THE KLEZMORIM > Bio > Band Members > Lev Liberman 

a/k/a:  Boots; The Supreme Jazz-Baby

Co-founder of The Klezmorim (with David Skuse):  1975

Band member:  1975–88 & 2004–present

Instruments:  Eb alto sax, Bb soprano sax, C-melody sax, tarogato, flute, frula, pennywhistle, panpipe, siren, woodblock, tupan, baraban, dumbek, tambourine, spoons, Marxophone, random vocals

Other functions:  Manager/publicist 1975–78; musical researcher/transcriber/arranger/composer; album co-producer/art director/liner notes; webmaster; bandleader 2004–present

Albums:  East Side Wedding, Streets of Gold, First Recordings, Great Hudson River Revival, Metropolis, Notes from Underground, Jazz-Babies of the Ukraine

Good ink:  «Lev Liberman plays saxophone with a haunting tenderness that will send shivers up your spine and bring tears to your eye.»  — Newsday, New York
«Sax delirium!»  — VSD, Paris, France
«Among the most accomplished reed players I have ever heard.»  — CityLife, Phoenix, Arizona
«The audiences were enthralled... swaying to the sax's Oriental airs like snakes hypnotized by a fakir's horn.»  — The Herald, Hyde Park, Illinois

Other gigs:  Scored 19th-century Russian play Diary of a Scoundrel for Berkeley Repertory Theatre and ACT Seattle; scored Martians from Mercury and dance-theater piece 1944; composed scores and soundscapes for independent film, CD-ROM, TV/radio commercials. Has performed and/or recorded with Andrew Cronshaw, Yankl Falk, Di Naye Kapelye, Sandra Layman, Adrianne Greenbaum, Klezmocracy, Doug Haning Ensemble, and Sinners Club. Leads the 9-piece improvisational horn/rhythm band Lung Tung.

Current gig:  Writer/actor/composer Lev Liberman performs klezmer, jazz, and original tunes throughout North America and the world. An experienced instructor of klezmer theory and technique, Liberman created the course "Klezmer Music: From Underground to Outer Edge" at Portland State University, Oregon, USA. In 2004 he sacrificed a rubber chicken under a full moon, woke The Klezmorim from its enchanted sleep, and led the shambling golem back on the road to Europe. He is frequently in demand to record voiceovers for commercials, documentaries, and computer games, or to portray quirky characters in independent films.

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