What's the Matter with the Klezmer? The Peter Sokolow Story (DVD) Short FILM

A short film from the Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project

What's the Matter with the Klezmer? The Peter Sokolow Story is a sixteen-minute film about Peter Sokolow's professional journey from the Borscht Belt to becoming a master teacher of the "Old Country" tunes.

Peter "Klezmer Fats" Sokolow likes the “real sound”—the Jewish sound. But how many musicians are left who appreciate klezmer music as an art form and not a nostalgic artifact? Sokolow tells his compelling life story, from growing up the son of a musician in New York, to performing for the Yiddish-speaking communities in the Catskills, to ultimately discovering and mastering klezmer under the mentorship of some of the genre's most renowned musicians. As he sits at his piano, Sokolow ponders whether cultural authenticity will persevere or become a vestige of the past.

Read more about Peter Sokolow here

Running time: 16 minutes