A conumdrum indeed..

The inherent problem with this on-site blogging thing is that if you are doing your job and having a great time learning and teaching and interacting in this magical enviornmnet, there is no possible way to take a moment out and write about it.

That said, here I find myself listening to Pete Socolow's band during AM2 and showing Louis London a few things about basic HTML code, so I can drop in on the blog if only for a second.

So here's my story of the day:

"He's here....."

We were on the ballroom stage, those of us who had the privilidge of recording with German Goldenshteyn, not but a year ago at this very place, playing a tribute to his memory. About 2 tunes in, the stage lights go wacky; flashing on and off, dimming and then cutting out completely only to come back on again. Absolutely infuriating as I'm reading charts to be certian not to mess up, I glare at Bill Korich the stage manager who is hurridly running around trying to figure out what's happening. No one is messing with the switches or anything, there's what we like to call in Oklahoma a "haint" in the system. No human hand is messing with us onstage tonight.

Alex Kontorovich, who is already pretty damn spooked at the prospect of having to play the role of his mentor onstage turns around to me and says matter of factly, "He's here."

Indeed.

Here with us all.

A gast in shtetl

Andy Statman, the great Klezmer clarinetist/Bluegrass mandolinist is at Kamp for two days to give master classes to advanced music students. Last night he was interviewed by Henry Sapoznik in front of a packed audience in the cabaret. The two have known each other for about 2,000 years and are beginning, like an old married couple, to strangely resemble one another. That's Henry on the left and Andy on the right--or is it?




Another great thing that happens at Kamp is the confluence of different generations. Here the great Klezmer drummer Elaine Hoffman Watts discusses technique with Aaron Alexander, another drum instructor.





Last night was also the German Goldenshteyn memorial concert. Playing German's repertoire, the band that recorded on his CD, led by Alex Kontorovich, started the evening. Later they were joined by about 25 other staff members, all of whom were touched by German as a person and a teacher, and who play his repertoire. It was a fantastic show, and when, about half-way through, Henry invited the audience to get up and dance, dance teacher Steven Weintraub didn't need a second invitation. His enthusiasm for moving to Yiddish music is infectious, and soon the whole crowd was there including my new favorite KlezKamp cutie.