Klezmer legend performs at Jewish Art Festival

Friday, March 1, 2002 | 10 a.m.

A legend in the world of klezmer music will be on hand to help the Las Vegas Jewish community celebrate the first local Jewish Art Festival this weekend.

Jules Epstein, 75, the last surviving brother of the Epstein Brothers band -- billed as the "Kings of Klezmer Music" -- will attend a showing of a documentary on the brothers, "A Tickle in the Heart."

"Klezmer" is a word used to describe traditional Jewish music whose contemporary sound is a fusion of many genres, including rock 'n' roll, pop and jazz.

The festival, sponsored by the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada, will be held Saturday and Sunday at the Charleston Heights Arts Center.

Activities will include a free display of art by 26 local Jewish artists, a concert by renowned klezmer pianist-vocalist Sam Glaser and a mini-film festival featuring the documentary "My Yiddish Mama's Dream." (Fees will be charged to attend the concert and the film festival.)

Glaser's performance will be at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Also, a free program showcasing children's talent -- Viva Oy Vegas -- will be presented Sunday.

"One child will play the them from 'Star Wars' on a saxophone while doing a contortionist routine," festival spokeswoman Nancy Weinberger said.

The local festival is part of a celebration of the nationwide Jewish Art Week, which was initiated by the American Guild of Judaic Art two years ago, according to Weinberger.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for people to come out and show their support for Jewish art," Weinberger said, "and to experience the rich diversity of the Jewish culture."

Klezmer music is one aspect of that culture.

Epstein, a native of New York City, began performing Jewish music as a drummer with his brothers -- Max, Willie and Isidor -- before World War II.

"Understand that Jewish families in the New York area tried to get all of their children to play a musical instrument for culture and to make money as a profession or as a sideline," Epstein said during a recent telephone interview from his home near Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

For more than four decades the brothers were one of the most sought after groups in the country, performing on college campuses, at festivals and other venues.

Epstein's brothers died several years ago. He continues to perform about 20 dates each year with Jewish bands.