Sidney Beckerman (1919–2007) was an influential

klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

player. He learned the style from his father Shloimke, who was himself a well known klezmer soloist. Sidney played

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

weddings and celebrations in

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and the

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throughout the 1930s. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

ended, he returned to New York and started working for the

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. Upon his retirement in 1982, he was convinced by fellow klezmer musician Pete Sokolow to join the band Klezmer Plus!. A recording of this band in 1989 (with

Howie Leess Howie is a Scottish locational surname derived from a medieval estate in Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. While its ancient name is known as "The lands of How", its exact location is lost to time. The word "How", predating written history, appears t ...

) was named an Outstanding Folk Recording by the

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Sidney was also a founding member of the klezmer music camp Klezkamp. He was inducted into the ''People's Hall of Fame'' in February 1994.[]

References

External links

*
Obituary
in ''Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine'', Autumn, 2007 by

1919 births 2007 deaths American clarinetists Klezmer musicians 20th-century American musicians {{US-clarinetist-stub

See also

References

External links