was absolutely everything that people say it is.  One of the most beautiful places I've ever been.  It's a small-ish lake (remember, I compare lakes to Lake Ontario), apparently about 6k in circumference, with a small island in the middle which houses a medieval church.  There's also a castle in Bled overlooking said lake.  Bled is also a great place to start hiking in the Julian Alps (the ones that Slovenia shares).  ALSO, Bled is the home of a particular cream cake that is out of this world.  So, to sum up -  Reasons to go to Bled: Pretty lake.  Cool island with church in the middle.  Castle.  Mountains.  CAKE.

But unfortunately, as you can see from the pictures, there's no sun, and around 3pm, the skies opened up and didn't stop for the rest of the day.

The next day, my last in Slovenia, was grueling.  Having to check out of the hostel (although I could leave my stuff there) at 10am, and having until 2:30am until my train to Venice, there was a LOT of time to kill, and it was raining in the morning.

On Being on the Road

As I write this (though not as I post it), I'm on the train south to Ljubljana, Slovenia.  People have asked me several times why I'm going there (or even if it exists at all).  Firstly, it cuts the trip to Italy down a little bit.  But Ljubljana has been on my radar for a few years now.  At one time, I was considering going there for the 2006 World Saxophone Congress.  I was looking into grant programs that would allow me to commission a new piece by a Canadian composer for the Congress and be able to travel.  Alas, that project never materialized, but I had heard and seen photos of some of Ljubljana's beauty and charm.  I'm also planning a day trip to the Julian alps and Lake Bled, which is supposed to be one of the truly beautiful places in Europe.  Some British travellers that I met at the hostel in Vienna were also interested in going there.  So that's why.

For me, this is the beginning of my last leg of being a tourist, and last leg of solo travel.  I've been lucky enough to have friends to meet up with in most of the places I've been along the way. It's been 8 days since I left Weimar, and I've really only had one day that I haven't ended up getting together with someone that I met elsewhere.  However, it looks like from here on in (to London), I'll have to be a little more outgoing and friendly (I know, difficult, especially in the mornings) to keep from being like Tom, the Kiwi I met at the top of Hafelekar in Innsbruck.  He has been travelling in his "gap year" and spent about 5 days camping in the woods in Germany.  He said that he got a little down, not speaking any German, and not having conversation with anyone for several days while there.  However, most hostels in Europe seem to be brimming wtih people in the same boat that I'm in, so I don't see much difficulty in making new friends while on the road.

On a separate topic, I'll comment here on how the weather can affect the quality of a trip.  To put it mildly, Rain Sucks.  Especially persistent fairly solid rain that doesn't allow you to do much of anything except hole up in a cafe, restaurant, hotel, hostel, etc.  And it seriously puts a damper on days that you want to take advantage of some the amazing outdoor activities that present themselves in Europe, like hiking, and even urban sight-seeing.  Also, in smaller places like Ljubljana and Zell am See, the opportunities for museuming just don't seem as rich or rewarding as they do in Munich, Vienna or Florence. 

I consider myself to be reasonably well prepared for the rain.  Learning from last summer, I knew that there would be at least some rain.  And anyone who travels to England at any time is well advised to prepare for rain.  So, even with: a water-resistant jacket, baseball cap to cover my head, umbrella, little plastic baggies to make sure my valuables don't soak within my bags, I'm still getting soaked to the bone.  And it don't feel good when your socks are squishing in your shoes, and you know you won't be back somewhere warm and dry where you can remove said socks for hours yet.  Blech.  Which is why I'm writing this.  After looking at weather forecasts, I think by my 2nd day in Venice, things should be clear and dry.

So what have I done?  Well, mostly this.  Blogging, uploading photos to Facebook, even transferring some of my audio recordings to computer.  And sleep.  I've used the rainy days to catch up on sleep.

Vienna

As I leave Vienna, I contemplate what an amazing city it is.  Cosmopolitan (at least for a European capital), majestic, and overflowing with culture, Vienna is a place that can truly inspire awe.  What really strikes you is the Imperial grandeur of the place.  The Hofburg, the museums, the Schlossburg, the Staatsoper, the Rathaus and Parlament are all huge places.  It makes you remember that until World War I, this was the seat of one of the world's most powerful empires.

Schoenbrunn Palace

Natural History Museum (or Art History Museum . . they look the same)

The Hofburg

When it comes to culture, Vienna is always mentioned as one of the world's leading cities, and for good reason.  Even in summer, with the major orchestras and Opera on break, there's still lots going on in the city, but I'll get to that shortly.

First, I'll talk about the Viennese klezmer scene (I hope that sounds as strange to you as it does to me).  It seems that the klezmer scene contains a "Godfather," if you will, in the benign grandfatherly figure of Leon Pollack.  Pollack, who grew up in Poland after WWII, before moving to Israel and then Austria, is a full-time musician who, since the late 1970s had included more and more Jewish music into his repertoire.  Eventually, in the late 1980s, he met Josh Horowitz, klezmer accordionist and tsimblinst extraordinaire, and it was Horowitz (who was living in Graz at the time) who introduced Pollack to the music of the American klezmer revival.

While their partnership ended a couple of years later, Pollack has become the leader of Vienna's longest running and most serious klezmer band, establishing Ensemble Klesmer Wien in the early 1990s.  Since, that band has become something of a learning band for musicians who want to learn some of the Jewish style and music.  In fact, at the Klezmer Brunch at the restaurant called The Bunkerei, both members of Klezmer Reloaded (a duo performing an interesting sort of klezmer hybrid) are current members of Pollack's band, and call him the "Klezmer Icon of Vienna." 

Klezmer Reloaded

Klezmer Reloaded's set was fascinating in itself.  These musicians blend klezmer with other forms of music, but they also play a great deal of music that can't be considered klezmer by any stretch of the imagination.  They are heavily influenced by classical music (and their sound betrays this) as well as the music of Piazzola, and other, European forms of the Tango. 

One of the truly great things that the city of Vienna does is hold a "film festival" of music films in the summer, outdoors at the Rathaus, with a giant screen, seating, and food and drink kiosks.  I went to see Dee Dee Bridgewater's tribute to Billy Holiday, which was followed by a disappointing concert film of Sonny Rollins live in Vienna.  It was disappointing because, in contrast with Bridgewater's magnetic stage presence and the high production quality of of her film, the Rollins film seemed amateurishly shot and edited, and while Rollins himself hasn't lost much from his technique or sound quality, his ability to play coherent solos seems to have been missing from that particular performance.

Rathaus (City Hall)

The weather did finally clear on my 3rd day in Vienna.  And a highlight was just wandering around the city under blue skies (with not-particularly threatening clouds) (see non-cloudy photos above, and one below).

Vienna Staatsoper (Opera House)

I also went to the "Haus der Musik" - a kind of museum of music.  The first floor is a tribute to the Vienna Philharmonic.  The second floor explores how we hear sound with some electro-acoustic compositions highlighting this, the third is a museum of musican figures from Vienna.  This is where the bulk of the interest was.  A very good (free) audio guide helped you put some of the artifacts and musical development of these composers into context.  Among the items on display were the door of Beethoven's last Vienna apartment, a facsimile of the scratched out title page to his Eroica symphony, and displays of Haydn's commendation letters from France and England.  Also with sections of their own were Schubert, Mahler, Johann Strauss, and getting a little corner were the members of the 2nd Viennese School - Schoenberg, Berg and Webern.  The top floor of the museum was sort of a sonic playground that didn't really do much for me, and of course the museum shop.  All in all, a great little museum, and, since I went during their half-price hours (5-9pm on Tuesdays), a great value. 

Next stop: Slovenia.

Innsbruck/Zell am See pt. 2

Innsbruck/Zell am See pt. 2

After my ascent of Hafelekar with Peter, the weather went downhill just as fast as we did (we took the cable car and train).  The rain started at the peak and continued the rest of that day, and on into the next.

Needless to say, my shoes had seen better days.  I went back to my hostel and was very glad that I had brought a pair of sandals with me.  While not providing any warmth, at least I had an alternative to my hiking shoes for the couple of days it took for them to dry out.

That night, I met up with Patricia to see an Austrailian folk band touring around Europe called Wishing Well.  I was exhausted, having been up since 7am to go hiking, and this band did not do a particularly good job in keeping me awake.

As my composition teacher, Norman Sherman, once told me . . . it's ok not to like something, but you have to know why.  Well, here's why.

Wishing Well, which consists of a singer/acoustic guitar player, drummer, cellist and two violinists, is basically a singer/song-writer who got 3 good looking women to wear bustiers and skirts while playing extremely boring and sappy lines on their instruments for songs that are pretty slow to begin with.  Oh, and the drummer plays behind the beat, sucking whatever other energy these songs might have had.

I actually feel a little bit sorry for the string players.  I mean, most people who play a string instrument at a high level (and these players didn't display any tuning issues common to weak players) can actually play difficult material.  Having to tour for months, only playing these slow, long lines must get tiresome for these three ladies. 

The actual arrangements of the songs involved one of the string instruments playing a pretty little melody line, and then revert to playing long slow notes.  It was fundamentally like "(Insert popular band name here) with strings" . . . except these guys aren't a popular band.

Enough of my musical snobbism.  The next morning I travelled to Zell am See, which, if it hadn't been raining the entire time I was there, would have been delightful.  I was hoping to do more hiking, and Zell has more than enough to do.  However, my shoes hadn't dried yet (although there was a hair dryer in my Penzion), so I wasn't about to go traipsing around the mountains to have wet, soggy shoes for as long as it took them to dry in Vienna.

I was very pleased with the place I stayed at in Zell -- Haus Haffner. 

This is a little B&B (although in Germany and Austria, they're called Penzions) run by a carpenter and his family.  It was very comfortable, with a nice soft, warm bed, a sink in the room, and even a TV.  For my first TV watching in over a month, I chose to flip between American films dubbed into German. 

Observations about Zell am See:  It seems like a resort town.  There's not much to do if the weather is shitty.  I found a movie theatre, but just about everything else was geared towards the outdoors - skiing in the winter, and hiking and climbing in the summer.  However, I'll have to come back another time in the hopes of finding better weather!  For now, these will have to w(h)et your appetite...

Innsbruck/Zell am See pt. 1

So my experiences in Austria so far have been mixed.

I'm still getting used to the Austrian accent (but now I understand why Arnold Schwartzenegger speaks English the way he does), but my German is getting me further and further.  On the train yesterday from Innsbruck to Zell am See, I had a conversation with a young trombone player almost entirely in German.  At this point, I'm less and less fearful of my ability to read and translate (with the help of a dictionary) some intriguing books about Klezmer and the Klezmer revival that I've stumbled upon here.  One appears to be particularly useful a book about blending of Klezmer and Jazz.  I will also most likely have some interviews to translate portions of into English, and again, having spent 3 weeks in German speaking countries has really helped the language skills.

My first day in Innsbruck was very nice... I managed to get to the hostel (Jugendherberge Innsbruck), which is all the way out on the outskirts of town (a 10-15 minute bus ride), and dropped off my stuff, and then returned to town to do some sightseeing.  Good thing I did.  That blue sky you see in my pictures on Facebook (and the select photo below) hasn't been seen since.

I discovered that Innsbruck is a very small town.  With a population of around 125,000, and not much real estate to go around (crammed in a valley between mountains), it's also fairly expensive.  Gone are my days of $5 full meals.  Parts of Innsbruck are also pretty swanky, with high class shops lining the main shopping drag of Maria-Theresastrasse.

Even my personal tour guide, Patricia, was a little ho-hum about the town.  We eschewed the "New Orleans Jazz Festival" (which, walking by, didn't sound exactly New Orleans-y) for a quiet bar to get a drink in. 

But I didn't come to Innsbruck for the museums or the shopping.  I came for the Alps.  Unfortunately, by the time I was ready to hit the mountains, the weather looked like this:

I joined Peter, a Czech IT specialist who was in town on business, on the way up the mountain and eventually we got off the road on our ascent to Seegrube (about 1900m above sea level - and 1100m above where we got off the train).  This route led us to a rough trail up the mountain through a corridor in between clutches of forest.  We wound our way up and up, not really being able to see much.  After over an hour (and some heaving breathing), we realized we were getting close to something.  The clouds cleared slightly to reveal .... a hut!  We went that-a-way and the clouds cleared a bit more -- it was the cable car!  We could see Seegrube!  We scrambled up the last bit, and eventually realized that we went the last 500m of our ascent almost directly up the mountain, rather than on the roads.  Then we took the cable car to Hafelekar, and went the remaining 10 minutes or so to the peak on foot.  Here's me at the summit... about 2330m.

With this crowning achievement, dear reader, I shall leave you for now.  But stay tuned, I'll blog the remainder of my stay in Innsbruck and Zell am See shortly.

Munich

I’ve heard and read people call Munich one of the most “liveable” cities in Germany.  And I agree.  It not only has a type of fairy tale charm in the old sections of the city, but the Bavarian pace and modern infrastructure make it a pleasure to navigate and explore. 

Munich’s public transport system of U-bahns (subways), S-bahns (commuter rails), trams, and buses put Toronto’s TTC to shame, and it’s not only fast and efficient, but cheap.  I purchased day tickets from the ticket machines.   For just over 5 Euros, I could hop on and off as often as I liked, all day long. 

Munich, like Amsterdam, is a cyclist’s heaven.  Every road has dedicated bike lanes, and pedestrians need to be aware of their surroundings to make sure that there aren’t cyclists bearing down on them.  All in all, however, if you pay attention, you won’t get gored by a bike. 

I have a saying these days when travelling.  “Turn around.”  In some of these great cities, if you don’t turn around and look behind you (i.e., staying so focused on where you’re going), you could miss a great piece of architecture, or something interesting happening.  There were several times in Munich that I was afforded a better view or sight, just by seeing the city from a different angle. 






So this was all good . . . but I did have a very disappointing experience with the Youth Hostel I was staying at.  Haus International seemed a bit more tame than the place I stayed for a night when I was there last year, since it was not even close to Hostel Row, right by the Hauptbahnhof (main train station).  Well, it seems like this place is a hotbed for organized tours of teenagers (and slightly older), and it also has a disco in the basement pumping out the beats all night long.  Oh, and it had tiled walls that reflected and amplified every sound so that a door slamming was like a shotgun and a drunk teenager was shouting every few minutes....

On another note, I’ve discovered that travelling solo offers many opportunities to meet other people if one is just a little more outgoing than they were at home.  However, it’s also easy to stay within one’s self and feel lonely on the road.  I consider myself lucky that my first few weeks here in Europe have afforded me the opportunities to meet people at workshops and festivals (in Weimar and Krakow) that I can actually meet up with later on down the road.  Additionally, my previous European and klezmer travels have also made me friends in far flung places.

Munich is more than a collection of individual sites for me.  It is the home of Andrea Pancur, a wonderful Yiddish singer that I met at KlezKamp this winter.  Her musical group, Federmentsh (which performs Yiddish songs from the 1950s to the present), was performing last night (July 21) at a café.  Andrea performed as a duo, with accordionist Franka Lampe, who I had also met at Yiddish Summer Weimar.  In other words, this trip to Munich offered me a chance to hang out with Franka and Andrea some more, interview Franka for my research, and see the reduced version of Federmentsh in action. 

Federmentsh brought up some interesting points.  Most of the arrangements of songs are Franka’s, with traditional klezmer tunes weaving in and out of the Yiddish song sections.  It’s an interesting juxtaposition of the instrumental dance genre with the rather new Yiddish songs.  Both Franka’s accordion talents, and Andrea’s vocal virtuosity were definitely on display last night.

So what else did I do in Munich?  I …

-  visited the Kaufingerstrasse and Marienplatz, seeing the pedestrian heart of old Munich. 

- Drank beer with Franka and Andrea

- Visited the Pinakothek die Moderne – the modern art museum, with an excellent exhibition of Neo Rauch (a German painter).

- Had lunch in the beer garden in the Viktualienmarkt – the farmer’s market of Munich.  Farmer’s market is a bit of an understatement.  It’s a farmer’s market in a town that loves their beer and Wurst.  I sat down and had my lunch with 4 strangers from Trier – 3 women who were there together and one man who was waiting, drinking and eating while his daughters were shopping.

- Interviewed Franka and went to see the concert.

I’m sure I could spend much more time in Munich, but it’ll have to wait for another trip.  I’ve recently arrived in Innsbruck, where I shall do some hiking, and meet up with Patricia, a new friend I met in Krakow at the festival there (through Krystof, a PhD student at the Jagjellonian University … pardon my spelling). 

One thing that my adventures in klezmer over the last 10 years is that klezmer is one big community.  From Sherry Mayrent in Hawaii, all the way to Chitoshi, a Japanese clarinetist who was in my ensemble in Weimar, there are new friends all around the world!

Travel Tips

I've been on the road now for 3 1/2 which puts me about halfway through my adventures in Klezmer.  For those travellers among you who may do a similar trip which involves a fair amount of backpacking, I have some tips below.

#1: Take care of your feet.  Napoleon said that an army marches on its stomach.  Napoleon was douche bag.  Any backpacker knows that time spent walking is not only time spent moving from point A to point B, but it is one of the best ways to see the sights.  If you can't walk, options get smaller and smaller.  Now for a little bit of promotion. 

On my European trip last summer, I took a pair of Sketchers that felt more comfortable than any of the hiking shoes I tried on.  In Amsterdam, a combination of a bad blister and banging the bottom of my foot on a step at the hostel I was at made things pretty difficult and painful for a few days. 

This time, I wasn't making the same mistake.  I bought a pair of Salomon light hiking shoes and I couldn't be happier.  I have not had 1 blister, or any kind of foot or leg pain.  I have even been running distances of  5+ km  4-5 times a week in these shoes without any pain beyond the usual aches.  TAKE CARE OF YOUR FEET!

#2: NEVER miss an opportunity to use a clean, quiet bathroom.  Museums and galleries are particularly good for this.

#3: NEVER miss an opportunity to charge electronic appliances.

#4: NEVER miss an opportunity to get WIFI.

#5: I'm too old to stay in 10-bed hostel rooms anymore.  That's not a tip.  Just a realization I've come to.  After almost no sleep in Krakow the last night (with a few real good snorers), I don't think I can take it anymore.  I need a solid 6-7 hours of sleep a night, and have no patience for that kind of nonsense anymore.

#6: PACK LIGHTLY!

Those are my tips for now.  If I have more, I'll add them in a separate post.

For more on my Munich experience (including a Yiddish music concert), and a different kind of hostel hell, check back soon.  I'll probably post it from Innsbruck if I find a decent internet connection there.

East or West?

In today's united Germany, Weimar is a very interesting place.  Last year when I was here for just a couple of days, I only had a chance to see the Weimar that most people see - the one full of history: the birthplace of Schiller and Goethe, the place where Bach worked, home of the Bauhaus and the short-lived Weimar Republic. 

This is the Weimar that the tourists come to see, and from what I can tell, there are two kinds - the old and the young.  The older tourists seem to be retirees here on tours.  The younger ones are either here with their families, or with their school groups wandering through the city centre during the day.  This part of town, is quite lovely, with cobblestone pedestrian roads winding their way in and out, 19th century buildings, a lovely grand old theatre, modern shops and great places to get an Eis (Ice Cream cone . . . 1 Euro or less per scoop).  My favourite is the Dark Chocolate Ice Cream (or Bitter Shokolade Eis) at Eiscafe Giancarlo.  In my mind, the city centre combines both the old and the new in a very livable place.

In my longer stay here this time, I'm actually getting to see the other part of Weimar - the legacy of the years under communism.  I'm currently staying with 3 university students in West Weimar - what I call the "communist quarter."  Not only is this part of town filled with the concrete apartment blocks that typify the homes of the workers, but even the streets are named after Eastern-bloc capitals.  Moskauer Street leads to Budapester Street, then Warschauer Street and Prager Street., where I'm staying.  One of the students I'm staying with, Katrin, listens to DDR pop music from the 80s, displaying what they call "Ostalgia" (Ost being German for East).

This experience has reminded me that things haven't always been so rosy for the Eastern countries in Europe, and while things have changed, it's still only been less than 20 years since the reunification, and it will definitely take at least another generation for all of Germany to feel like one country again. 

On Linguistic Overload

I have come to really admire Europeans and their linguistic agility.  Many of the people at these workshops speak 4 or 5 languages quite well, if not fluently.  For example, Fausto, a saxophonist at the advanced instrumental workshop is French, lives in Italy, speaks excellent English (he'll be attending my alma matter, NEC in September), as well as German.  I'm sure there are other languages in there too, but it's pretty impressive the way that he's not exactly an exception.  The Dutch people speak at least some combination of Dutch, German, English, French and Hebrew. 

My poor North American brain is not equipped to handle this type of dexterity.  I have been experiencing linguistic overload.  Conversing in English and German was tricky at times (although my German is definitely getting better).  Now there are several French musicians and dancers here.... and Helene, upon hearing that I was from Toronto, immediately came over to me and started up a conversation in French. (Helene is pictured below, balancing a water bottle on her head).

So now I'm speaking in at least 3 different languages most days, and it's enough to fry your brain.  When searching for a word in one language, it frequently comes to mind in 2 others, and by the end of the day, it's nice to sit quietly and write a bit in English!

Weimar So Far.....

We've had a changeover in Weimar from the Advanced Instrumental Workshop for a new one for Dance Teachers and Dance Musicians.  I'll sum up some thoughts on the conclusion of the Instrumental Workshop, and then talk about the beginning of this new workshop.

We finished up the first workshop with a road trip to Postdam to play a concert at an insanely big church for a conference on Jewish music in Germany.  Yes, I know. Jewish music in a ridiculously huge church. I get the irony. 

We played a very successful concert of very difficult music. . . Since the workshop was focused on non-dance genres of klezmer music, it was not the usual upbeat, peppy tunes an audience familiar with klezmer was used to.  And it was long.  Not only did our student ensembles play, but many of the faculty members performed as well.  All in all, it was a well played, very professional concert, considering that the student performances were all prepared within a week.

Personally, I played in Steve Greenman and Pete Rushevsky's ensemble, playing music written by the two of them, reflecting Yiddish Summer Weimar (YSW)'s commitment to creating new music that reflects the influences of other musical genres, but also within the traditional styles. 

Unfortunately, this is the only picture of Steve or Pete that I have (this is Steve).  Since he's still around, I'll get a better one.

Our ensemble was an interesting mix, but rather representative of the instrumentation here.  Lots of clarinets, tons of violins, and a couple of tzimbls and accordions and basses.  In our group, among the students, we had 3 violins, 2 clarinets, and a tzimbl.  It really brought to the fore the challenges of creating an interesting arrangement with primarily melody instruments.  It's enough to say that all of the violinists played at least a little bit of an accompanying role, and the clarinets were given plenty of opportunity to lay out (not play) to make sure we didn't obliterate the violins and tzimbl.  We played some really beautiful songs, and if you catch KlezFactor in some upcoming shows, you might catch Steve's Gas Nign, which we're definitely going to have to play.

The new workshop is very different.  In an attempt to increase the communication between dancers and musicians, this workshop is designed to let members of each group know just what they would like to see and hear to be more responsive to one another.  I'll let you know how things go, but it looks like the different groups are still quite separate and are still trying to find that common ground.

I'll be following up this entry with another one on Linguistic Overload.  Until then!

Klezmer Intensity

It's been a while since I've blogged, mainly because of the packed schedule here at Yiddish Summer Weimar.  Basically, every day between 9:30 am and 11pm, there's klezmering all the time, except for lunch and dinner breaks....

It's actually really fascinating, with Zev Feldman giving daily lectures (see above, with Georg Brinkmann translating into German), working with great musicians, and getting to practice my German.  Comparing YSW with KlezKanada and KlezKamp, there are some huge differences.  First of all, almost everyone is European.  Actually, the one exception is Shaun Williams (apologies if I spell your name wrong), who is American, but living in Ukraine at the moment. 

The second difference is that there are very few Jews here, with the exception of most of the faculty.  It's an interesting cross section of musicians, but the connection to religion is much less here.  Part of that is probably because there are fewer Jewish people, and especially fewer observant Jewish people, and therefore, there needs to be no concessions made.  However, Alan and the faculty are very conscious of this and make a much greater effort to ground the music in Ashkenazic Jewish history and tradition.  The exploration of non-dance genres (this year's theme) allows for an exploration of the now extinct Ashkenazic Jewish wedding music in a way that ties closely to the religious traditions.

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It is now Thursday night after the jam session.  I'm exhausted, but no more so than usual.  I have now hit what I call the "klezmer wall".  All the tunes start to sound the same.  Thank god I have my iPod, which allows me to at least listen to non-klezmer music when I run in the morning. 

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This concludes today's somewhat scattershot blog entry.  We'll see how often I get to update over the next week and a half.  Until then, tschuss!

Poles don't Jaywalk

Flying into Krakow was an interesting experience unlike others I've had flying into cities of a significant size.  Looking out the window of the airplane, I saw huge concrete buildings like giant bricks plunked down all over the outskirts of Krakow.  The remnants of the communist regime, these residential blocks certainly don't inspire the awe of a traveller approaching a city like New York or Vancouver.   Even the skyline of Brussels (however much I could see) had some interest to it.  With Krakow, just these concrete bricklike things. 

That's not the only remnant of the communist regime that I've noticed here.  First of all, one can go to Nova Huta, a suburb with an industrial complex where one can bask in the glory of the workers and the party.  Another remnant is the "bar mleczny" - a cafeteria style eatery that continues to be subsidized by the goverment, with these subsidies dating back to the communist days.  I went into one yesterday while walking around the Old Town, and was treated to a cheap, satisfying mean of ghoulasz, potatoes and a salad of pickled vegetables.  Add a Nestea to that, and you get a meal for a little more than $5.

Whether it's a holdover from communist times or not, the beer in Krakow is also far cheaper than ordering a draught back home, or in most of Europe.  Walk into any bar and ask for a piwo and you'll get 1/2 a litre of a local lager.  While cold and drinkable, I'm looking forward to getting to Weimar on Sunday and sitting back with a nice glass of dunkel (dark beer).  Unfortunately, the German dunkels won't cost $2.50.

If you're still reading and wondering why I've titled this blog "Poles don't Jaywalk" is because this is what I believe to be the most interesting sign of a post-communist country.  For anyone who comes from a big city in the north-east of North America, jaywalking is as natural as avoiding taxis while on a bike.  If there's a gap in the cars, you cross!  If you need to get across the street and there's no crossing in sight, you cross! 

In Poland, if the light is red, and there are no cars coming, they wait.  And wait. And wait. And when the light is green, they go.  Did the police in communist times target Jaywalkers with fines, or worse?  Or was the population so afraid of breaking any kind of law that this fear manifested itself in a behaviour that is so unusual to the North American psyche?

So that's today's blog.  Remnants of communism in Krakow in 2010.  Just remember two things.  That little dish in the store right next to the cashier is where you put the money, and they put your change (they never hand your change directly to you).  And Poles don't Jaywalk.

Jewish life in Poland

I spent this morning touring the synagogues of Krakow.  Some are still being used as synagogues, while others are now community spaces, or museums.  This is the Krakow that my grandfather grew up in, and there have been Jews in this city for almost 1000 years.

It made me muse about what the Jewish homeland actually is.  Where is my home as a Jew?  Is it Israel?  While I have numerous relatives there, our family doesn't go back there any longer than 1948.  Is our home here in Poland?  Well, it certainly is historically, but there is no emotional connection, and no real remnant of  a Jewish life that is actually a direct line from what my grandparents experienced before the war.  What Jewish culture there is here is actually imported -- Lubavitchers, a Chief Rabbi of Galicia who comes over from the US for the high holidays, a JCC paid for by Prince Charles of England.

My Jewish homeland, then, is actually Toronto.  While my family's roots are only there since 1948, it is the place i grew up, and as one would expect, the place of one's childhood is very deeply imprinted.

Today, I also conducted some kind of a paper chase.  I looked in a couple of archives here in Krakow for records of my grandfather's family.  I'm waiting for a little more information from home that might actually lead to some success.

Finally, I'd just like to mention a little bit about the street food in Krakow.  What is it?  Bagels.  Yup. They have little bagel stands where you can buy one for about 1.3 Zlotys (about 40 cents Canadian -- Happy Canada Day, by the way). 

Also popular are Zapiekanki, which are kind of a cross between pizza and a submarine sandwich (or hoagie, if that's what they call them in your neck of the woods).  I'll try to have some pictures a little later, but they're all over the Plac Nowy in Kazimierz.  They're about a foot long half of a bun, toasted with mushrooms, cheese, and choices of other toppings and sauces.  They start at 5 zlotys, and they are probably the cheapest meal you can find here!  And they are tasty!  For the record, I had one with spicy sauce and green onions.

Brave Old World

As far as my research work goes, Tuesday was the culmination of this trip to Krakow.  I was afforded the opportunity to interview Janusz Makuch, the founder of the Krakow Jewish Cultural Festival.  He did not disappoint at all.  His zeal and passion for bringing Jewish culture back to Krakow is unquestionable, and it is my belief that he was able to get this festival off the ground in 1988 due to his charisma and his ability to inspire people with his vision.

Last night was also the Brave Old World concert.  If you don't know who they are, they are one of the groups that has constantly challenged the boundaries of what the klezmer was, and their program last night showed off their virtuosic flexibility.  All four members exceeded expectations (including Michael Alpert, who sounded quite hoarse).  Particularly in fine form were Alan Bern (whose birthday it was yesterday) and Kurt Bjorling.  Some of their duet playing was fearless - unafraid to clash melodically, yet doing so in tasteful and exploring dissonance in beautiful ways.  In many people's eyes, this music can be difficult and doesn't conjure the nostalgia that many people come to klezmer for.  For others, it epitomizes where klezmer can go when placed in the hands of musicians who are both steeped in tradition, and are willing to go to new places with it.

This second notion is what the Krakow festival is built on.  Not only looking where has contemporary Jewish culture come from, but asking where is it going.

Krakow and the first day

After the physical demands of travel - trying to sleep on an overnight flight, waiting for the connecting flight in Brussels, trying to sleep on a 2 hour flight in bright daylight from Brussels to Krakow, and the train rides and short hike to get from the airport to "Hostel Atlantis" - all following a sleepless night in Montreal, I was pretty beat upon arrival yesterday.

I did manage to squeeze in a nap before catching the Jamie Saft Trio concert at Tempel Synagogue last night.  The concert really made me think about the nature of what we call and consider "Jewish Music."  Saft, who records music under John Zorn's Tzadik record label's Radical Jewish Culture series, programmed a concert of music by him, Zorn and Bob Dylan.  The compositions were simple in nature, and conformed highly to the standard jazz format of "head-solos-head" (for the most part).  The musical content for most songs also could not be considered to draw on Klezmer modes or other typical Jewish melodic conventions.

So what makes music Jewish?  Is the fact that the composer is Jewish enough?  Zorn himself disuptes this notion: "I do not and have never espoused the idea that any music a jew makes is
Jewish music." But if one examines the musical content of the songs that Saft played, and the styles in which he played them, one would find "Jewish Music" to have been lacking.  Curt Sachs is often quoted as saying that Jewish music is "music which is performed by Jews, for Jews, and as Jews."  While Saft's performance satisfies the two of Sachs's criteria, it certainly comes up short for the second - most of the audience last night was made up of non-Jewish Poles.

This morning I interviewed festival founder Janusz Makuch, who made it very clear that the mandate of the Krakow Jewish Cultural Festival is to return a living Jewish culture to Krakow.  The question remains then, as to what Jewish Culture is.  Makuch has been making a conscious effort to include all Jewish culture, and not merely Ashkenazic. Because, in my humble opinion, Saft's concert from last night lacked any real strong Jewish musical content, I have concluded that it is merely his association with Zorn and the Radical Jewish Culture series that has not only put him on Makuch's radar, but in the "Jewish Music" category.  However, I say this not being entirely familiar with his entire oevre.  Saft may very well have an extensive body of music that displays a much greater connection to the sounds that we consider "Jewish," and have then chosen music for this particular concert to be more "straight-ahead jazz" in orientation.

Whew. And you thought this would be a light and entertaining read.  That's what you get for reading a PhD student's blog.

Thoughts about Krakow itself (although I've only really seen the Jewish section - Kazimierz) . . . It's very pretty, although it's definitely not as well preserved (or maintained) as somewhere like Prague.  These two cities invite comparison because, although they're not comparable in size, neither was destroyed during World War Two, so both are in the fairly unique position to show off their medieval (and more recent) spendour.  While Prague has been spit-shined to a high gloss, Krakow's age shows.  Dingy-ness shows in the buildings in Kazimierz, and during the morning, the place seems like a ghost town, but at night, things come alive with pubs, bars, the central market, cafes, restaurants, and a bustling nightlife, especially during the festival.  It also appears that the Jewish Cultural Festival is a big deal around town, with lots of advertising, even in the Old Square section of town...

Well, that will wrap it up for now.... tonight is Brave Old World!

So it begins...

The adventures in klezmer have begun...

Yesterday was a busy day, leaving Toronto, arriving in Montreal, enjoying the awesomeness that is the jazz festival...

Jaro (klezfactor's guitarist extraordinaire) and I saw a great show by Alex Cuba, featuring our drummer du jour, Max Senitt.

Our show was a lot of fun, with a fantastic audience. There were Ghetto Shul regulars, Montreal people, as well as people up from the US enjoying the jazz fest. We rocked through our set with our little power quartet (the travel sized version of the band) and the audience was very appreciative!

So many thanks to Leibish and Dena at the Ghetto Shul!

On a lighter note, Nozen, the band following us, featured a bassist who is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, a true doppelgänger for Dave MacDougall, our regular drummer. I hope to post a photo within a couple of days!

I recorded an interview with Leslie Lutsky who hosts a Jewish radio show here, and when I have more info on when it airs, I'll pass that along.

The rest of today will consist of wandering around the jazz fest, meeting up with friends, and flying out to Poland (via a short stop in Brussels).

Until next time, from the other side of the Atlantic.

First Blog

This is the first of an series of intermittent recountings of my previous and upcoming adventures in Klezmer. Within, I promise nothing but my own musings which may amuse only me. All opinions are my own. I represent no one (officially). If you want controversy, please ask nicely.

What is Klezmer? Well, it really depends on who you ask. If you've found me here, you probably don't need me to tell you, but if you're some random visitor, here's an attempt at a definition.

Klezmer is primarily Eastern-European Jewish (Ashkenazi) instrumental dance music. I say "primarily" because the current klezmer scene has grown to encompass Yiddish song, dance and other cultural forms. It has also come to see a flourishing of klezmer fusions with other musical styles and genres.

I'm prompted to write a blog because, while I have spent a great deal of the past 10 or so years playing and researching klezmer, I will be spending almost the entire summer of 2010 engaged in klezmer-related activities.  Also, it'll keep my mom off my back for updates on what I'm doing.

My itinerary:

Saturday, June 26, 11pm: Performing original "klezmer-fusion" with my band, KlezFactor, in Montreal, Quebec at the Ghetto Shul during the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Monday, June 28 - Saturday, July 3: enjoying the 20th Jewish Cultural Festival in Krakow, Poland.

Sunday, July 4 - Monday, July 19: study klezmer with some of the best musicians in the world at Yiddish Summer Weimar in beautiful Weimar, Germany.

Tuesday, July 20 - Saturday, August 7: Enjoy Europe! I am trying to find some klezmer jamming opportunities for this time...

Sunday, August 8 - Saturday, August 14: Enjoy KlezFest in London, England.

Monday, August 16 - Sunday, August 22: Study at KlezKanada in Lantier, Quebec, Canada.

Sunday, August 22: Play a wedding with members of KlezFactor at home in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

All in all, a busy summer of travel, learning, and great music, framed by a couple of gigs!

Stay tuned for more.