Jim Guttmann And His Klezmer Bessarabian Breakdown at Amazing Things Arts Center

After performing with the Klezmer Conservatory Band since its beginnings in 1980 and and performing with klezmer band leaders Margot Leverett, Frank London, Pete Sokolow, Andy Statman and Alicia Svigals, bassist Jim Guttman has taken what he’s learned about klezmer music and created a show that successfully threads klezmer music through his work in other musical genres. The music refers to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Tower of Power visiting the Caribbean, Erroll Garner’s work with Slam Stewart and the rapper Nelly as well as the traditional music of clarinetist Dave Tarras and violinist Leon Schwartz....

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After performing with the Klezmer Conservatory Band since its beginnings in 1980 and and performing with klezmer band leaders Margot Leverett, Frank London, Pete Sokolow, Andy Statman and Alicia Svigals, bassist Jim Guttman has taken what he’s learned about klezmer music and created a show that successfully threads klezmer music through his work in other musical genres. The music refers to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Tower of Power visiting the Caribbean, Erroll Garner’s work with Slam Stewart and the rapper Nelly as well as the traditional music of clarinetist Dave Tarras and violinist Leon Schwartz.

From Carnegie Hall to smoky dives, from Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw to the legendary folk music venue Club Passim in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Jim has played everything from klezmer to classical — and most styles in between. In a remarkable career spanning more than 30 years, he’s performed with a myriad of groups including the Klezmer Conservatory Band, singers Eartha Kitt and Mark Murphy, the Really Eclectic String Quartet, blues masters Johnny Shines and James Cotton, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Texas swing legend Tiny Moore, new acoustic music guitar virtuoso Russ Barenberg, the Artie Shaw Orchestra, and many more. Whether he’s swinging a jazz tune, holding down the clave rhythm in an Afro-Cuban song, or nailing a lively sirba with a klezmer band, Guttmann plays with great warmth, sophistication, and flawless time.

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