Press release:
The Folklore Project presents Philadelphia klezmer:
Goodnight Mishegas: Klezmer concert with Elaine Hoffman Watts and Susan Lankin Watts
WHO: Elaine Hoffman Watts, Susan Lankin Watts and band
WHAT: Concert with ground-breaking women and klezmer music from waltzes to freylechs, representing the legacy of four generations of Jewish musicians (Hoffman family) renowned in Philadelphia. Sing along opportunity, and chances to say goodbye to the mishegas (or "craziness") of the world.
WHEN: December 11, 2010 at 7:30 PM (Tickets: $10 - $30 through http://crossroadsconcerts.org/ Or tickets available by check to PFP (735 S. 50th St., Phila., PA 19143) to avoid the wait at the door. $20 general admission. 25% discount for PFP members ($15).
WHERE: Crossroads Music, 801 S. 48th Street (Produced by the Philadelphia Folklore Project)
"A 3rd-generation klezmer, the mother of a next generation of klezmorim, and a raucous, wonderful storyteller. The Philly sound in full force and dance-compelling splendor." - Ari Davidow, Klezmer Shack
The Philadelphia Folklore Project presents Goodnight Mishegas, a concert of fun, feisty and moving klezmer music, on Sunday, December 11, 2011, at Calvary Center for Culture and Community, 801 S. 48th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143, at 7:30 pm.
Headlined by award-winning drummer Elaine Hoffman Watts and her daughter, acclaimed vocalist and trumpeter Susan Lankin Watts, the evening will be devoted to saying good riddance to all the mishegas (Yiddish for "craziness" or "insanity") in our world today! Start a new holiday tradition by singing and wishing away our collective troubles, and be part of an old Philadelphia family klezmer legacy.
The music produced by the Hoffman-Watts family's vast talent and indomitable spirit is a critically important and enduring link to a particular Philadelphia-style Jewish klezmer sound. Working actively in Philadelphia since the early years of last century, the Hoffman family and other local Jewish musicians shaped a Jewish American music reflecting the influences of their Eastern European homelands as well as the musical culture of Philadelphia. In other parts of the country, klezmer is said to have died in the 1950s, needng to be revived in the 1970s, but here in Philadelphia, the Hoffman family never stopped playing this music, which includes scores first written down by Elaine Hoffman Watts' grandfather at the turn of the century.
* Check the Philadelphia Folklore Project's website (http://www.folkloreproject.org) fo ra preview of the song "Goodnight Mishegas," and for Susan Lankin Watts' lyrics to the song, and be ready to sing along at the concert when Susan, Elaine and other superb klezmorim take the stage.
* Participate in sharing hopes for lives with dignity and security for our families and communities, and for people throughout the world, by writing your wishes on cards provided at the show. These will be read throughout the event, and featured on the Folklore Project's website.
* At the show, purchase (perhaps as a holiday gift) a copy of the new documentary, Eatala: A Life in Klezmer, that profiles Elaine Hoffman Watts (her Yiddish name is "Eatela"), as she has sustained her family's klezmer tradition over four generations, with good humor and immeasurable joy.
Born in 1932, Elaine Hoffman Watts is a winner of the prestigious 2007 National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. She is one of only eight artists from Pennsylvania to be so honored over the last 28 years. In 2000, she received a coveted Pew Fellowship in the Arts.
Elaine Watts was the first woman percussionist to be accepted at the Curtis Institute of Music, from which she graduated in 1954. She has performed and taught for more than fifty years, working in symphonies, theaters and schools. When she was young, however, Ms. Watts was often excluded from performances with local klezmer bands. "They didn't want to employ a girl," she explains, even though she was the talented daughter of klezmer great Jacob Hoffman.
For generations of Jewish families in Philadelphia, the Hoffmans' klezmer music was a mainstay at weddings and other communal and family celebrations. Elaine Watts' drumming anchors the sounds of this unique Philadelphia klezmer style.
Susan Lankin Watts, a trumpeter and vocalist, represents the fourth generation of this important klezmer dynasty. Susan Watts has played with a variety of noted klezmer musicians from around the world, and toured Europe and Asia. She has recorded and performed with Hankus Netsky, Mikveh and London's Klezmer All-Star Band, among others. She teaches at klezmer festivals and privately, and performs in a range of trumpet styles.
Tickets ($10 - $30) are available online through Crossroads Music (http://crossroadsconcerts.org/) Or tickets available by check to PFP (735 S. 50th St., Phila., PA 19143) to avoid the wait at the door. $20 general admission. 25% discount for PFP members ($15).
About PFP and Crossroads
Locally-sourcing culture since 1987, the Philadelphia Folklore Project works to build critical folk cultural knowledge; sustain vital and diverse living cultural heritage in communities in our region; and create equitable processes and practices for nurturing local grassroots arts and humanities. For more information, call 215.726.1106, email pfp@folkloreproject.org, or visit www.folkloreproject.org.
Crossroads Music organizes public performances by accomplished musicians with roots in cultures from around the world. Crossroads is inspired by and seeks to maintain West Philadelphia's historic role as a diverse and inclusive meeting place for different cultures, social and economic classes, and progressive social movements. For more information visit http://crossroadsconcerts.org/ or call 215.729.1028.
To listen to a sample of the Watts family, visit the PFP website:For high quality photographs: Elaine Watts (1960s), Susan and Elaine (2009).
For more information, please contact the Philadelphia Folklore Project, 215.726.1106, pfp@folkloreproject.org.
