Metropolitan Klezmer back uptown in concert! Sunday, September 7th 2:00pm... full eight-piece band Benefit for B'nai Brith at Congregation Habonim 44 West 66th St, NYC $36; $9 for ages 12 & under; $18 for seniors w/copy of this email! More concert info & advance tickets: 212-490-3290
This concert is dedicated with love to the memory of our dear friend & colleague Howie Leess (1920 - 2003), an original member of the Greater Metropolitan Klezmer Band METROPOLITAN KLEZMER www.metropolitanklezmer.com Ismail Butera - accordion Rick Faulkner - trombone Pam Fleming - trumpet & flugelhorn Michael Hess - ney flute, kanun flute & violin Dave Hofstra - bass & tuba Deborah Karpel - vocals Debra Kreisberg - clarinet & alto saxophone Eve Sicular - drums / bandleader Our latest CD, "Surprising Finds," is currently airing throughout North America & beyond, including Mondo Cannibale (WDR/Funkhaus Europa, Germany) & WRUW-FM (Top Ten World Beat list, July; Cleveland OH). Now at Borders Books among many other outlets! Excerpts from our latest reviews: ...an approach that combines scholarly rigor with imaginative leaps of juxtaposition... on the aptly titled Surprising Finds, "field recordings" of vocalist Deborah Karpel's grandfather rub up against a suite of previously unknown Soviet Yiddish theater tunes and Hungarian Hasidic melodies. "Pick a Pocket or Two" from the Broadway musical Oliver! is reclaimed as a subversive bit of radical Jewish culture, and in an innovative feat of remixing, today's Metropolitan Klezmer lineup plays a medley with a decade-old version of the group... Debra Kreisberg blows a jazzy alto saxophone on "The Rooster Crows" and trumpeter Pam Fleming stretches her lip as well as her compositional muscles on "Dreaming Wizard," written in the style of a khosidl, a slow Hasidic dance tune... worthy additions to any klezmer library. - Seth Rogovoy, Sing Out! magazine [author, The Essential Klezmer] Metropolitan Klezmer is one of (I'd argue strongly for *the*, but I'm sure of universal agreement on "one of") the best klezmer bands in the world today....Surprising Finds, the group's third release, though, takes them to an even higher level, although I might not have believed such a thing was possible before hearing it... a delightfully multi-dimensional view of a musical form that is far too easily stereotyped, not only by those unfamiliar with its range, but unfortunately by some of its practitioners as well... Metropolitan Klezmer is anything but stereotypical, and nothing but terrific. - Shaun Dale, Cosmik Debris (cosmik.com)Ismail Butera - accordion Metropolitan Klezmer has achieved something very special with this album. They can't get much better musically. Instead, they have dug more deeply into history, bringing back live fragments, recreating others, and even, as with Pam Fleming's lovely "Dreaming Wizard," creating their own tradition. In the process, the band makes us more aware of the cultural struggles and diversity of Jews (especially labor struggles of migrants to the United States and England, but not limited to then, and not limited to labor issues) in the last century. Despite the focus on the West, there is a lovely suite here in tribute to the Soviet Yiddish Theatre. Not many realize that in the decades following the Soviet revolution there existed a vibrant avant garde Yiddish Theatre, until destroyed by Stalin's paranoia. The point isn't just to present older music (and some new tunes) that we might not yet know, but to use that as an excuse to make us aware of our own history. That the band can do this and still strengthen their reputation as one of the premier Klezmer bands performing today, is an additional testament as to the skill and excitement they bring to their music. Indeed, several tracks here were recorded live, in a small club in NYC--one even features Howie Leess, member of the original band... This is my favorite Metropolitan Klezmer album yet, something I have said about each of the earlier albums, but here say even louder. If you are new to the band's sound, start here. Then work your way back. You'll enjoy. - Ari Davidow, KlezmerShack ================= METROPOLITAN KLEZMER & the all-female ISLE OF KLEZBOS 151 First Ave #145, NYC 10003 tel: 212.475.4544 fax: 212.677.6304 www.metropolitanklezmer.com ---------------------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------+ Hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network http://shamash.org A service of Hebrew College, which offers online courses and an online MA in Jewish Studies, http://hebrewcollege.edu/online/ * * FREE JEWISH LEARNING * * Shamash invites you to join MyJewishLearning.com, a comprehensive, objective, authoritative and interactive learning resource in all areas of Judaism. Free membership via http://www.myjewishlearning.com/shamash ---------------------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------
