Andy Statman's musical gifts defy categorization.

Inspired by the emotional intensity of Bill Monroe and technique of Jesse McReynolds, during his early teens Andy began a lifelong obsession with the mandolin. Applying a New York sensibility to an Appalachian aesthetic, by age 21 Andy was among the most inventive creators of a fresh approach to American roots music (described by some as “newgrass”). He was soon called upon for sessions with (among others) Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead. His first mandolin teacher, David Grisman, soon became a musical partner for recordings and concerts; David has often said that his proudest musical achievement was having given Andy his first mandolin lesson. Absorbing and transcending traditional approaches to the instrument, Andy is acknowledged as one of the most original and creative voices the mandolin has known, as demonstrated by his own recordings as well as collaborations with Bela Fleck, David Bromberg, Stephane Grappelli, Vassar Clements, and many others.

But Andy's mandolin wizardry is only part of the story. Statman is just as deservedly known as an innovative interpreter of Jewish instrumental music -- specifically the devotional and celebratory music of Chassidic Judaism -- on the clarinet.

The international resurgence of interest in klezmer - Eastern European Jewish instrumental music - is due in no small measure to Andy Statman. One the last generation of musicians to learn directly from the great European klezmorim of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Andy was uniquely qualified to introduce (and help reinvent) an old world musical form for a new world audience. His early klezmer albums helped inform an entire generation of musicians who continue to play and redefine the music. Among those inspired by Andy was virtuoso classical violinist Itzhak Perlman, who asked Andy to join him for a critically acclaimed series of albums, videos, and concerts entitled "In The Fiddler's House." Their relationship was rekindled last year when Perlman asked Andy and his group to accompany him in a gala tribute to Steven Spielberg.

Andy's greatest clarinet mentor was the legendary Dave Tarras. Known as one of the giants of klezmer music in his native Ukraine and later in America, Tarras was also one of the technically finest clarinet virtuosi of his day. He saw Andy as a worthy protÈgÈ, asking him to produce his final recording sessions and bequeathing Andy his treasured clarinets. That legacy came with a proviso, however: that Andy not be bound by tradition, but play the instruments his own way .

In carrying on Dave's legacy, Andy's approach to the clarinet is much like his style on the mandolin -- respectful of the traditions of his teachers, but uniquely and unmistakably his own. The spark is provided by the same inspiration from which klezmer flows: the sometimes contemplative, often ecstatic, and always deeply spiritual melodies of Chassidism. These songs, usually wordless vocal melodies, are sung at different times of day, week, month, or year to induce specific states of spiritual devotion and exaltation. Andy and his Trio often take these mystical melodies as starting points for flights of exploration, communication, and imagination. For Andy's Trio, spontaneity is a key component of the music, and the roadmaps for these musical journeys include obscure two-hundred-year old songs passed on exclusively by oral tradition, modern melodies from one or another Chassidic dynasty, a Statman original written in a Ukrainian taxi or a crowd pleasing stomp remembered from a radio broadcast of the Louisiana Hayride. Each time these melodies are played by the Andy Statman Trio they are radically reinvented and reinterpreted.

Andy Statman is joined by bassist Jim Whitney, a New Hampshire native and Brooklyn transplant who brings to the Trio his New England Conservatory training and a diverse background in jazz, Brazilian, and American folk styles . Jim is a well known and versatile musician equally at home in the re-imagined folkways of the Wayfaring Strangers, the free jazz inflected Walter Thompson ensemble, and many television and motion picture soundtracks. Percussionist Larry Eagle's experiments in cross-cultural pollination include country-and-western music in Finland, 50’s vintage R-and-B in Malaysia, Zydeco in Barbados, underground jazz in the former Soviet Union, Irish rock-and-roll near Prague, and Chicago blues on an Athenian hilltop. Some of Larry's other recent projects include Grammy nominated recordings with Odetta and Bruce Springsteen.