The acclaimed Berkeley-based trio, Veretski Pass and Joel Rubin have been collaborating since 2013 on various musical projects. Most recently, the group recorded The Magid Chronicles, www.magidchronicles.com, a gorgeous, unified work centering on the pieces collected by Sofia Magid, the Jewish ethnographer who worked intensively to document Jewish music in Belarus and Ukraine during Stalin’s regime in the 1920s and 30s. Their previous project, Poyln: A Gilgul (Poland: A Metamorphoses, www.poyln.com), celebrates the interface between Polish and klezmer music and received a 5-star review from the British world music magazine, Songlines.
What separates Veretski Pass from other klezmer groups is their taste for surprise, consisting of odd phrases, striking harmonic twists, swirling ornaments and sudden unisons. As much as the group excavates ethnic recordings, they weave their own compositions and improvisations into the suites, sometime as the centerpiece of the suite and other times as connective tissue. Those who know klezmer music will hear something familiar in these moments, but be struck by their striking originality as well.
There’s a case to be made for the ingenuity of veterans. The members of Veretski Pass and Joel Rubin have played with each other in various constellations for over 30 years. The result is a kind of musical telepathy, whereby every melodic left turn is met with an answer by someone in the group. At times, it has the density of a jam session, and at other times is as gentle and sparse as a midnight lullaby.
“This is a valuable treasure, brilliantly reburnished” (Simon Broughton, Songlines)
“As a quartet, the group brings together a nearly unsurpassable level of expertise in the realm of historical performance practice.” (Jazz ‘n’ More)
“sometimes wistful, sometimes exuberant, but always expertly played … One of the most beautiful tunes is ‘Gedankn’ (Thanks)… It’s played by Rubin on the clarinet with subtle flourishes, but drawing out the emotion with every note. This is a memorable and important album from true masters of the klezmer repertoire.” (Simon Broughton, Songlines)
“in exquisiter Weise zu neuem Leben erweckt: archaische Töne, weder antiquiert noch verstaubt.
“exquisitely brought back to new life: archaic sound, neither antiquated nor dusty” (Christoph Wagner, Neue Zeitschrift für Musik)
“just about the most exquisite violin, clarinet, accordion, tsimbl, or bass cello you’ll ever hear.” (Ari Davidow, The Klezmer Shack)