Margot Leverett is a New York City-based clarinettist. Born in Ohio, she lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Buffalo, New York before studying at Indiana University School of Music. At Indiana University, she was classically trained.Come for 'Jewgrass,' stay for Selichot, , New Jersey Jewish Standard 28 August 2009 Leverett later became interested in klezmer, a traditional musical style of the Jews of Eastern Europe.Bridging PeaceMusic: YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe She studied with klezmer clarinettist Sidney BeckermanThe Art of Klezmer Clarinet: album and was a founding member of The Klezmatics in 1985. The Klezmatics, a band associated with the Klezmer revival would later become the first klezmer band to win a Grammy Award., The Boston Herald 14 January 2000Grammy-winning Klezmatics push the klezmer genre forward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 15 October 2009Celebrating the Klezmatics' Grammy , JVibe, April 2007
In 1999, Leverett was a founding member of another klezmer band of all women musicians called Mikveh. They released a self-titled album in 2001, described by Rambles magazine as "a potent and heady mix of passion and power."Article about Mikveh in Rambles, 12 January 2002 Leverett left the band when she began her solo career and founded "Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys".
Leverett's solo album, called The Art of Klezmer Clarinet, was released in 2001. The 17-track album was favorably reviewed—Klezmershack.com called it a "tribute to greats of the American Klezmer clarinet" and a "tremendous leap in skill and soulfulness."Klezmershack.com review, 1/1/00New Mexico Folk Music and Dance Society Newsletter , Jan/Feb 2005 "She achieves the nearly impossible feat of rendering the music with authenticity and respect, while simultaneously making a highly personal statement about the art of klezmer clarinet- the instrument and its history.""The Essential Klezmer" by Seth Rogovoy
In 2001, Leverett founded the group Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys, which fuses the styles of klezmer and bluegrass.Margot Leverett bio on Klezmer Mountain Boys websiteJewish Daily Forward article The group was filled with outstanding musicians, Barry Mitterhoff, Kenny Kosek, Joe Selly and Marty Confurius. Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys released two albums: a self-titled album in 2002 and an album called Second Avenue Square Dance. The group was featured by the Paul Taylor Dance Company in a piece entitled "Klezmerbluegrass".
Leverett has been a guest soloist for the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has taught at many klezmer camps, including KlezKamp, KlezKanada and KlezmerQuerque. She continues to teach, guest lecture, and perform.
See also Andy Statman Klezmer Conservatory Band
References
External links
Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys : Official website Mikveh: Official website The Klezmatics: Official website KlezKamp website