A former member of the super-fine Klezmatics, clarinetist David Krakauer might well be to klezmer clarinet what Sidney Bechet was to the clarinet in the 1930s, what Jimi Hendrix was/is to the electric guitar and John Coltrane to the saxophone in the 1960s and Evan Parker and Ned Rothenberg are to post-Coltrane era saxophone. Besides the heavy name-dropping, whassit all mean?!? As those chaps expanded the capabilities of their instruments, Mr. K does with the clarinet: not to get all drippy-spiritual on you, Dear Reader, but this cat wails, soars, skrees and virtually SPEAKS IN TONGUES like DeNiro in his death scene in Cape Fear, whipping the music and his band into a controlled, focused frenzy. For the uninitiated, Klezmer is a "fusion" music, where small-band Hot and Swing jazz styles rub up against and coalesce Yiddish and Hebraic music from Central and Eastern Europe.... and Mr. K happily drags it kicking, screaming and dancing in the 21st century. The ancient melodies and modalities are there, but there carried across the chasm from Them To You by what I can only term as passionate, sanctified impertinence. One high point is "The Next New Year," where the clarinet spars with incendiary, blues-charged guitars that shred like something from Capt. Beefheart & His Magic Band. This set is full of throbbing, rippling bass, hearty accordion and inspired drumming. What's more, Krakauer's band plays like a fierce, committed unit, like the Apocalypse is just around the corner. If you seek come-with-us-now-to-the-good-old-days Klezmer you can play for your grandma, THIS IS NOT IT. But if you seek the music’s answer to Pharaoh Sanders or Steve Lacy, GRAB this. At the risk of sounding like Mr. Hyperbole, this disc is HOT, HOT, HOT!!!