Klezmer-jazz iconoclast Andy Statman plays Iron Horse, Tuesday at 7PM. Local virtuosos Yaeko Miranda & Jazer Schwartz open.

Had there been a planetarium in 19th century Galicia, or a kosher deli in Depression era Kentucky, Andy Statman's music might have been playing in the background. Statman, one of his generation's premier mandolinists and clarinetists, thinks of his compositions as "a spontaneous, American-roots form of very personal, prayerful hasidic music, by way of avant-garde jazz." In 1965, a possessed Statman found mandolin master David Grisman in Greenwich Village and asked him for lessons. Grisman says, “The kid just gobbled up everything… if the only thing I ever did was give Andy his first mandolin lesson, it would have been a life well spent." Statman played as a session man with Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, David Bromberg and bluegrass fiddler Vassar Clements. Later he was the key klezmer revivalistsof the ‘70s and early ‘80s, launching a great wave of alt-neu klezmer to reclaim the music of the Old World. His latest album “East Flatbush Blues” is a follow-up (after 25 years!) to the legendary “Flatbush Waltz.” Crossing seamlessly across genres, from american jazz, blues, bluegrass to folk and klezmer, he relentlessly searches for new ideas. This new recording has traditional folk and blues, and some stark, original songs and his version of "Rawhide" is up for a Grammy this year for Best Country Instrumental Performance, though Ed Haber his manager says Statman songs were submitted in multiple categories, a testament to his uncategorizable nature.

Yaeko Miranda-Elmaleh, a member of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, grew up in Cambridge, MA, now resides in Northampton, and has played the violin since she was three. A finalist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra youth competition and First prize winner in the Arlington Philharmonic competition. She graduated from New England Conservatory in 2002 having studied and performed in the Jewish Music Ensemble under the direction of Hankus Netsky. Keyboards and accordion will be provided by another local treasure, Jazer Schwartz of the band Rusty Belle.