American Klezmer: Its Roots and Offshoots

Part One: Roots

part one Roots This page intentionally left blank One definition for roots in the Oxford English Dictionary is surprisingly apt for klezmer: “the permanent underground stock of a plant from which the stems or leaves are periodically produced.” Culture, too, has its permanent underground stock. Today’s American klezmer music grows out of linguistic, social, and musical stock originally transplanted from Europe. The first part of this book examines the common origins from which later offshoots have sprung. 11 This page intentionally left blank ...