Today in the New York Times

On Religion: A Search for God Through Bluegrass and Klezmer

By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN

photo by Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

Andy Statman stood in the narrow basement of an Orthodox synagogue improbably wedged among the boîtes and boutiques of Greenwich Village. He wore a plain blue suit and white shirt, and from his waist hung tzitzit, the fringes meant to remind an observant Jew of the 613 commandments. Twisting together the pieces of his clarinet, he ran through a glissando that seemed to corkscrew through the air.

Four rows of folding chairs were arranged before Mr. Statman, and in them sat about 15 people, several in yarmulkes, one an Australian woman whose music teacher back home had instructed her to find and hear Andy Statman. The basement’s shelves bore Talmudic volumes and Sabbath candlesticks, and the room was so chilly on this November night that nearly all the listeners had kept on their coats. (read more)

Andy Statman Trio Midwest Tour, 4-7 December

The Andy Statman Trio (Andy Statman on clarinet and mandolin, Jim Whitney on bass, Larry Eagle on drums and percussion) covering the midwest this week:

Sunday, December 2 @ 7:30pm
The Cedar Center
Minneapolis MN

Monday, December 3 @ 8:00 pm
The Englert Theatre
Iowa City IA

Tuesday, December 4 @ 8:00pm
Shank Hall
Milwaukee WI
(with special guests)

Wednesday, December 5 @ 8:30pm
Old Town School of Folk
Chicago IL(also playing on WBEZ public radio at 2PM CST - listen live at WBEZ.org)

Andy Statman Receives NEA Heritage Fellowship; returns to Charles Street 18 October

Andy Statman and Larry Eagle jamming after the concert with Flaco Jimenez and his band

Andy and fellow 2012 NEA Heritage Honorees  photo: Michael Stewart

On Thursday, 4 October, Andy Statman performed at The George Washington University in Washington, DC as part of the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Award Concert.  Here are a few pictures from the evening.

The Andy Statman Trio returns to their New York home - the Charles Street Synagogue, 53 Charles Street NYC - Thursday night, 18 October at 8:30 PM.

NEA NATIONAL HERITAGE FELLOWSHIPS CONCERT, Thursday 4 October

Andy Statman receives his National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship at a ceremony Wednesday, October 3rd at the Library of Congress in Washington DC.  On Thursday, October 4th the Andy Statman Trio performs as part of the NEA National Heritage Concert at George Washington University.  Although all advance tickets have been distributed, some seating will be made available just prior to the concert, which also features performances by dobro master Mike Auldridge and Tejano Accordion legend "Flaco" Jiménez.  Tickets are free.
The show will also be webcast live on the NEA website.

9/23: Brooklyn Bluegrass Bash @ the Bell House in Brooklyn

The Andy Statman Trio will play a set as part of a big benefit at the Bell House in Brooklyn (149 7th St bet 2nd and 3rd Ave), Sunday September 23rd.  The main stage line-up, in order of appearance:

Tony Trischka (with Kenny Kosek)
The Andy Statman Trio
Aoife O'Donovan, Noam Pikelny & Chris Eldridge
Chris Thile & Michael Daves

Music starts at 3, tix available here.

The Living Room, Sunday 9 September

We've begun our holiday hiatus at Charles Street (returning in mid-October) so come on down to The Living Room this Sunday to catch our only show in Manhattan in September.  Once again we'll be joined by our friends from Union Street Preservation Society (Andy sat in with them at a show back in June - here's a video clip).  Buy tickets for Sunday's show here.

Speaking of videos, we played a concert in Boston back in March with guests David Grisman and Matt Glaser - some freshly posted videos from that evening can be found here.

Andy Statman and David Bromberg, Thursday 30 August

On Thursday 30 August at 8PM, 

The Andy Statman Trio and Andy's old bandmate David Bromberg reunite at the 

City Winery155 Varick Street  NYC  NY  10013 (212) 608-0555

about 10 years ago, Andy, David, David Grisman and Jay Ungar were all part of a show in Englewood, NJ - here's a little video clip of a backstage jam..

Andy Statman Named 2012 NEA National Heritage Fellow

On Tuesday, June 19th, 2012, the National Endowment for the Arts announced that Andy Statman is to be awarded a National Heritage Fellowship, the nation's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.  According to the NEA, this program, now in its thirtieth year, "recognizes folk and traditional artists for their artistic excellence and efforts to conserve America’s culture for future generations".  Andy thus joins an elite group of honorees, including Bill Monroe, BB King, Ralph Stanley, John Lee Hooker, Doc Watson and Klezmer pioneer Dave Tarras, one of Andy's early mentors.  Fellow members of the National Heritage class of 2012 include Texan-Mexican accordion master "Flaco" Jiménez and dobro luminary Mike Auldridge.  


The NEA commends Andy and the other recipients for having "honored the history of their art forms while also incorporating their own creativity and innovation to carry the art forms into the 21st century."


The full NEA press release can be found here, and their profile of Andy is here.

Barbés, Rockwood and more!

Busy week -
Andy & Jim at Charles Street, Tuesday 5 June @ 8:30
Andy, Jim and Larry at Barbés in Brooklyn, Thursday 7 June @ 10 PM
Andy & Jim double bill with our friends
Union Street Preservation Society
Rockwood Music Hall 196 Allen St NYC
Sunday 10 June, music starts at 7
tix available here
and
Andy, Jim and Larry with special guest
Jason Rosenblatt on harmonica
(of the Montreal's klezmer band Streiml)
Charles Street, Tuesday 12 June @ 8:30

Return to Charles Street, Thursday 10 May - and more

The spring season of our residency at the Charles Street Synagogue begins on Thursday 10 May at 8:30 PM.  We'll be there most Tuesdays and Thursdays, but check the website for our latest schedule.

Plus, on Thursday 17 May, we'll have a special guest - a dear friend - raconteur, educateur and fiddleur Matt Glaser comes down from Boston for the evening.  Join us!