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Klezmer Conservatory Band: A Taste of Paradise
This is klezmer, the Jewish music rooted in Eastern Europe and transplanted, in the last part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries, to the U.S., where it soaked up influences of American jazz. And the Klezmer Conservatory Band has persisted, with A Taste of Paradise the latest of ten CDs, in keeping that tradition alive.
The group covers the entire tradition here, it seems. "A Fischele," a Zionist song (a cappella here, Judy Bressler, voice) that's nearly a century old rubs shoulders with a strange modern mix of Klezmer and hip hop in "Bessrabian Breakdown," with the funkiest bass groove you'll come across on a klezmer recording. "Rejoicing" begins with a plaintive violin solo that leads into – a song within a song – "Yesterday's Gone," featuring lyrics in Yiddish and Belarussian; then we attend a Jewish wedding, with the violin (Deborah Strauss) getting quite lively, reminscent of some late-night-in-the-pub Irish fiddling as the song evolves toward its frenzied ending.
There's a lot more. Seventeen songs, a dozen or so instruments, an ear-opening array of klezmer sounds and styles, an entrancing and lively introduction to the this traditional Jewish music.
Visit The Klezmer Conservatory Band on the web at www.klezmerconservatory.com
Track Listing
Sarba Miracinae, Sholem Tants, A Glezele Yash, Dovidl Bazetst Di Kale, Mayn Ershte Vals, O Mortis, A Fishele, Oyfn Oyvn, Tayere Malkele, Khaye Sho, Bessarabian Breakdown, Rejoicing, Tif Vi Di Nakht, Dem Zeydns Tants/Tants Istanbul, Sabbath Prayer, Az Der Rebe Elimeylekh, Nakhes Bulgar
Personnel
Klezmer Conservatory Band
band / ensemble / orchestraHankus Netsky--director; Judy Bressler--vocals; Ilene Stahl--clarinet; Deborah Strauss--violin; Robin Miller--flute and piccolo; Mark Berney--cornet and trumpet; Mark Hamilton--trombone; Hankus Netsky--alto sax, accordion, piano; Art Bailey--piano, accordion; Jeff Warschauer--mandolin, guitar, tenor banjo, vocals; James Guttmann--bass; Grant Smith--drums and percussion
Album information
Title: A Taste of Paradise | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Rounder Records
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About Klezmer Conservatory Band
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
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