 Over the course of his career, Tarras was recognized for creating "a new klezmer sound that fused popular American music with recognizable European roots".At the beginning of the klezmer revival in the 1970s and 80s, Tarras mentored many young musicians who went on to become famous, including mandolinist Andy Statman.Tarras was a recipient of a 1984 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.