Date/Time
Date(s) - 12/21/2014
12:00 AM
Location
Miner Auditorium, SFJAZZ Center
Category(ies)
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“The Klezmatics aren’t just the best band in the klezmer vanguard; on a good night, they can rank among the greatest bands on the planet.” — Time Out New York
“The sextet masterfully (and seemingly effortlessly) expressed the celebratory and sentimental feelings that are fundamental facets of traditional klezmer music.” — Los Angeles Times
- Lorin Sklamberg — lead vocals, accordion, guitar, piano
- Matt Derriau — kaval, clarinet, saxophone
- Lisa Gutkin — violin, vocals
- Frank London — trumpet, keyboards
- Paul Morrissett — bass, tsimbl
- Richie Barshay — percussion
The GRAMMY-winning Jewish klezmer superstars make their SFJAZZ Center debut in the midst of the Festival of Light, performing seasonal music from their 2006 album Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah that set lyrics by the late Woody Guthrie to their delightful original compositions. Formed in the New York’s East Village in 1986, the Klezmatics led the resurgence of the nearly-forgotten klezmer tradition and contemporized it with an irreverent dose of punk rock attitude, and since their inception, have been one of most visible faces of today’s Yiddish culture. Enduring a number of personnel changes over the past two decades, the band has revolved around original members Lorin Sklamberg on lead vocals and accordion, trumpeter/keyboardist Frank London and bassist Paul Morrissett. They have collaborated with violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, Pulitzer prize winner Tony Kushner and Israeli vocalist Chava Alberstein, and have released eleven diverse albums, including the GRAMMY-winning Wonder Wheel, their first session that set previously unused Woody Guthrie lyrics to their own original material. The group’s most recent release is 2011’s historic document Live at Town Hall and the concurrently released documentary film The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground. Spend an evening this Hanukkah with most celebrated klezmer band in the land.