Pincus and the Pig: A Klezmer Tale | Piotr Ilyitch Tschaikowsky, David / McLaughlin, Michael...

classical music: Pincus and the Pig: A Klezmer Tale | Piotr Ilyitch Tschaikowsky, David / McLaughlin, Michael Dickson Glenn / Harris, ...

classical music:

Pincus and the Pig...

	Pincus and the Pig: A Klezmer Tale Piotr Ilyitch Tschaikowsky, David / McLaughlin, Michael Dickson Glenn / Harris, ... Tzadik, 2004 average customer review:based on 1 review view larger image
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John Zorn's Tzadik label is known for putting out, among other things, a variety of radical Jewish music projects, but there is nothing radical about Pincus And The Pig. Here the Shirim Klezmer Orchestra teams up with noted illustrator and children's book author Maurice Sendak (Where The Wild Things Are) for a decidedly Yiddish retelling of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter And The Wolf. The band (which also did Klezmer Nutcracker) plays a fun style of traditional klezmer with original instrumentation, but it's Sendak who really ups the ante by rewriting the story and narrating it with the hammed-up flair of a favorite Jewish uncle as he tosses in such colorful expressions as "Meshuga" and "Nudnik." (A booklet accompanies the album so listeners and follow along, and there's also a glossary of the terminology.) Sendak also does the artwork, which includes drawings of the characters, and kids even get stickers of the characters. Yes, the kitsch factor on this Bubeleh is up there, but everyone involved seems to be having fun with it, and so should listeners. -- Tad Hendrickson

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clever...funny...and dare I say, rocking?

The concept is quite simple--John Zorn's label, Tzadik, aside from putting out CDs of intriguing music from Japan, also devotes a whole section of its catalog to promoting contemporary Jewish music. Aside from John Zorn's own band, Masada, Tzadik has put out wonderful titles from Jewish composers and music that is deeply connected to (while advancing the cause of) Jewish culture.

This release is no exception. In this, Shirim Klezmer Orchestra work with Maurice Sendak to convert Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" to a klezmer-backed Jewish folktare version, "Pincus and the Pig." The format is all the same--from the instrumental introductions, to the tale being sliced apart by musical interludes, but of course with a Yiddish edge. Sendak himself narrates in the tone of an old storyteller, and he plays with both Yiddish terms and Jewish mannerisms.

While some may look at this disc as a cheapening of Jewish culture in making it fit the form of classical music rather than staying entirely "pure," keep in mind that this is from Tzadik's Radical Jewish Culture series, the philosophy of which is to explore (and expand) the boundaries of Jewish music. This disc, taken as a musical offering rather than cultural one, is just plain fun, with Sendak telling the cossack hunters to "stop shooting everything already," and spitting out some nice Yiddish phrases. Shirim rocks out the klezmer, also in some separate tracks at the end of the CD, and keep the overall tone of this disc lively and avoidant of serious analysis--Pincus and the Pig is a fun, danceable romp even (or should I say especially) for the kids.

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