When European Jews brought klezmer to the U.S., the music became more and more Americanized. Without losing its distinctive beat or Middle Eastern influences, klezmer incorporated swing and jazz elements in the 1930s and '40s. Klezmer Plus!, a New York sextet led by clarinetist Sid Beckerman and tenor saxman Howard Lees, recalls the klezmer of the 1940s and '50s, when one might have heard Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw as well as traditional Yiddish music in a Jewish-American home. (Beckerman is, in fact, the son of the respected Jewish musical traditionalist Shloymke Beckerman, who recorded for Columbia in the 1920s). Loose, improvisatory and clearly jazz-influenced, this incredibly infectious music should be experienced by both jazz enthusiasts and admirers of Jewish-American culture. ~ Alex Henderson

Recorded at mixed in February and March 1988 at GB Sound, Bayside, New York.

Personnel: Henry Sapoznik (tenor banjo); Sid Beckerman (clarinet); Howie Leess (tenor saxophone); Ken Gross (trumpet); Pete Sokolow (piano); Si Salzburg (drums).

Audio Mixer: Gady Bodinger.

Liner Note Authors: Henry Sapoznik; Pete Sokolow.

Recording information: GB Sound, Bayside, NY (02/1988-03/1988).

Illustrator: Harry Bolick.

Personnel: Sid Beckerman (clarinet), Howie Leess (tenor saxophone), Pete Sokolow (piano), Ken Gross (trumpet), Tommy Abruzzo (bass), Si Salzburg (drums) and Henry Sapoznik (tenor banjo).

Track Listing:

        1.     Shtetl Medley: In Odess'/Yas                             
        2.     Tish Niggun                             
        3.     Freylekhs in D                             
        4.     Ydsh Thtr Medly                             
        5.     Shloymke & Nifty                             
        6.     Ot Azoy                             
        7.     Sidney's Eygene Bulgars                             
        8.     Freylekhs in D Minor                             
        9.     Doina Shiroh                             
        10.     Shiroh                             
        11.     Husid'l Medley                             
        12.     Waltz Medley                             
        13.     Dave Tarras' Bb Bulgars