New King Of Klezmer Clarinet

This album is a tribute to Naftule Brandwein, the brilliant and crazy Klezmer clarinet player who immigrated into the USA in the early 20th century, self-proclaimed « King of Klezmer Clarinet » — a challenge that Yom has taken on with both talent and humour. Featuring Yom (clarinet) - Denis Cuniot (piano) - Alexandre Giffard (tapan) - Benoît Giffard (tuba) “A great artist — the beginning of a legend… I have known Yom since October 1997. He was 17 and a half when I first hear him play Klezmer music. We have worked, rehearsed, preformed and recorded together since 2000. All these meetings have been unique, unforgettable experiences: I was in the presence of an exceptionally gifted young musician, who kept on refusing the narcissist, ‘commercial’ exploitation of his outstanding gifts and abilities. An artist always searching, doubting, asking me to play for hours on this or that rhythm, song or melody; genuinely creative, reaching for the inaccessible, for poetry, aiming to find his truth; suffering to be so at ease with his fingers, his mouthpiece, his perfect ear. To him, virtuosity is nothing if it is not virtuous. Yom continues his work and research into Klezmer music, the music my life evolves around, and I can attest to his high artistic requirements, his ethics and mysticism. I am deeply moved and disrupted by everything he plays, by everything at play on this album. I am an ‘activist’ of Klezmer music and a clarinet-lover, yet it is obvious to me that I am in the presence of a work where neither Klezmer music nor the clarinet have pride of place: a spirited, powerful work of art, faithful to Yiddish roots and soul, yet reaching such a level of expression, virtue and mysticism that it also pertains to universal erudite music. For his rare gifts, his relentless work and his quest for perfection and expression, I am sure that Yom will make a deep imprint on the recent history of Klezmer ‘revival’, all over the world and for a very long time. This is the birth of a master, the birth of a legend.” (Denis Cuniot, Klezmer pianist)