I’m thrilled to share this very special episode of the Radiant Others Podcast with you all. On this episode: Ray Musiker.
Ray is a living legend – clarinetist, saxophonist, educator and composer. He’s a leading figure in 20th-century Yiddish-American music and he’s still leading the way in the 21st century.
Ray is the fourth generation in a family of legendary Klezmer musicians. He performed with Mickey Katz and Joel Grey in “Borscht Capades” and has produced, arranged, and performed on numerous Klezmer recordings, including Terry Gibbs’ “Jewish Melodies Go Jazz Time”. Born in 1926 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, he has recorded many albums as a leader, including “Tzena, Tzena”, “Jewish Wedding Dances”, “The New York Klezmer Ensemble”, and “Matai”. In 1993, he was featured as a clarinet soloist on the “Garrison Keillor Prairie Home Companion” radio show. His music has appeared in movie soundtracks including “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and the 1997 documentary “Tickle of the Heart”.
Back in July, Michael Winograd and I spent a day with Ray, along with his family and especially his son Lee Musiker – a monster pianist, conductor and orchestrator in his own right – right before Ray’s 93rd Birthday. Ray is currently composing new liturgical and instrumental music, and on that day, Michael recorded Ray and Lee playing beautiful duet arrangements of Ray’s new instrumentals, then the four of us sat down for a great conversation about Ray’s life and career. A few days earlier, they’d recorded a set of brand new pieces Ray wrote for Lee and Cantor Daniel Mendelson. You’ll hear pieces from both days throughout the podcast.
This podcast is being produced as part of the Ray Musiker Living Musical Legacy Project which is led by Lee Musiker, and includes work from Cantor Daniel Mendelson, Michael Winograd, myself, Pete Rushefsky and of course, Ray.
I’m not going to spoil any of the great music and stories that Ray’s shared with us, but I will tell you there’s a lot of good ones. So enough already, go listen to the episode!
Music in this Episode:
1) A Naye Freilach (from MATAI)2) Concert Bulgar (from the July recording session with Ray and Lee Musiker)3) After You’ve Gone (Gene Krupa Orchestra feat. Roy Eldridge and Sam Musiker)4) Hora Attik (from MATAI)5) My Yiddishe Momme (from Terry Gibbs Plays Jewish Melodies in Jazztime)6) A Doinale (from The New York Klezmer Ensemble, feat. in “Brighton Beach Memoirs”)7) The Circus (from MATAI)8) L’Dor Vador (from the July recording session with Cantor Daniel Mendelson and Lee Musiker)9)
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