Statman combines the haunting beauty and spiritual depth of the roots of Klezmer music with the freewheeling improvisational sensibility of jazz and bluegrass. Statman has discovered a kinship between old Chasidic dance tunes and melodies and the searching, deeply spiritual jazz of John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, and those who have followed.

In addition to Klezmer, Statman also inhabits a special niche in the bluegrass universe, having first gained acclaim as a hot young mandolin player in the early 1970s newgrass collective Country Cooking; his ability to toss off licks that could move between traditional bluegrass and atonal jazz in the space of one bar demanded that listeners take notice. Statman brings this eclectic intelligence and technical mastery to the Klezmer medium with the accompaniment of his jazz all-star quartet including Bruce Barth on piano, Scott Lee on acoustic bass, and Bob Weiner on percussion, capturing both the spiritual lyricism and the dazzling, catchy playfulness of Klezmer.