Andy Statman

Andy Statman (born 1950) is a noted Klezmer clarinetist and bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist. Andy Statman was born in Brooklyn, New York City. Andy spent 1969-70 at Franconia College, located in the heart of the White Mountains, in Franconia, New Hampshire, where he attended classes and played a lot of saxophone, teaching himself circular (or "chain") breathing, dabbled with bagpipes, and began to play the mandolin. He first gained acclaim as a mandolinist in pioneering bluegrass bands Country Cookin' and Breakfast Special. Statman, who grew up in a traditional but secular Jewish home, began to explore his Jewish roots. He turned to Klezmer music, traditional Eastern European Jewish instrumental music. Now playing clarinet, he recorded...