Metropolitan Klezmer

Originally a musical genre of the Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jews, Klezmer consisted of dance and instrumental tunes for weddings and celebrations. It expanded to include Jazz after arriving in the US circa 1880-1920, and again through successive generations to include the repertoires of Post-War and Soviet immigrants. The eight exceptional musicians of Metropolitan Klezmer’s inspired interpretations of Klezmer classics and their own originals bring an exuberance to Yiddish music worldwide, including wedding dances, folk tunes, Turkish- and Arabic-tinged traditionals, Hungarian prayer melodies, labor protest hymns, Second Avenue swing classics, and vintage Yiddish film soundtrack tangos and love ballads. They’ve played all the NYC venues, appeared on CNN, and Jewish Week gave their latest CD, Traveling Show (2007), five stars. Featuring Ismail Butera (accordion), Pam Fleming (trumpet, flugelhorn, kudu), Melissa Fogarty (soprano), Dave Hofstra (bass, tuba), Debra Kreisberg (clarinet, sax), Reut Regev (trombone), Eve Sicular (drums, bandleader), and Michael Hess (multi-instrumentalist).