TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS
PRESENTS
AN ALL-OUT KLEZMER-FUNK DANCE PARTY!

ABRAHAM INC. WITH FRED WESLEY,
DAVID KRAKAUER & SOCALLED

SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 2010, 8:00 P.M.
AT HOGG MEMORAL AUDITORIUM

“This endlessly surprising yet highly successful hybrid of klezmer, funk and hip-hop had the enthusiastic crowd – young and old, Jews and gentiles, whites and blacks – dancing ecstatically in the aisles like it was a Jewish wedding.” – New York Times

Texas Performing Arts invites you to an all-out klezmer-funk dance party, Saturday, March 27 at Hogg Memorial Auditorium! Abraham Inc. boasts klezmer clarinet virtuoso David Krakauer collaborating with one of the great masters of funk, trombonist Fred Wesley (known for his work with James Brown, Bootsy Collins and Parliament Funkadelic), and beat architect Socalled.

Says Krakauer about the birth of this unique sound, “Ever since I formed Klezmer Madness! in the mid 1990’s I’ve been exploring the possibilities of adding funk, jazz and lately hip-hop influences to klezmer. Improvisation has always been a part of my musical landscape, but it was my embracing of klezmer music in my early 30’s that gave me the opportunity to create my own style of improvising and composing within (and under the umbrella of ) the music of my own Eastern European Jewish cultural heritage.”

“In late 2005, Socalled and I were on tour somewhere in Europe when [Klezmer Madness!] drummer Michael Sarin mentioned to Socalled that a friend of his was playing with Fred Wesley. A light bulb went off in our heads… I got in touch with Fred and we met up in New York – at the Carnegie Deli, where we had matzo ball soup – and decided to try playing together… We booked a rehearsal studio, not quite sure what was going to happen. Fred and I improvised together on a beat by Socalled, and at the end of it we all said to each other, ‘Wow, this totally works!’”

Their new record Tweet Tweet offers tracks ranging from arrangements of classic Yiddish and klezmer tunes – like the witty title cut (named in the pre-Twitter era), or a sly and funky version of Hava Nagila, titled The H Tune – to originals like Wesley’s Push, driven by a vintage “chicken-scratch” guitar riff, and Fred the Tzadik, anchored by a stuttering bass line and topped by inspired clarinet and trombone interplay from Krakauer and Wesley.

This is going to be a fun show where dancing is encouraged!

CALENDAR LISTING

Saturday, March 27, 2010, 8:00 pm –Texas Performing Arts presents Abraham Inc. with Fred Wesley, David Krakauer and Socalled at Hogg Memorial Auditorium (2300 Whitis Ave). A map of the campus:
http://www.TexasPerformingArts.org/visit/maps_directions. Tickets ($36 / $10 student tickets / discounted tickets available for UT faculty & staff, seniors and Military) are on sale now at authorized ticket outlets, which include the Bass Concert Hall Box Office, most H-E-B stores and all Texas Box Office outlets, online at www.TexasPerformingArts.org, or by calling (512) 477-6060 or (800) 982-BEVO.

PRESS CONTACT:
Gene Bartholomew
512.471.0632 gbartholomew@TexasPerformingArts.org

Download the Abraham Inc. press release – PDF 121 KB