Cafe Scheherazade in the Herald Sun

Revisiting the sweet taste of notable cafe
By Simon Plant
15 August 2011

CONVERSATION, not music, was the lifeblood of St Kilda’s Cafe Scheherezade.

Musician Ernie Gruner remembers walking past this legendary restaurant on Acland St, a haven for Jewish migrants, and hearing “a cacophony of sound. People talking, arguing, debating”.

Sadly, Scheherazade is no more. Owners Avram and Masha Zeleznikov closed the doors in 2008, but people are still talking about the place . . . not to mention the play that immortalised it.

Cafe Scheherazade played to packed houses at fortyfivedownstairs in March. This month the production is back for a return season.

And once again, Gruner – a talented violinist and singer – will be leading the band. A klezmer band.
“Klezmer originated in the villages of eastern Europe,” he says, “and is often an invitation to dance. Especially at weddings.”
Powered by violins, accordians, clarinets and percussion, klezmer is also allied to Yiddish song. Both get a “workout” in Therese Radic’s Cafe Scheherazade.
“There’s a lot of darkness and sorrow in this, but the overriding thing that comes through is the love for life these people have,” Gruner says.

Gruner and accordionist Justin Marshall are steeped in the chords of klezmer, so what audiences hear is authentic.

As he says: “A classical musician can play this, but it’s going to sound pretty deadpan.
“Justin and I have listened long enough, and played long enough, we can put some guts into it. Move notes around, put some ornaments in, imitate the vocal style . . . it’s about having a language on your instrument so you can convey the emotion.”