global shtetl band
On the unusual traces of klezmer music
The three musicians of the "global shtetl band" link Jewish music
to Salsa, Tango, Rumba, and Reggae
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jpeg-file of the article (in German)
It's an old story that the shtetl has become a global place.
After the second world war, a new and vital klezmer scene has developed especially in the US,
integrating freely manifold styles into the traditional jewish dancing music.
This kind of music is now being played the world over -- also by non-Jewish musicians.
The global shtetl band, however, follows the traces of Jewish music to places where even insiders
would not expect it.
In their "kukaratshas", the trio formed by the Nuremberg-based singer, double bass and cittern player Markus Mueller
combines Jewish music with Salsa, Chacha, Tango, Rumba or Reggae to a vital, utterly danceable mixture.
Together with drummer and percussionist Daniel Piccon from Feucht, and Munich-based polish accordeon player Bartek Stanczyk
they form a band of highly competent and vivid musicians.
colourful mixtures
Of course the three have not invented this kind of style:
When at the middle of 20th century many Yiddish speaking immigrants from eastern Europe settled in the New World,
the mixed their music with what they found there: Swing and Latin American rhythms.
Artists like Shifra Lerer or Seymour Rechtzeit were at that time stars on the Yiddish Broadway, nowadays
only few people remember them.
Aside form New York, especially Miami developed into a centre of this Latin-Klezmer-Style, where
Irving Fields played Jewish music with Latin rhythms.
Similar things also happened in Cuba and Argentina.
"Actually, I am not fond of mixtures" says Markus Mueller. "Most of the mixtures that can be heard today
are superficial. That does not tell me anything. For me it is important to anchor things deeper,
I'm trying to find real life and individual experiences in these musical melting-pots."
In some way, 34 year old Markus Mueller is traditionalist, musicologist and innovator at the same time:
Having grown up in Saarbruecken, he studied psychology and Yiddish in Trier, now speaking Yiddish almost fluently.
His Yiddish Lector took him into his band, which gave him the opportunity to come into direct contact with Jewish culture.
"At the university, you learn a lot about people who have already died. But suddenly, playing this music,
I found myself together with people who really live this culture."
The idea for the "global shtetl band", then, came from an american friend, who had sent him a few old 78's, saying:
"This could be a great project for you!".
At that time, Mueller already lived in Nuremberg. Being a very active part of the music scene here,
he could quickly realize the good idea:
Piccon was a fellow musician in "la cascara salsa orquesta", and he had played together with Bartek Stanczyk
in the "klezmer orchestra"
In between, Markus Mueller had traveled to New York in order to research old "kukaratshas" at the Jewish Institute.
But his aim is not to play the old and rare recordings note by note.
He rather wants to capture their spirit and then to carry them over to the present with a new "tam" -- a Yiddish word
that can be roughly translated by "taste" or "esprit".
a multi-talent
So he writes new "old-style" words to old melodies, or he invents new melodies to well known stories.
The global shtetl band is now the 7th musical project of this multi-talent:
Among others, be plays bass with "second line blues band, "la cascara salsa orquesta" and "klezmer orchestra".
Besides, he forms a duo with Yiddish singer Ruth Boguslawski (Saarbrücken) and plays tango.
However, the new band will be the most important project in the future.
After their first, celebrated concert during the "long klezmer night" at villa leon at the end of April --
a concert that, even though the participation of (sub-)accordeonist Dan Kahn had not been rehearsed in advance, turned out
extremely lively and fun --
the band is facing an optimistic future: a cd is scheduled for autumn,
and they plan to experiment with reggae and even jungle-grooves.
Peter Gruner
global shtetl band
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