Marriage of Heaven & Earth

Organized like a Jewish wedding, this smartly compiled, fascinatingly annotated, and handsomely packaged album of living klezmer music is equally spiritual and celebratory, expressing a richness of feeling that ranges from clarinetist Andy Statman's Coltrane-esque explorations of deep Hasidic liturgical music to Brave Old World's rendition of the high-spirited procession leading from the wedding couple's homes to the ceremony. The beauty of contemporary klezmer lies in the sly melding of old European roots to progressive traditionalism. Groups like the Klezmatics (who here join their clarinet mentor Ray Musiker) and Naftule's Dream not only reflect klezmer's old-school expressionism, but extend it well beyond good-old-fashioned free jazz. Full of beautiful surprises, Klezmer Music also includes examples of "chamber" klezmer, rough-edged Gypsy klezmer from Hungary, high-spirited dance music, and much more. --Richard Gehr