Andy Statman is a musical innovator whose style emerged from the numerous musical traditions he's studied. At 15, he took Bluegrass Mandolin lessons from a young David Grisman. By 17, he was playing saxophone and learning jazz. At 19, his interest turned to the folk music of Eastern Europe which led to serious study with a number of Master musicians including one of the fathers of contemporary Klezmer music, Dave Tarras. That music became a catalyst for Andy's own spiritual search for identity, and today, he is a practicing Orthodox Jew living in Brooklyn New York. He's considered one of the country's most gifted clarinetists (as well as Mandolinists) and leads his own Klezmer ensemble in New York City.