Tennessee Schmaltz mixes its klezmer wine with a little moonshine

Tennessee Schmaltz will perform a special rendition of "16 Candles" to commemorate the band's 16th birthday at an upcoming show at the Laurel Theater. The group is, from left, Rob Heller, Dan Shapira, Manny Herz and Larry Hoffman.

After playing Bonnaroo in 2008, being featured in a Turner South TV promo and performing for thousands before a Nickel Creek Sundown in the City concert, Tennessee Schmaltz has been a little quiet for a while.

"This is our comeback!" says Schmaltz leader Rob Heller with a laugh.

The group did perform at the Rossini Festival earlier this year, but, overall, the band, now celebrating its 16th year, has been less active than in the past.

"We lost our women," says Heller. "Our vocalist Carolyn Silver-Alford left town and took a job up in Maryland. Our fiddler, Lucie Carlson, got married and had a baby — so no bad reasons, all good ones, but now we're the men of Tennessee Schmaltz."

That leaves Heller on clarinet and, sometimes, washtub bass, Dan Shapira on accordian, Manny Herz on keyboard and Larry Hoffman on clarinet.

Tennessee Schmaltz began in mid-1995 when flutist Judy Megibow visited a klezmer music camp in New York and returned to Tennessee with a idea to start her own klezmer group. She recruited Heller, Herz, Shapira and Shapira's violinist daughter Efrat. The group recorded the album "Old Country Klezmer" in 2000 and began gaining a reputation for a fun combination of traditional klezmer and surprising takes on Appalachian favorites, including the "Orange Blossom Special." The band's second album, "Pachelbel's Canon and Other Jewish Hits," was released in 2006.

The lineup has changed somewhat through the years. Major changes include the departure of Megibow, who moved to Boulder, Colo., in 2005, and the addition of Hoffman, who joined after his own Oak Ridge Klezmer Band disbanded.

Heller says the new configuration has resulted in some challenges. For example, all of the men are reluctant vocalists.

"Carolyn was a good vocalist, but also a good entertainer. She really got the crowd going and we're kind of missing that. Wait, I don't want to sound too negative. I am also a fantastic entertainer as well and I'm stepping right into the role!"

Humor is always a big part of the band's charm, and Heller is quick with puns and quips. And, the band often surprises audiences with unexpected songs.

The current show will include a version of the "St. Louis Blues" (renamed "St. Louis Jews"), which melds into klezmer takes on "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Down By the Riverside."

The group is currently working up a combination of an Elvis Presley hit with a Yiddish song.

"I don't want to give away too much, but we will certainly amuse the crowd," says Heller.

The band members have also experienced some health problems in the past year and a half.

"Three of us, the three younger of us, all had heart issues over the past year and a half. We're all doing fine now," says Heller, noting it's Herz, the oldest member of the group, who is the healthiest.

Heller's own surgery meant that he's had to cut back on his washtub-bass playing. While some may look on washtub bass as a joke, Heller, like true old-time music enthusiasts, recognizes that it's a legitimate instrument.

"And, physically, it's actually pretty demanding," says Heller.

He's only recently been able to start playing it again.

For all the players, the group remains a side career, but Heller, a professor in the University of Tennessee School of Journalism, doesn't mind using Tennessee Schmaltz's achievements to his professorial advantage:

"You realize that for the rest of my teaching career I will introduce myself as 'The only teacher you may have here that's played Bonnaroo.' "

© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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