Tuesday, February 4, 1997
Despite the illness of Andy Statman, who led the European folk
band coming to the Veterans Wadsworth Theater Wednesday, fellow
band member David Grisman refuses to let the music fade.By Vanessa
VanderZanden
Daily Bruin Contributor
Dim the lights. Draw the curtains. Turn off the speaker system.
Andy Statman, mandolin and clarinet virtuoso, has taken ill. Fans
who were looking forward to Statman’s performance of Eastern
European folksongs are sure to be disappointed, especially musical
partner and longtime friend David Grisman. But the show must go
on.
"The whole point was for me to play with Andy," says Grisman.
"Now that we’ve set the dates, I’m obliged to play."
On this melancholy note, Grisman takes his quintet to the
Veterans Wadsworth Theater Wednesday. Playing traditional Jewish
music off the album he recorded two years ago with Statman, "Songs
of Our Fathers," the performance includes both age-old Klezmer folk
songs and more recently composed works by the late Rabbi Shlomo
Carlebach. Though Grisman’s forte lies in playing music of a
somewhat different nature, the Eastern European arrangements hold a
special place in Grisman’s heart.
"It goes to a deeper place in my heritage," says Grisman. "Some
of these songs were infused with memories, but partly they’re
enjoyable by having Andy there. I call him the Rabbi. I’m just a
mandolin player, and I’m Jewish."
Statman, on the other hand, knows his Klezmer. Having appeared
in both documentaries and festivals, his unique rendering of
classical material has provided him with a healthy career. This
album with Grisman highlights that musical prowess.
"Unfortunately, Jewish music has become a prisoner of pop music,
as many other musical forms have," Statman related in a previous
interview. "This is an unabashedly Jewish record."
Of course, now that it is uncertain whether Statman will join
the 10-city tour any time soon or the following shows will be
canceled down the line, Grisman’s outlook has turned gloomy.
Statman’s replacement, Fischel Bresler, will take up the slack,
able to fill in only due to a coincidental visit to his father’s
house in the Los Angeles area. Still, Grisman’s decision to hit the
road with "Songs of Our Fathers" depended on Statman’s
participation.
"I love the music, but Andy’s sort of my guide," Grisman
explains. "He’s the Jewish music expert here. Apparently, this
other guy does everything Andy does, but Andy and I were wanting to
play some concerts of what we recorded together."
The album recording session Grisman refers to took place over a
grueling five-day period at Grisman’s own basement recording studio
in his Northern California home. His label, known as "Acoustic
Disc," has birthed 20 recordings in its short, six-year existence.
However, no album has erupted from Dawg studio, as it is
affectionately called, perhaps as speedily as the one produced with
Statman.
"It was just a great experience," Grisman recollects. "We got
some sleep, yeah. If we had more time we could have produced more,
but I like working under pressure. You tend to get more
concentrated. You pour it on."
Maybe Grisman will employ this attitude to help usher him
through Wednesday’s performance. Lacking the support of Statman,
his friend of 30 years, Grisman will have to find some means of
musical clarity in order to focus on the event. Even though the
other four members of the David Grisman Quintet will back up
Grisman’s mandolin expertise, Grisman thinks that playing with
Statman, his former student, would create a smoother, more personal
show.
"I gave him some mandolin lessons when he was 15 and I was 17,"
Grisman remembers of the two musicians’ long-term bond. "We’ve
worked together many times. We made the ‘Mandolin Abstractions’
album about 17 years ago. It was looser, more improvisational than
‘Songs of Our Fathers.’ This one is real structured."
Grisman comes as somewhat of a stranger to the world of formal
music. His homegrown brand of sound, bearing what he calls ‘Dawg,’
blends bluegrass, gypsy, jazz and Latin styles to become its own
artistic expression. After playing the mandolin for over 35 years,
this unique creative explosion allows Grisman to utilize the sounds
various cultures have elicited from the instrument.
"The mandolin is actually in every culture," explains Grisman.
"I use it from Latin to Swing. With Dawg music, I write and concoct
and express my own personal take on it."
Also in control of his record company, he helps decide
everything from upcoming artists on his label to what art will be
shown on the cover. Currently, Enrique Coria will release a
classical guitar album through "Acoustic Disc" as well as appear in
Wednesday’s performance. Yet, Coria’s assistance would seem petty
in comparison to that of Statman’s clarinet and mandolin efforts,
the one aspect of Grisman’s musical ensemble that the mandolin
master can not harness no matter how much power he wields.
"Andy exudes rare musicianship," Grisman relates. "I could do
this show anytime when he gets better."
MUSIC: The David Grisman Quintet performs "Songs of our Fathers"
Wednesday, Feb. 5 at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater. Tickets are
$28, $25, $9 with UCLA student ID. For more information, call
825-2101.
UCLA Center for the Performing Arts
David Grisman will be featured in "Songs of our Fathers" at the
Veterans Wadsworth Theater Wednesday, Feb. 5.