Andy Statman plays mandolin during a performance at a synagogue in New York City. Click photo for larger image.

Calliope House continues to be a guiding light for preserving and promoting all things folk -- folk in the form of roots music with names like bluegrass, acoustic blues, old-time fiddling and Appalachian string band music.

But Saturday night's crowd at the Carnegie Lecture Hall were treated to folk music in the form of a seamless amalgamation of jazz, bluegrass and klezmer.

Performing with his incredible trio, which included drummer Larry Eagle and bassist Jim Whitney, clarinetist/mandolinist Andy Statman revved up the crowd with inventiveness, virtuosity and astonishing improvisations.

The evening began with the genre-bending improvisations of Jeff Berman and Jim DiSpirito on lap dulcimer and percussion.

But most in the crowd came to hear Statman, who was as engaging with his patter as he was slicing through Hasidic melodies.

And it didn't hurt that he had the perfect complements on drums and bass.