AMG Review of Awakening from Above

Jeff Tamarkin
All Music Guide

Recorded and released at the same time as his bluegrass/Americana album East Flatbush Blues, on which he plays primarily mandolin, Awakening from Above showcases the other side of Andy Statman. Here he performs on the clarinet, save for one mandolin piece, "Forshpiel (Improvisation)," and virtually all of the music contained herein comes from the deeply religious canon of the ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jews. Much of it is improvised -- Statman is accompanied by the same musicians who play with him on the mandolin recording -- double bassist Jim Whitney and drummer/percussionist Larry Eagle -- but some of these compositions are centuries old, performed at Jewish ceremonies and events. Statman brings an emotional component to the music, much of which is spare, flowing and quite beautiful, and the inherent spirituality is always palpable. Not unlike a lone Native American flute, Statman's clarinet speaks volumes about history and reverence, even though words are never sung.