Dave Tarras is the Americanized name of Dovid Tarraschuk, born in 1897 in the shtetl of Ternivka, Teplytskyi Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine.
Dovid was born into a musical family; his father was a trombonist.
Dave Tarras
Dovid was a "natural" musician, learning to play several musical
instruments. It was his musical talent that protected him from the horrors of the Russian Front during World War I. Having been drafted into
the Tsarist Army in 1915, he found himself a member of the Tsar's military band.
Emigrating to America in 1921, David worked in New York City's garment industry. After some time, he discovered that he could earn a living
as a clarinetist in New York City's klezmer bands. David had the skill to easily play music of other ethnic groups – Greek, Polish,
and Russian – besides that of his native Jewish music.
During the course of a long career, David Tarras made at least five-hundred recordings. One of these, Tanz!, cut in 1956,
is an amalgam of Jazz and Klezmer. It was not until more than fifty years later that this style of combining Jazz with Klezmer themes
came into its own.
David Tarras passed away in 1989 in Nassau County, New York. He is survived by a son , daughter, and seven grandchildren.
