21st-century klezoid band

>> Naftule's Dream take klezmer in a new direction

by MARK SLUTSKY

Crackpot 1920s clarinetist Naftule Brandwein remains one of the most influential figures in the development of North American klezmer music. The self-proclaimed "King of Jewish Music," Brandwein (who would often play wearing a neon sign that read "Naftule Brandwein Orchestra" around his neck) performed a wild, soaring form of klezmer that continues to exert a profound effect on musicians some eight decades after his career peaked. David Harris, trombonist and sometimes-songwriter for Boston klezmer experimentalists Naftule's Dream, makes no bones about their namesake's peculiar influence: "It was sort of our thought that if Naftule Brandwein lived into the 21st century, and was dreaming about the future of klezmer music, perhaps this is where it would go."

Although clearly retaining a recognizable klezmer flavour, the music of Naftule's Dream takes the old form in quite a few new directions. A song might start with a old Jewish melody, break into improvisation, introduce an electric guitar--whatever you want to call it, you likely won't be hearing it at the next bar mitzvah on your social schedule. Harris is reluctant to categorize, saying, "I think what we're doing now in Naftule's Dream couldn't be called klezmer music in a conventional sense. It sort of lacks a specific description. We have a lot of different influences in the band, and among them are jazz, free jazz, contemporary classical music, rock, noise, ambient--there's a lot of different influences, and so we're trying to merge together all these different aspects of what we're doing in a semi-composed, semi-improvisatory setting."

It wasn't always this way. Fifteen years ago or so, Harris and five other musicians formed the Shirim Klezmer Orchestra, an ensemble dedicated to playing klezmer the traditional way. Eventually, they began writing some of their own songs and letting some newer influences slip in, arousing ire among certain audiences. "Some people really enjoyed what we were doing," Harris says, "but other people had expectations about the word 'klezmer.'" So, in an act of creative mitosis, the musicians found themselves in two bands, both with the same six members.

"This turned out to be very freeing, for both bands," Harris notes, "because now we could explore a much wider terrain in Naftule's Dream, while in Shirim we could play really traditional turn-of-the-century Yiddish music and not feel compelled to go beyond an accurate rendition, and be happy at that, and know that we had another place to explore other thoughts and feelings."

At Casa del Popolo on Saturday and Sunday, July 21-22, 9pm, $18