[11][12] His skill and reliability enabled him to play for many years longer than the other klezmer pioneers of his day (Naftule Brandwein, for example had retired or left the business).
[13] Tarras' experience playing in the czarist military band, his ability to read music, and his excellent command of the Yiddish style made him a favorite among bandleaders.
[14] After klezmer music fell out of fashion following World War II, Tarras remained one of the few musicians to still record and play actively.
Zev Feldman has credited Tarras with not only "Bessarabianizing" Jewish dance music,[15] but also with replacing what had been the dominant tune style of the freylekh with the Bulgar.
"[19] The album, which successfully combines jazz and klezmer idioms, was not generally well received in its day, but remains central to the canon of present-day revivalists.
[21] At the beginning of the klezmer revival in the 1970s and 80s, Tarras mentored many young musicians who went on to become famous, including clarinetist and mandolinist Andy Statman.