J-ARTS

For both klezmer and jazz fans Paul Brody’s Sadawi is one of the most exciting new groups in today’s music scene. A healthy mix of traditional klezmer and fantasyful improvisations by some of the best klezmer-jazz muscians out of New York and Berlin.

The sound of the group is unmistakably unique: a bass clarinet jamming with a banjo on a blues hora, a growling Ellingtonish trumpet battling through tribal bulgar beats, a hasidic folk song woven around impressionistic trance beats and prayer loops squeezed though the the sondboard of a guitar. Paul Brody’s Sadiwi is full of suprises for both traditionalist and modernists.

Coming Soon

Led by harmonica innovator Jason Rosenblatt, and named for the traditional fur hat worn by Chassidic Jews, Shtreiml blends elements of klezmer, gypsy music and jazz to create a vibrant sound that is at once Eastern European Folk Music and Down-Home Blues. Shtreiml’s debut album, Harmonica Galitzianer, nominated for a Montreal Independent Music Award for Best World Music Album 2003, showcases Rosenblatt’s unique approach to playing the 10-hole diatonic harmonica or “blues harp.”

Uncle Tibor’s Spicy Paprikash
Halevai
Galitzianer Tantz
Nign (Avinu Malkeinu)

Rosenblatt uses recently devised techniques pioneered by harmonica master Howard Levy, to fit the instrument generally associated with the blues into an Eastern European context. Along with Rosenblatt the group members include trombonist Rachel Lemisch, one of the leading figures in klezmer brass revival, founding member Thierry Arsenault on drums and Montreal jam band scene mainstay Adam Stotland on bass. Frequent guests include, the stellar voice and incomparable stage presence of Yiddish folksong revivalist, Abigail Rosenblatt, along with founding member and internationally acclaimed hip-hop klezmer guru Josh (SoCalled) Dolgin.

Shtreiml is at present working with virtuoso Turkish musician Ismail Hakki Fencioglu on a project which explores the connections between Turkish and Eastern-European Jewish music. The group has performed at festivals, concerts, clubs and private functions in Canada, Europe and the U.S.

Download full press kit.

Bum Ching

Emunah are “the UK’s hot new Jewish hip-hop act”, say The Guardian. The band fuse the finest elements of world music with hip-hop, breaks and drum and bass, blending musical ingredients from Klezmer to Carlebach to Bhangra with kicking beats and driving, soulful basslines that never fail to get the crowd moving. Emunah’s members stem from a broad range of ethnicities including Russian, Jewish, Palestinian and Pakistani, and their songs fuse influences from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, from Jamaica to New York, and from Kashmir to London.

(more…)

Eliyahu

The Afro-Semitic Experience uncovers the shared experiences of two communities through jazz arrangements of traditional Jewish and Black Spiritual songs. It is a sad commentary that during the past twenty years relations between African-Americans and Jewish-Americans have–in the wake of the dismantling of the Civil Rights movement –disintegrated. In response, these two Connecticut jazz artists, Warren Byrd and David Chevan, have created a unique musical program that merges their distinct cultures and heritages. In this musical offering, African-American jazz pianist Warren Byrd, and Jewish-American jazz bassist David Chevan combine their talents to fuse two centuries-old traditions that have served as time honored sources of comfort and strength. David and Warren have selected pieces from their traditions that speak to the soul and that emphasize and reveal the strong similarities that are at the heart of the passions, suffering and joys of these two worlds.

(more…)

Modern Klezmer Quartet The rhythm section enters with four bars of 5/8, then switches to 8/8. Is this a Dave Brubeck tune? Maybe Coltrane? Its the Modern Klezmer Quartet, playing aural tricks on your brain with their slick and spare jazz arrangements of Jewish melodies, new and old. With arrangements by Bob Appelbaum and the addition of the stunning Yiddish vocals of 20-something Lisa Fishman, the MKQ have a great sound that would delight any Jazz club crowd.

Yesh
Cherokezatzle
Fun Tashlich
A Little Mazel
Sheyn vi Di Levone

(more…)

The Chassidic Jazz Project combines traditional Chassidic melodies with contemporary jazz arrangements. The Chassidic Jazz Project’s unusual instrumentation viola, cello, saxophone, guitar, bass, drums and percussion creates a gorgeous chamber music effect that blends elements of jazz, fusion and new world, to create a multi-cultural sound that can be described as liturgical music at its best.

For drummer Reuben Hoch, it is the realization of a dream that began with a celebration of Israel’s 50th anniversary at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, Florida in 1998.  Reuben was urged in years prior by Dizzy Gillespie’s manager, Charles Fishman, and bassist Jeff Andrews to unfold his heritage by applying his jazz abilities to his religious background. Reuben did so, using Chassidic melodies he learned growing up (different from klezmer). Together with Bassist Ed Schuller and guitarist Tom Lippincott, the project draws on the influence of musicians that include Charles Mingus, Joe Zawinul and Charlie Haden.

Born in Brooklyn in 1959, Hoch was raised as an Orthodox Jew, attended Yeshiva, and prayed in Munkatcher and Satmar Chassidic synagogues. He began playing the drums at the age of 12 and by his senior year in high school, Reuben was active profesionally on the New York jazz scene and recorded with his first group, Repercussions. Heavily influenced by Art Blakey, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette and Elvin Jones, Reuben began playing with Blakey sidemen Valery Ponomaerov, David Schnitter and Lonnie Plaxico.

He remained musically active throughout college and while attending medical school in Tel Aviv from 1984 to 1988, became a member of the Israeli jazz quartet Zaviot. Zaviot toured extensively throughout Europe performing in major festivals, winning an award for most originality in the Red Sea Jazz Festival in 1986.

Since then Reuben appeared on many albums, including two as a leader of his own group, The RH Factor, which features Miles Davis alumnus Dave Liebman and a live CD at New York’s Knitting Factory. He was co-leader of the group West End Avenue, which featured the great Native American Saxophonist, Jim Pepper. West End Avenue released four CD’s.

They have performed for over 10,000 people throughout South Florida at venues including The Broward Center for the Performing Arts, The Hollywood Jazz Festival and Sunfest The Chassidic Jazz Project released a live recording of a January 2001 performance featuring guest pianist Don Friedman and Bobby Thomas Jr. Their multi-cultural sound has attracted fans of all types of music and all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Adon Olam Medley
Bilavi

The Rabbinical School Dropouts are Sun Ra, the Hampton Grease Band, Frank Zappa and the Klezmatics all rolled into one. The music of the Friedmann brothers is fresh, imaginative and the future of Klezmer music. Their big band (featuring oboe, mandolin, bassoon, theremin, toy piano, tablas, etc.) storms through a dozen creative originals touching upon klezmer, jazz, funk, Latin, rock, and varied mishegoss along the way. Jewish garage jazz with a sick sense of humor from Long Beach, California. It’s been called Esoteric Space Klezmer, but mostly its just wild musical fun.

Mesquitto from Meggido
Counterfeit Gelt
Dung Gate
Solarium Khosdil
Pillow Rock
Yanatan HaKatan II

(more…)

New Zealand, being small and isolated from the rest of the world, is a place where people have always had to work with what they got - so the odd-for-klezmer instrumental lineup of the JBB is somewhat of a New Zealand phenomenon. There are cultural influences ranging from Celtic, Fresian, jazz, blues, rock and so on but this melding of other musical streams is nothing new for Klezmer.With a rare combination of virtuoso musicianship and wicked self parody, this eclectic, eccentric, energetic band from New Zealand radiates musical mischief and mayhem wherever it goes. Its exhilarating foot-stomping hand-clapping repertoire, both original and traditional features wild Eastern-European dance medleys, neo-40s’ New York swing, gypsy “hot club”, schmaltzy waltzes and funky dance grooves. If you can’t dance to this band you gotta problem!

My Yiddish Swing
(more…)

A seminal force in the American ska & reggae scene, KING DJANGO has made his name internationally as a singer, ragamuffin MC, songwriter, arranger, instrumentalist (trombone, ukulele, harmonica, melodica, etc.), producer, studio engineer and record label owner (Stubborn Records). His newest album “Roots Tonic,” Django has enlisted an all-star cast of resulting in twelve crucial roots reggae cuts utilizing tuff original riddims covering a wide range of styles, complex lyrical structures, a live sound full of soul.

King Django’s Roots and Culture finds King Django applying Reggae rhythms and Ska arrangements to the sound of his Jewish heritage, performing soulful Yiddish rock-steady riddims and even translations of reggae songs into Yiddish (Night Boat to Cairo).

Long before Matisyahu put on a black hat, King Django was the undisputed, most innovative figure in Jewish Reggae. It’s a project that predated Matisyahu, and has a more flavorful and authentic approach to both the Jewish and Reggae elements it combines. With a new album and fresh material on the way, The Lion of Zion has returned, bearing sweet, reggae filled rugelach.

Drawing on diverse influences as roots reggae, dancehall, ska, rock, soul, swing, and American and Yiddish folk music, King Django has always been a hard man to pigeonhole. His versatility within genres of punk, rhythm & blues, and Jamaican grooves is unmatched, starting early as the singer / trombonist of legendary ska band The Boilers through reggae/soul/jazz experimentalists Skinnerbox (1989-1998) and mainstream recognition as the founder and leader of traditional ska supergroup Stubborn All-Stars.