Sid Beckerman

The son of influential klezmer clarinet player Sholymke Beckerman, Sid Beckerman continues to expand on his father's musical legacy. A teacher at Klez Kamp, a Yiddish folk arts program in the Catskill Mountains for more than a decade and a private instructor since the early '90s, Beckerman has shared his knowledge with scores of enthusiastic students, including the Klezmatics founding member Margot Leverett. As a member of Klezmer Plus!, Beckerman continues to reinterpret his father's repertoire with saxophonist Howie Leess, keyboardist Pete Sokolow, tenor banjo player Henry Sapoznik, and drummer Michael Spielzinger. A native of New York's South Bronx, Beckerman began his musical career at the age of 14. Except for a brief period during World War II, when he served as a radio operator in the United States Army, he supported himself as a full-time musician until the mid-'50s when he accepted a job as a post office clerk. Maintaining a low profile as a musician for nearly three decades, except for occasional weddings and bar mitzvahs, Beckerman successfully launched a comeback after retiring from the post office in 1984. Teaching at the first Klez Kamp in 1985, he remains one of the program's best-respected teachers. Beckerman was inducted into the People's Hall of Fame in February 1994.