Sandra Layman

Guest Player: 1978 [live performances]

Instrument: Violin

Profile: Superb klezmer fiddler Sandra Layman acquired her chops hanging out with Greek and Romanian Roma musicians, then refined her ear by studying Marty Schwartz's collection of 78-rpm klezmer discs. Her marvelous technique enhanced The Klezmorim's wall of sound in a series of shows at jazz club Berkeley Square.

In 1980, Sandra cofounded and led the Seattle-based Mazel Tov Klezmer Band, gigging regularly with the group until 1982. She also played in the Portland, Oregon klezmer ensemble The Old Country with tsimbalist Lisa Rose and clarinet wizard/klezmer scholar Joel Rubin. Klezmer-revival pioneer Layman later studied violin in Romania during the Ceausescu years.

Her latest CD release is Little Blackbird, a hauntingly sweet live-concert anthology of klezmer, Anatolian, Hungarian, and Romanian virtuoso showpieces.

Website: sandralayman.com