Aaron Alexander

Drummer and Composer Aaron Alexander is a New York City based klezmer and jazz drummer, composer, bandleader and educator. His original klezmer/jazz/world music band "Midrash Mish Mosh" has been acclaimed by critics, musicians and fans, and has appeared in respected venues in New York City, (Makor, Knitting Factory, Satalla, Live on WNYC's New Sounds with John Schaefer, and others) as well as Krakow, Poland; Vienna, Austria; and Toronto, Ontario. Over the past two decades, Alexander's performances and recordings with Hasidic New Wave, BABKAS(with Brad Shepik & Briggan Krauss), The Klezmatics, Greg Wall, Alicia Svigals, Satoko Fujii Orchestra, Ray Musiker, Tronzo Trio, Jay Clayton, Margot Leverett, Timebone, Alex Kontorovich, Freeplay, German Goldenshteyn, Boban Markovic' Orkestar, and Frank London's Klezmer Brass All-Stars have brought his music to the ears of listeners all over the world.

Alexander has toured extensively in North and South America and Europe with many different groups. He has appeared on Prairie Home Companion with the Klezmatics, BET Live with Hasidic New Wave, performed music for theatre at Joseph Papp Public Theater, Seattle Rep Theater, Arena Stage in Wash. DC and LaMama Etc. Alexander has composed and performed music for Dance and conceived and produced Hasidic New Wave's acclaimed collaboration with Senegalese Sabar ensemble Yakar Rhythms. He has received composition grants from the Seattle Arts Commission and Meet The Composer Foundation. His collective band Timebone, in 1990 won an Earshot Jazz award for "Best Acoustic Jazz Group."

Aaron has appeared at many of the top Jazz and World Music Festivals and Venues, including Krakow Festival of Jewish Culture, Lincoln Center, Chicago World Music Festival, Pitchfork Festival, JVC Jazz Festival, Bumbershoot, North Sea Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Royal Festival Hall in London, Berlin Jazz Festival, Ring Ring Festival (Belgrade), Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto, Pori Jazz Festival (Finland), New Morning in Paris, Lincoln Center, Pepsi Sziget Festival (Budapest), San Francisco Jazz Festival, Earshot Jazz Festival, Moods in Zurich, Porgy and Bess in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and festivals in Argentina, Brazil, England, Norway, Finland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Latvia, Slovakia, Croatia, Italy, France, Belgium, and Springfield, IL. Alexander is on the teaching faculty at Klez Kamp, Klez Kanada and had taught at Yiddish Summer Weimar and other venues. Alexander grew up in Seattle and moved to NYC in 1993.

Alexander has accompanied many of the biggest names in Jewish music on various events run by Workmen's Circle, Circle Lodge, Klez Kamp, Klez Kanada and other organizations. He has performed with such luminaries as Claire Barry (of the Barry Sisters), Pete Sokolow, Cantors Alberto Mizrahi and Benzion Miller, Theodore Bikel, Joanne Borts, Adrienne Cooper, Zalmen Mlotek, Tovah Feldshuh, Mina Bern, Avi Hoffman, Bob Abelson, Fyvush Finkel, Eleanor Reissa, Bruce Adler, and many others.

Alexander has worked in the Jazz and Creative Music with James Knapp's Composers and Improvisers Orchestra('84-5), Natsuki Tamura, Myth Science (w/Anthony Coleman)('95-6), Dave Tronzo Trio('96-7), Jay Clayton/Jim Knapp Collective ('89-93), Julian Priester, J. Anthony Granelli, Mose Allison, Kirk Nurock, Rob Henke, Peter Epstein, Michael Bisio, Wayne Horvitz, Steve Bernstein, Chris Speed, Jessica Williams, Janice Friedman, Charlie Byrd & many others.