Naftule's Dream is the progressive, "post-klezmer" side of the group that is otherwise known as Shirim Klezmer Orchestra. In this configuration, vocals are replaced by electric guitar, and the band focuses on modern music. The first album on Tzadik, The Search for the Golden Dreydl was released in Dec. 1997, followed by "Smash, Clap!" in 1998 and Job in 2001. A live album, Naftule's Dream / Live in Florence, followed in 2002. About 30 minutes of a Naftule's Dream performance at the Ashkenaz '97 festival is available in RealAudio 3.0 format. Contact: Eric Rosenthal, 617 522 2900. Web: www.naftulesdream.com. E-mail Naftule's Dream.

The Nahalat Shalom Community Klezmer Band first began in 1995 as accompaniment to a Hanukkah service. We can all delight in the fact that the Community Klezmer Band is not only multi-generational but often has several family groups playing together in it. Though once an ensemble small enough to rehearse in a living room, the band has grown to about 20 members of mixed instrumentation. Under Congregation Nahalat Shalom's cantorial soloist Beth Cohen's direction, this band has developed a repertoire of music to play for dancing at monthly Freylekhe Shabbes services and also at holiday freylekhes during Chanukah, Purim, and Passover. Leading the traditional Yiddish dances to the band's music is the Yiddish dance troupe "Rikud", which began under the co-direction of Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb and her friend, dance-master Erik Bendix. Both the community band and Rikud produce the annual world renown Klezmer music and dance weekend "Klezmerquerque", which features performances and workshops with world class Klezmer musicians and dancers. Past "Klezmerquerque" guests include Joshua Horowitz, Stuart Brotman and Cookie Segelstein ("Veretski Pass"), clarinet virtuoso Margot Leverett, and dance masters Erik Bendix and Shulim Zaltman. Get ready for the next "Klezmerquerque" and look for The Community Klezmer band and Rikud at upcoming Nahalat Shalom and community events! Tel: (505) 243-6276. Web: www.nahalatshalom.org. E-mail Nahalat Shalom Community Klezmer Band. (Beth Cohen)

Nahes, Paris, France: Group de Klezmer pour mariages, bar mitzwa et tout les occasions de mesiba. violon, piano, chant. Tel: 0033-149124935. E-mail Nahes. (Maximilian Jehuda Ewert)

Naples Klezmer Revival Band, formed in 2000, plays traditional klezmer arrangements for all kinds of simchas and celebrations in the Naples/Ft. Meyers Florida area. Stu Warshauer, Director and founder of the band, plays the fiddle and other klezmorim include Jane Galler, Guitar/Vocalist; Joy Spivak, Vocalist; Don Elmer,Clarinet; Don Chilo, Accordion, Arnold Saslafsky, Drums; Dan Friedman, trumpet; Art Isenberg, keyboard; Arthur Blatt, Tuba/trombone. Write: 565 Via Veneto #101, Naples FL 34108. Tel: 239-273-8059. Web naplesklezmerband.home.comcast.net. E-mail Naples Klezmer Revival Band. (Stu Warshauer)

Narishe Tantz, based in Neuhofen/Krems, Austria, plays traditional klezmer music with clarinet, accordeon and tuba. Web: www.narishetantz.com (German, English). E-mail Narishe Tantz. (Guenther Schoeller)

Di Naye Kapelye play majorly wonderful old-time European klez, based in large part on field research undertaken by bandleader, Bob Cohen, with friend Josh Horowitz, throughout Hungary and Romania. The core lineup of fiddle, bass, and accordion will knock your socks off. Accompanied by occasional clarinet, expect to be converted to a different understanding of klez. [notes, ari, 9/96] As of 9/98, a CD is available on Oriente, RIEN CD 17. It is wonderful. It was followed up in 2001 with "A Mazeldiker Yid". Web: www.dinayekapelye.com. US distribution via Hatikvah Music. Write: Di Naye Kapelye, Budapest 1142, Dorozsmai utca 7/b, I.4, Hungary. E-mail Di Naye Kapelye.

Nayekhovichi, Moscow, Russia, started in 2004 as a modest but ambitious folk quartet with tuba and electric guitar (as heard on the debut album "Proschay Korova"—"FareWell Thee, Cow"). They have since grown into a flexible, loud and extravagant klezmer rock'n'roll 9-piece orchestra. Half of the repertoire is bunch of liveliest klezmer tunes treated with honesty of a drunk goldsmith while the other half is vocal songs—some of them folk Yiddish, some of them original compositions in Yiddish, some Soviet pop, some klezmerized rock. The Nayekhovichi feel and sound equally well at oligarch Jewish weddings in Moscow, in clubs from Taganrog to London, and on festivals such as "Simcha" on London's Trafalgar Square. The reed players Alik Drobinsky and Max Carpycheff are graduates of Cisinau (Moldavia) and Odessa Conservatories respectively. The band has collaborated with Sophie Solomon, Merlin Shepherd, Paul Brody and Michael Alpert, among others. In May 2007 Vanya Zhuk is invited to ride the Klezmercruise as guitarist of the all-star Klezmer band, featuring among others David Krakauer. Band members include: Vanya Zhuk: vocals, guitar, trombone; Alik Drobinsky: clarinet; Max Carpycheff: t-sax, clarinet; Sergio Romale-Chavale: accordion; Mark Guy D'ar: bass; F.(dot) Machine Genius:snare drum and cymbals; Zheka Lizin: tsimbl, poyk; Ramil Shamsootdeenoff: trombone; Vadim Yagman: trumpet. Tel: +79037211331. Web: www.nayekhovichi.ru. E-mail Nayekhovichi.

Nefesh Klezmer Band originated at the former B'nai Chaim Congregation in Southbury, Connecticut, providing music for synagogue events. Since then, Nefesh has grown into a seven-- member group playing throughout the region performing concerts, festival events, fundraisers, private parties, community functions and religious holiday celebrations. Dedicated to the preservation of the rich Jewish musical heritage, creating fresh interpretations of traditional and contemporary Jewish music, the band presents a wide and diverse range of Jewish music from liturgical Jewish melodies, Klezmer, Israeli, Yiddish classics, Yemenite and Sephardic melodies as well as original compositions. Band members are Sharon Citrin (vocals), Alan Falk (percussion, guitar), Barbara Goodman (keyboards), Linda Goodman (bass, vocals), Alex Greenberg (clarinet, recorders) and George Steinfeld (accordion). The band's first album, "Unplucked," was released in 2001. Web: www.NefeshBand.com. E-mail Nefesh. (Alex Greenberg)

Neshama Band, based in Toronto, ON, Canada. Provides Kleizmer, Chassidic, Chabad Music for Weddings, Bar Mitzvas, etc. From 2 to 10 musicians. Tel: (416) 665-6809. E-mail Neshama Band. (David Graziani)

The New Country Klezmers are an Israeli band based in Jerusalem, playing Old Country Music//Jewgrass? Features Bruce Brill and David Baron. Contact: David Baron, 972-2-6797939 (home) / 972-54-955997 (cellular). E-mail New Country Klezmers. (David Baron)

New Kids on the Shtetl, Rochester, NY, consists of five jazz and classical performance majors at the Eastman School of Music. With members from California to Vermont, this eclectic group brings a fresh impression to klezmer music. Members have performed and had masterclasses with internationally acclaimed klezmer artist David Krakauer. They have taught an Eastman Colloquium class on Jewish traditional and contemporary music. They play local weddings and Jewish celebrations. E-mail New Kids on the Shtetl. (Morgan Nilsen)

The New Klezmer Trio fuses experimental jazz and klezmer. Formed by former members of Hotzeplotz and The Klezmorim, the music always succeeded on its own terms, and you can hear the transforms of traditional music on the avant garde side. To me, the music appeared to get more cerebral, less accessible, and more distant from klezmer from the first album to the second, but that may also be me, in the role of an ultraorthodox Jew trying to comprehend Jewish secularism (a comparison that makes me, a secularist in real life, uncomfortable in the way it points to my limits). On the other hand, jazz musicians have told me how much they dug what the band was doing. Both of the band's albums are now available on John Zorn's Radical Jewish Çulture label. A capsule reviews is available of Masks and Faces.

We are the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars! Where do you live? We tour a lot and may be in your neighborhood. Ot Azoi!, N.O.K.A.S. (your regional source for yiddish-funk). Our first album was released in 1994. The second album (spring, 1996) is Manichalfwitz. Then there was The Big Kibosh, 1997, "Fresh Out the Past," 1999, and most recently, "Borvis", 2003. For video/audio of the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, including performance footage and interviews, please check out http://www.foreigntv.com/music.html. Tel: 504 866 1710. Web: http://www.klezmers.com/. E-mail New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars.

The New Shtetl Band, based in Albuquerque, NM, plays traditional klezmer music and the music of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Greece and the Middle East. The band was one of the early pioneering klezmer groups in the US. It takes its name from the small towns and ghettos, called shtetls, in which Jews lived from the middle ages until the middle of the 20th century. The band is recognized locally and nationally for its repertoire and broad range of soulful playing. It was instrumental in introducing this music to the Southwestern USA and continues to play a vital role in Jewish communities providing music central to people's lives, celebrations and rituals. The band has a CD available on CDbaby.com. E-mail New Shtetl Band. (Stuart Mennin).

The New York Klezmer Orchestra, based in Rochester, NY, plays a wide variety of danceable klezmer music from Eastern Europe. Great for cultural concerts, Jewish weddings, and Bar Mitzvahs. An evening with The New York Klezmer Orchestra includes a repertoire of Turkish, Romanian, Polish and other central and eastern European influenced traditional music. In addition to the traditional, this ecclectic troupe is one of New York State's foremost composers of contemporary klezmer music. Expect the unexpected, for this klezmer band adds the energies of rock & roll, jazz and swing into their shows. In addition to the fine music, the band's incomparable wit and spirit pulls in the audience, creating a truly intimate and renjuvinating experience. Web: www.nyko.us. E-mail New York Klezmer Orchestra. (Solomon Rose)

Next Village was the fusion world folk concert band fronted by violinist Kaila Flexer. They recorded two albums as "Third Ear," and then changed their name (conflict with a British Rock band). Their first album, Listen was reviewed on these pages, as was their album as "Next Village." The band is no longer extant.

Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad, based in NYC, is a refreshing mix of comedy, music, spoken-word and show-stopping burlesque, featuring the gals who learned to smoke at Hebrew School, got drunk at their Bat-Mitzvahs and would rather have more schtuppa than the chupah, featuring performers seen on Comedy Central, HBO, and Late Night TV. These badass chosen chicks boldly dare to deconstruct years of tradition, expectations and guilt in a fast-paced vaudeville extravaganza, complete with kick-lines, punch-lines and a rendition of "L'chaim" with a fist in the mouth. This ain't yo' mama's "Fiddler"! Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad is backed by their very own klezmer all-star band, The Four Skins and featuring Go-Go by Sister Schmaltz. Web: www.nicejewishgirlsgonebad.com. E-mail Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad.

Nigun, based in Hungary. The members of the band, who don't go only in for the same music but they are also friends, are mixing traditional jewish music (klezmer, sephard, folk-sacral) with jazz and and free-improv elements. This music is characterized by both the melodic turns of jewish music and improvisational elements. The aim of Nigun is beside preserving heritage to create new values. The creative process includes rewriting the traditional melodies and with collective work of art evolves the unique and modern sound of Nigun. Members of the band: András Párniczky: guitar; Kristóf Bacsó: alt-, szopran saxofon; Péter Nagy: bass; Csaba Gavallér: drums, derbuka. Tel: +36/30/9902648. Web: www.nigun.hu. E-mail Nigun. (András Párniczky)

Nikitov, a group of four people from which two of the bandmembers are living in New York and two in Haarlem, in the Netherlands. This means a combination of different musical backgrounds and education. They bring a great diversity of sounds -- Gypsy Jazz, Eastern European, Bluegrass, and Classical and all are to be recognized in the music they play. The foundation of the repertoire is based on Jewish songs and traditional Yiddish lyrics and melodies. The intstrumentalists offer a world of sounds through their improvisations: Gypsy Jazz, Bluegrass, Turkish, Middle Eastern and more are to be heard in the music. A true world music band, Nikitov represents music that symbolises the beauty of life, sometimes sad, melancholic, humorous, joyful and always engaging. The band's first album, "Amulet" was released in 2004. Web: www.nikitov.com. E-mail Nikitov. (Niki Jacobs)

The North Strand Klezmer Band is a six piece outfit from Dublin (Eire). On clarinet (Daniel Page), accordion (Luke Page), Guitar (Stephan Daly), Alto Saxaphone (Jack Macmahon), Percussion (Peter Sheridan) and on Double Bass we have James Mullen. We mostly play a blend of Klezmer, Balkan and Roma gypsy music. The band has been together since November of 2005 and are playing regularly around Dublin. Web: www.myspace/thenorthstrandklezmerband E-mail North Strand Klezmer. (Daniel Page)

"Nosh..." and "Rock Simches" with Noam Segal and Josh Alpert are a high energy duo playing assorted Jewish chasidic and Jewish Irish/American songs. We play guitar, mandolin, banjo, and fiddle and have perform concerts as well as simches. We also have 5 piece rockin'bluegrasss/Chasidic klezmer called "Rock Simches". Tel: Noam --phone 516-482-8353 or Josh-- 516-292-3404. E-mail Nosh. (Noam Segal)

The Mark Novak Band. Since 1994, this Washington, DC based band has filled the niche for a band that can really play both great Jewish AND contemporary American dance music. From the music of the Romantics, Brian Setzer, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Van Morrison, James Brown, Frank Sinatra to Israeli Folk Dance to Shlomo Carlebach (z"l)! Soulful, Rockin', Joyous Jewish and American music? Excellent. Web: www.Jewishstorytelling.com/band. E-mail Mark Novak.

Nu is a one year old klezmer duo form Cologne, Germany. We are Georg Brinkmann: clarinet and vocals, and Florian Stadler: Akkodeon. Both of us played in other klezmerbands before. Web: www.nu-klezmer.de. E-mail Nu. (Georg Brinkmann)

Nussbaum, Smidl & Ougaard Klezmertrio, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, features Channe Nussbaum (see "Spielniks") performing Jewish folk music and klezmer with only vocal, fiddle, and accordion. The band has recently released a CD (2002), "Klezmertrio". Web: www.trioklezmer.dk. E-mail Channe Nussbaum.