Shloimke Beckerman

Shloimke "Sam" Beckerman (1883–1974) was an American klezmer clarinetist; he was a contemporary of Dave Tarras and Naftule Brandwein. He was a soloist as well as a member of Paul Whiteman's Orchestra at the New York's Little Club in the 1920s. He continued to play well into the 1950s. He was a teacher to Henry Sapoznik, one of the key figures in the revival of klezmer music in the world.

An audiocassette recording of one of his performances at age 70 has recently been discovered and there is fundraising underway to remaster it and release it as a cd by Living Traditions. [1]

His son Sidney Beckerman was a well known klezmer clarinet player in his own right and learned from his father; he taught many members of the klezmer revival and died in 2007.