TABLE POUNDING RECORDS: ALBUMS

OUR NEWEST RELEASE:
​Breath & Hammer by David Krakauer & Kathleen Tagg
Listen to the album on Spotify now!
Worldwide Release (Except Europe): May 8, 2020
​European Release: September 2020
Now available for purchase on Bandcamp and iTunes!

​FROM THE ARTISTS:
"For this album, we created the raw material by recording thousands of our own clarinet and piano sounds. We then wove together extended techniques and our completely untreated samples to create a large scale quasi-orchestral tapestry. No other instruments or samples are used, and many of the pieces are made up of 40 or more layers of prepared “piano orchestra” and clarinet. Fundamentally, Breath & Hammer is about connections between people and a celebration of identity through music. The album is a mix of our own compositions along with our arrangements of song-form pieces gifted to us by our brilliant friends and collaborators from totally different backgrounds, genres and musical points of view: New York saxophone maverick John Zorn, Syrian clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh, Cuban percussionist Roberto Rodriguez, accordionist and forró specialist Rob Curto, and traditional master of Moldavian music Emil Kroitor. Our journey is global yet somehow very personally connected to the two of us; with our own pieces that reflect on cultural heritage, Curto’s Brazilian forró tune which we cast over a “drum circle” (all made of piano samples) inspired by Nigerian traditional musicians, a danzón from Rodriguez’s collection of imaginary Cuban Jewish music, Azmeh’s haunting evocation of the feeling of home and belonging, two pieces from Zorn’s magnum opus: “The Book of Angels” and Kroitor’s poignant ode to his homeland. We invite you to join us on this voyage that we call Breath & Hammer: The Ties That Bind Us."
-David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg, New York City, Winter 2020

​We are so thankful to our colleagues whom we so respect & admire for their support of our new Breath & Hammer album! Their words on the release:

"...You almost have to take their word for it when they tell you it is nothing but clarinet and piano... Krakauer is a clarinetist who is capable of a mind-boggling array of sounds…"
–John Shaefer, host of WNYC New Sounds

"‘Breath and Hammer’ is a masterful and joyous journey that rewards and delights the listener every moment of the way. I was beaming through the entire album, reinvigorated by the energy and imagination of each track and so happy to know that David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg have made a musical adventure that pulls us out of the static isolated silence of our fraught time. They have found a way to give music a huge refreshing burst of energy only true explorers are able to give. They bound to ecstatic heights of fantasy and show us a new bright path forward."
–David Harrington, violinist & founder of the Kronos Quartet

"Truly beautiful and inspiring. My clearest thoughts are: 'this is music that is inspired by traditions but not limited by them, and it is also music that redefines the genre and both instruments'."
-Kinan Azmeh, Syrian clarinetist & composer

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Together We Stand ​by Abraham Inc. ​​(Krakauer, Wesley, Socalled)
Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Table Pounding Records | Style: Funk/Groove
Abraham Inc., led by klezmer giant David Krakauer, funk legend Fred Wesley and producer/beats wizard Socalled, is more fired up than ever to deliver their message of unity, cross cultural collaboration, respect and tolerance. http://abrahamincmusic.com/

Personnel:
​David Krakauer: clarinet and vocals; Fred Wesley: trombone and vocals; Socalled: keys, sampler, vocals, and rap-vox; Jerome Harris: bass; Michael Sarin: drums; Sheryl Bailey: guitar; Allen Watsky: guitar; Brandon Wright: tenor sax (on 2, 7 and 11);  Jay Rodriguez: tenor sax, baritone sax, and flute; Eddie Allen: trumpet; Andrae Murchison: section trombone; Taron Benson: rap-vox (on 11); Fat Tony: rap-vox (on 6); Sarah MK: rap-vox (on 4). With special guests Mohamed Raki: percussion; DJ Brace: turntables; Gwendolyn Welsey: vox;Joya Wesley: vox; Antonio Starr: vox

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Where Worlds Collide by Kathleen Tagg and Andre Petersen
​​Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Table Pounding Records | Style: Jazz/Classical/World Music
In this unique two-piano album featuring two of South Africa's leading pianists, original compositions live alongside music by some of the giants of South African jazz. This project is Pan-African in influence, though very much rooted in a South Africa.  For this recording, every one of those influences comes into play- classical training and structure, jazz improvisation, polyrhythmic influences, extended techniques, goema and the sound of selected sub-Saharan African instruments. 

This is a project that is Pan-African in vision, but chamber music in scale. The pianos are used in traditional and non-traditional ways to achieve a wealth of sounds from the inside the piano by using organic extended techniques such as plucking, stopping the strings and bowed piano. ​http://www.taggpetersenduo.com
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​Personnel:
Kathleen Tagg & Andre Petersen, pianos​

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Checkpoint by David Krakauer’s ​Ancestral Groove 
​​Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Table Pounding Records | Style: Modern Jazz
The band’s newest album digs deep into the the rock-jazz-klezmer-hip-hop fusion. Checkpoint was inspired by Krakauer’s journey to seek his Jewish roots in Eastern Europe, the one his ancestors in Poland and Russia left at the end of the 19th century.  Ancestral Groove crosses the world of klezmer music, jazz, funk, contemporary and electronic music– all for the search for self identity.

​Personnel:
David Krakauer: clarinet; Sheryl Bailey: electric guitar; Jerome Harris: electric bass; Michael Sarin: drums; Jeremy Flower (a.k.a. Keepalive): sampler; Rob Curto: accordion (8);
John Medeski: organ (3); Marc Ribot: electric guitar (5).

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The Big Picture by David Krakauer & the 35mm Orchestra
Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Table Pounding Records | Style: Modern Jazz
​The Big Picture explores the inseparable relationship between music and movies while reminding the audience of their incomparable contribution as co-stars. Clarinetist extraordinaire David Krakauer s otherworldly interpretations of the music found in a myriad of moviegoer favorites including Sophie s Choice, Life is Beautiful, The Pianist, Radio Days, and more, will transport the audience to the shores of their memory banks while expanding their appreciation of one of life s great couples music and movies. ​http://davidkrakauer.com/

Personnel:
David Krakauer: clarinet and bass clarinet; Jenny Scheinman: violin; Adam Rogers: guitars (1, 2, 4-12); Rob Burger: piano, celeste, pump organ, Hammond organ, accordion and vibes; Greg Cohen: double bass (1, 2, 4-12); Nicki Parrott: double bass (3); Sheryl Bailey: guitar (3); Keepalive: loops (3); Jim Black: drums and percussion.

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Tweet Tweet by Abraham Inc. (Krakauer, Wesley, Socalled)
​Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Table Pounding Records | Style: Funk/Groove
An unprecedented collaboration between three visionaries: David Krakauer, world-class clarinetist, Fred Wesley, legendary funk trombonist, and SoCalled, hip-hop renegade. Tweet Tweet peaked at #1 in Funk and #1 in Jewish and Yiddish Music, and #7 in Jazz on Billboard. The result is an all-out klezmer-funk dance party!
​http://abrahamincmusic.com/
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Personnel:
​David Krakauer: clarinet; Socalled: sampler, piano organ, and vocals; Fred Wesley: trombone; Sheryl Bailey: guitar; C Rayz Walz: rap, vocals; Katie Moore: vocals; Matthew Flowers: vocals; Joshie Armstead: vocals; Alicia Krakauer: vocals; Allen Watsky: guitar; vocals; Jerome Harris: bass; Michael Sarin: drums; Freddie Hendrix: trumpet; Brandon Wright: tenor saxophone; Will Holshouser: accordion (2); Jordan Dare: techno remix.​