New Klezmer Quintet
Encyclopedia
The New Klezmer Quintet is a traditional klezmer
band originally from the Washington, D.C.
area. The group is also a neo-klezmer ensemble performing klezmer music while incorporating elements of modern Israeli folk music, ladino
, jazz
, Swing music, Latin music, and rock and roll
styles. The band was formed in 2001 at the Lansing Michigan Jazz Festival when a group of independent conservatory trained professional musicians
with their own bands came together to jam. The New Klezmer Quintet has an older sister band called The Kol Haruach Orchestra which plays private events, while the main band plays strictly concert venues. Kol Haruach means voice of the spirit which embodies the groups improvisational and audience pleasing performance style.
Current members of the group are
The group is rising to become one the most highly esteemed klezmer
bands in the country. According to agents, between their standards and the original music, the band is known to draw a multi-ethnic crowd of between 1000–1500 people per concert, easily selling out major shows. The group has performed at the Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
, Strathmore Hall in Bethesda, Md., and the National Museum of the American Indian
and benefit concerts at local synagogues. The group played for the 2009 presidential Inaugural festivities and has been simulcast on NPR
. Guest artist's with the group have included accomplished Cantors Phil Greenfield and Ramon Tasat.
The New Klezmer Quintet has the flexibility to sound like a klezmer
band from the "old country" evoking images of the Jewish shtetl
, a swing band tributing Duke Ellington
, or a rock band covering Santana
and The Village People. Most of all this group of creative artists love to write their own tunes, combining these various styles to make a brand new sound for today's audiences; sometimes called klezmer-rock.
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
band originally from the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
area. The group is also a neo-klezmer ensemble performing klezmer music while incorporating elements of modern Israeli folk music, ladino
Judaeo-Spanish
Judaeo-Spanish , in Israel commonly referred to as Ladino, and known locally as Judezmo, Djudeo-Espanyol, Djudezmo, Djudeo-Kasteyano, Spaniolit and other names, is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, Swing music, Latin music, and rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
styles. The band was formed in 2001 at the Lansing Michigan Jazz Festival when a group of independent conservatory trained professional musicians
with their own bands came together to jam. The New Klezmer Quintet has an older sister band called The Kol Haruach Orchestra which plays private events, while the main band plays strictly concert venues. Kol Haruach means voice of the spirit which embodies the groups improvisational and audience pleasing performance style.
Current members of the group are
- Brian ChoperBrian ChoperBrian Choper is an American drummer, percussionist, band manager and author. Withover 30 years experience playing both nationally and internationally, he has been featured on 9 CD's,...
– Band manager and drummer - Fred Jacobowitz – Clarinet and saxophone
- Judy Spokes Cho – Violin
- Lou Durham – Piano and keyboard
- Bill Hones – Bass
The group is rising to become one the most highly esteemed klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
bands in the country. According to agents, between their standards and the original music, the band is known to draw a multi-ethnic crowd of between 1000–1500 people per concert, easily selling out major shows. The group has performed at the Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is the central facility of the District of Columbia Public Library . Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the 400,000 square foot steel, brick, and glass structure, and it is a rare example of modern architecture in Washington, D.C.-Construction:This...
, Strathmore Hall in Bethesda, Md., and the National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
and benefit concerts at local synagogues. The group played for the 2009 presidential Inaugural festivities and has been simulcast on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
. Guest artist's with the group have included accomplished Cantors Phil Greenfield and Ramon Tasat.
The New Klezmer Quintet has the flexibility to sound like a klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
band from the "old country" evoking images of the Jewish shtetl
Shtetl
A shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in Central and Eastern Europe until The Holocaust. Shtetls were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia and Romania...
, a swing band tributing Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, or a rock band covering Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
and The Village People. Most of all this group of creative artists love to write their own tunes, combining these various styles to make a brand new sound for today's audiences; sometimes called klezmer-rock.
Discography
- 2004-In the Beginning...Bereshit; Entertainment Connection
- 2005-Kol Haruach-Live in Concert;Klezmer and Jazz-Together at Last; Entertainment Connection
- 2008-"Unexpected Joy"-The New Klezmer Quintet-Live in Concert w/ Ramon Tasat; Entertainment Connection