7 Decades Project

Kaila’s parents, Abe and Bobbie, met in Miss Corcoran’s 6th grade classroom at Scranton Elementary, New Haven, CT. They developed a mutual crush, and except for a brief snag in 8th grade, at which time Bobbie felt the need to found the Anti-Flexer Society with a few other girls (it seems that Abe was pretty cute and knew it!); they dated throughout junior high, high school, and college, got married (in 1956); and had Kaila and her younger sister, Mindy. Abe and Bobbie are now 84, have been together for over 7 Decades and are still madly in love! Their relationship is completely egalitarian; they respect one another, value one another’s opinions and delight in one another’s sense of humor. And they are also brilliant, kind and generous! And that’s purely objective! #relationshipgoals!

Over the years, Kaila has written them many compositions for birthdays, anniversaries and more recently pieces about Bobbie’s diagnosis (3 ½ years ago) and treatment of Grey Zone Lymphoma. Thanks to an amazing oncologist, an experimental drug and the wonderful Abe, Bobbie has been
in remission for two years and counting! Kaila and her collaborators, (Gari, Elana and Josh–please see below) honed, arranged and recorded these pieces along with very special guests at Opus Studios in Berkeley, California in November will release the project, called 7 Decades in the Fall of 2019. Stay tuned for CD release concerts.

This project has been made possible through a generous grant from Musical Grant Program, which is administered by InterMusic SF (Facebook page), and supported by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and San Francisco Grants for the Arts.

Personnel on 7 Decades Project:
Kaila Flexer – violin, tarhui
Gary Hegedus – oud, saz (Turkish lute), mandocello
Elana Brutman – Cretan lyra with sympathetic strings
Joshua Mellinger – percussion (zarb, frame drum, cajon, snare drum, cymbals)

Special guests:
Ross Daly – Cretan lyra with sympathetic strings
Kelly Thoma – Cretan lyra with sympathetic strings
Miles Jay – double bass
Cookie Seigelstein – violin, viola
Joshua Horowitz – piano
Misha Khalikulov – cello