Re: Lessons With Andy Statman
Originally Posted by
DavidKOS
I think his Klezmer mandolin is the most underappreciated part of his vast musical skills. There are many great Bluegrass and American style mandolin players....but very few Klezmers players have his skills.
Of course he was Dave Tarras's prize clarinet pupil. But his Klezmer mandolin is by far one of the best Jewish styles since Dave Apollon.
Nearly 15 years ago, when on the same day, he released two albums --- East Flatbush Blues and Awakening from Above --- with the same bass player and drummer. The first is Statgrass mandolin, and the second is mainly Klezmer clarinet with mandolin on one track. Both are tremendous albums. Who else could have done that?
A few years later, he released his Old Brooklyn album, where he plays clarinet and mandolin on some original tunes and some traditional ones done untraditionally, like this one with Paul Shaffer on keyboards.
Originally Posted by
Jim Garber
I used to see Andy often when I lived in New York City. I took a couple of lessons with him but I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to learn from him. I still am not sure. He is a real nice guy though.
Andy has a strong belief in the "left hand = brain / right hand = soul" approach to playing music. If you want to work on your left hand, I think that he is the teacher you go to after you have learned the rules and are ready to learn how to sound incredibly musical as you break them. If you want to work on your right hand, fasten your seat belt and enjoy the ride with him.
still trying to turn dreams into memories
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