Occasionally a generation will produce a musician, who, having mastered the preceding musical tradition,will adapt it for himself and in the process transform it for his and future generations. On par with these muscial pioneers in the Yiddish world was klezmer clarinetist Dave Tarras. Composer, musician, teacher, orchestra leader, Tarras fulfilled all these roles and more. His individual performance style transcended his own playing and came to epitomize the genre as a whole. His ensembles had a distinctive sound andfeel regardless of what sidemen were passing through the band at the time. His compositions were stylisticaly unique and helped to transform and update the old repertoire and establish a new musical language.