Search - Margot Leverett, Klezmer Mountain Boys :: Margot Leverett & The Klezmer Mountain Boys

I took one for the team

Pharoah S. Wail | Inner Space | 09/20/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"In theory, this should have been a great cd. In reality, you have already seen the 2 stars. Don't waste your money like I did.



The premise behind this cd was taking some musicians from the Jewish end of the musical spectrum and some musicians from the bluegrass end of the musical spectrum, getting together and finding this great intersecting world of common ground and playing a lovely hybrid of the styles. Sounds nice, and it suckered me in to give it a try because I knew the results could be beautiful if it worked. It didn't work.



I've had this disc for several months now and have come back to it while in different moods, at different times, etc... and my conclusion is that this premise could work, but never with this band.



The musicians comprising this band do not have what it takes to bring this goal to fruition. Some of the time on this disc the beginning half of the tune is bluegrassy, then they pick the tempo up and shift into a Jewish melody. That's not melding the 2 styles together into a unified whole, that's just playing 2 styles back to back, and this band isn't even very good at either style individually. At other times Margot just plays some bluegrass fiddle cliches on the clarinet. Again, I don't really consider that a melding. That's just playing this or that style on an instrument not traditional to that style. If some guy in a rock band learned a few Jewish melodies and played trite renditions of those melodies on an electric guitar I wouldn't consider him to be revolutionizing the hora.



Another thing I really do not like on this disc is that Margot does that "laughing clarinet" thing way too many times throughout the disc. It is so annoying that during one listen I actually counted how many times. You don't want to know. Once or twice it's cute I guess, but when it happens this often it just feels like a gimmicky cliche she is resorting to because she doesn't really have anything to say melodically with this material. And the mandolinist, Barry Mitterhoff. I knew of him from having to suffer through the band he is in with Jorma Kaukonen, but I hoped he'd be much improved here. Nope. Obviously Jorma likes to tour with people who have as little imagination as does he. Being surrounded by such mind-numbingly bland players almost makes Jorma's constant, tired rehashing of his 11 licks seem interesting. I said almost. Mitterhoff is bluegrass mandolin at its most boring... Jewish mandolin at its most inexpressive.



After hearing this disc a bunch of times now, the simple truth is that this premise should have never even been attempted without Andy Statman (composer, clarinet, mandolin), David Grisman (composer, mando-family instruments), Edgar Meyer (composer, bass), etc...



I know all of this sounds bad, but I am not trying to be hurtful. This is absolutely the best, nicest review I can write about this album."

Great CD!

The D | 02/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is unbelievable! The mixture of Klezmer and Bluegrass is seamless and beautiful. Margot Leverett and the rest of the musicians on this CD are the best of the best.



The only thing better than listening to the CD is seeming them live."