David Krakauer

DAVID KRAKAUER - PRESS REVIEWS

Selected Quotes for David Krakauer's Live Performances

51st Annual DOWNBEAT Critics Poll: Top Ten RISING STAR clarinetists - DAVID KRAKAUER - Downbeat Magazine, August 2003

“David Krakauer, who is at home in both musics [klezmer and classical] and others, performed the solo clarinet part so pungently and idiomatically that I can’t imagine wanting to hear another soloist play it.” - Terry Teachout, The Washington Post, May 4, 2003 (on one of Mr. Krakauer’s performances of Golijov’s “The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind”)

“Mesmerizing musicality, speed, and articulation infuse his clarinet with power, so much so, that when he puts it down it surely must continue to play.” - Elliott Simon, All About Jazz, Issue No. 24, April 2004

"...Krakauer played with a combination of soulfulness and electrifying showiness" - Allan Kozinn, The New York Times; April 26, 2001

"...a voluble, generous performer, ripping out dazzling phrases with ardent energy." - Howard Mandel, Jazz Times; September 2001

"There is arguably no one today playing klezmer - or any music, for that matter - that is at once as deeply rooted in tradition while at the same time as utterly innovative and in-the-moment as David Krakauer." - Seth Rogovy (author of Essential Klezmer), The Berkshire Eagle; June 5, 2001

"...music of uncontrollable joy fused with irrevocable pathos and nobody plays it better or with more soul than Krakauer and his band Klezmer Madness!..." - Duane Harper Grant, Sequenza/21

"Krakauer's best shots were those that invigorated the old music with strong injections of avant-garde jazz, R&B, hip-hop and other dangerous viruses." - Richard S. Ginell, The Times; October 15

Selected Quotes for David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness! Recording, "Live in Krakow" featuring Socalled

“Adding organic funk rhythms to the snaky melodies, chugging tempos, and celebratory spirit of the tradition, the classically trained bandleader achieves the near impossible: He makes one of the world’s most exuberant song styles – a staple at glass-smashing shindigs like weddings and bar mitzvahs – sound more festive than ever.” - Sam Prestini, SFWeekly, March 17, 2004

“Krakauer’s Klezmer Madness! is the leading klezmer band working today. He has the ability to bridge traditional music with modern sound…music from your great-grandparents getting on the boat to your kid scratching your favorite LPs in the basement.” - Mark Corroto, AllAboutJazz.com, March 2, 2004

“The world of MTV isn’t klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer’s milieu, but if it were, a video for “Table Pounding,” the opening track of Live in Krakow, might include a scene of four black-clad, bearded, traditional-looking Jewish gents cruising the streets of Krakow in a low-riding car…The resulting mix of old with the new is a fascinating brew, filled with the freshness and vibrancy of a spirited, well recorded live set.” - Dan McClenaghan, AllAboutJazz.com, January 15, 2004

Selected Quotes for David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness! Recording, "The Twelve Tribes"

"...Krakauer sounds like somebody who could beat you up without laying a finger on you, just by pointing his clarinet in your direction." - John DeFore, San Antonio Current; June 26, 2003

"...Whether he's delivering a straightforward traditional piece or an offbeat original, "The Twelve Tribes," a collection of traditional klezmer melodies and Krakauer compositions, shows the musician at the top of his game." - Kurt Hoffman, Forward; November 8, 2002

"...clarinetist David Krakauer might well be to klezmer clarinet what Sidney Bechet was to the clarinet in the 1930s, what Jimi Hendrix was/is to the electric guitar and John Coltrane to the saxophone in the 1960s..." - Mark Keresman, JazzReview.com

"Krakauer’s latest is a powerful reminder that in the hands of a really smart musician, no musical genre ever loses its potency..." - George Robinson, Jewish Week

Selected Quotes for David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness! Recording, "A New Hot One"

"The master clarinetist yips and wails through jazz-and-rock inflected klezmer pieces, with electric guitar, accordion--and Lower East Side soul." - *** (three stars), David Gates, Newsweek; March 12, 2001

"...hands-down one of the most exciting clarinetists performing today..." - Jason Verlinde, Amazon.com

"This album is magnificent...those who want Klezmer music to risk being up-to-date...will be ravished." - Philippe Meziat, Jazz Magazine (France); November 2000

"...this hair-raising American clarinetist revives his Klezmer roots with an ingenuity as great as his passion." - Fara C, Jazzman (France); November 2000

Selected Quotes for David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness! Recording, "Klezmer, NY"

"David Krakauer's sensitive artistry brings the repertoire under new light and he communicates an energy that goes beyond limits of creativity. Simply put, he plays the clarinet miraculously." - The Clarinet

Selected Quotes for David Krakauer's Recording with the Kronos Quartet, "The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind"

"David Krakauer's playing...is an outstanding instrumental, musical, and emotional achievement." - Richard Dyder, The Boston Globe; June 5, 1997

"Mr. Krakauer and the Kronos players...give the work a truly gripping performance." - Allan Kozinn, The New York Times; November 6, 1997

"David Krakauer–a tremendous player–rushes madly from the highest to the lowest register of his instrument." - Robert Cowan, Gramophone; June 1997

"The yowling, swirling clarinet of David Krakauer leads the ensemble, and his performance in particular is stunning–he really bends a note to thrilling effect." - Andy Hamilton, Classic CD (UK); July 1997

"...the virtuoso horn part admirably played by David Krakauer." - Bill Tilland, Option; July/August 1997

"The quartet here is supplemented by clarinetist David Krakauer, whose own trio, Klezmer Madness!, have an engaging CD of genre-stretching Jewish music on the Tzadik label...Krakauer makes his clarinet swoop and glide maniacally in and out of sizzling string textures." - Norman Weinstein, The Boston Phoenix; May 23, 1997