Rob Rudin's Half Jewish, 18 July 2010
ROB RUDIN'S HALF-JEWISH
The “There Will Be Cake” biennial
plus Dirty Water Brass Band
serving up eclectic music with dessert
Thurs., June 24, 10 pm
Lily Pad
Cambridge, MA
(Cambridge, MA) Rob Rudin's Half-Jewish: the “There Will Be Cake” biennial; plus Dirty Water Brass Band. Thurs., June 24, 10 pm. $10 suggested donation; includes dessert. Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Sq., Cambridge. For information log onto www.lily-pad.net or call 617-395-1393.
It's been two years since drummer Rob Rudin served up a nice piece of cake along with original music on the eve of his birthday. He may or may not be two years wiser, but he does have experience throwing a lively party at the Lily Pad venue. This year's concert features Rudin's new Jewish compositions and pieces by Jewish composers John Zorn and Leonard Cohen. Rudin will also premiere the suite Number 37 based on the life of world-champion athlete, jai-alai player Joey Cornblit, whose player number was 37.
"I put together the group Half-Jewish in order to play with some of my favorite musicians and to show that klezmer is not theonly Jewish music," says Rudin. The musicians include two Hot Tamale Brass Band members, clarinetist and saxophonistMark Chenevert and Danny Heath on trombone and vocals. Gill Aharon, who plays piano with his trio every Sunday at the Lily Pad, is along for the ride, as is trumpeter Sam Dechenne of John's Brown Body, HUMANWINE bassist Paul Dilley, violinist Mimi Rabson of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and multi-reedman Ted Roland.
More specifics on Rudin's suite Number 37:
Born in Montreal Quebec in 1955 to Israeli immigrants, Joey Cornblit's family moved to Miami where, at age 12, he began playing jai-alai, a popular sport in Southern Florida. He traveled to Spain to train in the Basque game (similar to handball) in which players grip a reed basket and volley a rock-hard ball at speeds up to 150 miles per hour. Rudin's music reflects the places Cornblit traveled, as well as his embrace of eastern meditation and his friendship with Rudin's father, self-described number-one-jai-alai-fan Harold Rudin. The listener can expect salsa, jazz, a spoken fugue, marches, Hindusthani (Indian classical) music, a live ping-pong match, and, yes, even a little klezmer.
The Dirty Water Brass Band, Boston's newest New Orleans-style group, opens the show.
Come for the cake, stay for the sounds!