Oran Etkin is an internationally acclaimed jazz/world composer and musician whose NYC-based music classes are endorsed by Harvey Keitel and Naomi Watts. On his Timbalooloo Label (September 14, Motema Music/Allegro NewSound distribution). This release coincides with the launch of Oran Etik’s Timbalooloo. It will allow Oran to make his popular music classes accessible to hundreds of children in the New York City metro area and other areas. It will also be Etkin’s umbrella company for all his work with children via CDs, concerts DVDs, books, and TV programming. Wake up Clarinet! This is Etkin’s first family album. He was featured on Putumayo Kids compilation album Jazz Playground earlier in the year. His 2009 Motema debut, Kelenia was awarded the Independent Music Awards Best World Beat Album. Etkin shines a spotlight on his Timbalooloo technique for developing the musical talent of young children with Wake Up Clarinet. Etkin’s method conveys complex concepts in a simple musical language that children of all ages understand. It is both musically rich and engaging. The all-star band features Jason Marsalis on drums and Charenee Wade as jazz vocalist. This recording is a great introduction to jazz and other musical genres. Fabian Almazan plays piano and Curtis Fowlkes plays trombone. Garth Stevenson is on bass. Etkin sings lead vocals and plays clarinet and saxophone. It’s clear that this is not a normal children’s recording. Through be-bopping musical phrases and a friendly conversation between Etkin, Wade, the song helps children to understand pitch. Their jazzy rendition of the nursery rhyme “Little Lamb Jam” is so engaging that it was chosen for the Putumayo Kids CD Jazz Playground. This CD won a 2010 Parents Choice Gold Award and put Etkin in the national spotlight. The Philadelphia Daily News published a feature article titled “Pied Piper Oran Etkin Wakes Up Audiences and Instruments.” Following this energetic start, we reach the title song, “Wake Up Clarinet.” This song brings Etkin’s vocal performance to life. Even very young children can sing “Eh La Bas” New Orleans-style with the fourth and fifth tracks. They’ll be able even to tell their parents the French king that Louisiana is named after. Get up Clarinet! Works to both introduce musical concepts and paint an engaging picture rich in historical and cultural context. Ben Ratliff, the New York Times jazz critic, described Oran Etkin as a “great clarinetist” and an “excellent improviser”. Afropop Worldwide, PRI’s international syndicated program, called him a “woodwind master” His performances have been with musicians from Wyclef Jean to jazz guitarist Mike Stern. Kelenia (Motema music), his 2009 album, fuses traditional Malian music and Jewish music to create what the Boston Globe called a “hypnotic blend between straight-ahead Jazz and world music.” Etkin’s music for children incorporates rhythms of all kinds. Etkin, for example, had just returned from concert tours in Haiti, Africa, and Europe and had adapted songs from these countries to his Timbalooloo music class. Oran Etkin’s Timbalooloo got its name from a three-year-old boy who was enrolled in Etkin’s music classes. He pretended to be Oran, and showed his “pupils,” a new instrument he called “the timbalooloo”. This story is a great example of Etkin’s mission to inspire children about music and musical instruments, and encourage creativity and individual ingenuity. From http://motema.com
