Brass Menažeri
I direct & perform with the Brass Menažeri ("Menagerie"), a brass band in the style of Balkan Rom (Gypsy) musicians.
Gamelan X
I play clarinet, trumpet, alto sax, & ceng ceng in Gamelan X, a hybrid baleganjur orchestra. Traditionally baleganjur is the processional gamelan used for funerals, cremations, & other processions, & we've infused this form with western instruments & new compositions.
Stellamara
I play clarinet & nay with the renowned world music ensemble Stellamara, which combines Turkish, Cretan, & Arabic musical styles with ambient/electronic influences.
Other projects
- Klezmer music I also play (with varying regularity) with several klezmer ensembles, including California Klezmer, Ellis Island Old World Folk Band, & rare appearances with the San Francisco Klezmer Experience. If you're interested in hiring a klezmer band, please call Gerry Tenney (of California Klezmer) at.
- Greek music I play traditional Greek music of Macedonia, Epirus, & Peloponnesos. I have performed dhimotika with Georgios Leftheriotis, a beautiful violinist from Kalamata; Macedonian brass music with Michael Ginsburg (of Zlatne Uste); and Métsovo & Edessá styles with the dance troupes Stavraeti, Anemos, & Elliniki Paradosis.
- New Music I have performed with The Toids, a new Balkanesque band, and Ara Anderson's Iron & the Albatross, and performed & recorded with the pickPocket Ensemble.
- the Gonnifs With Jeanette Lewicki (accordion & vocals), I founded the Gonnifs klezmer band back in 1995. She now lives in Brooklyn, so we now only make occasional appearances in subway stations & movie theater lobbies. With Evan Kumar (percussion; now Evan Gavriel Fiske), & Rick Elmore (trombone &c.), we rocked, i mean klezzed, more than one Prison Literature Project benefit in our day. Sorry you missed us.
