Bands and Performing Groups: Klezmer, Jewish, and Related or Derivative musics

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Klezmer Bands, "P"

The Panorama Jazz Band is based in New Orleans, LA. The band was founded by the original clarinetist and leader of the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars, Ben Schenck, who left after a couple years to form a more tradition-oriented band. The band features clarinet, alto saxophone, trombone, accordion, banjo, tuba and drums. Their parade outfit, The Panorama Brass Band is the official marching band of The Krewe du Mishigas (krewe.us) New Orleans' only Jewish Mardi Gras Krewe. The band performs at numerous weddings, bar mitzvahs and private parties each month and can be heard every Friday from 6:30-9:30 at The Spotted Cat (623 Frenchmen St). In addition to klezmer music, they play old time New Orleans jazz, Caribbean music from Martinique, Balkan folk music and the occasional waltz or polka. All music meant for dancing! Their first album, "Another Hot Night In February" was released in 2003, followed by Panoramaland in 2005. Tel: 504-896-9945. Web: www.panoramajazzband.com. E-mail Panorama Jazz. (Ben Schenck)

The People's Republic of Klezmerica, is an acoustic klezmer sextet (clarinet-trumpet-fiddle-accordion-bowed bass- percussion)from Columbia, Missouri. We bring a raw and energetic edge to klezmer tunes and traditional Yiddish songs, infusing them with our own sense of exhuberance, expression, and background unique to the Ozark borderlands, bosom of Jewish-Hillbilly culture. This raw energy is combined with original, full big-Yiddish-band style arrangements and soulful Yiddish vocals and screams. We do tunes transcribed from old recordings, songs learned from the Yiddish-speaking community, and some originals. Web: www.moklezmer.com. E-mail People's Republic of Klezmerica. (Jordan Wax).

Pey Dalid, based in the NYC metro area, plays Jewish mystical soul that helps to make you feel alive and in love with the world. Am Yisrael Chai! Tel: 914-804-2721. Myspace: www.myspace.com/peydalid. Web: PeyDalid.com. E-mail Pey Dalid. (C.J. Glass)

Pharaoh's Daughter fuses Chasidic melodies from an orthodox background into original singer songwriter music with other pop/klezmer/middleeastern/indian influences picked up hitchiking through the middle East and Africa. Our instrumentation is guitar, cello, flute/clarinet/crumbhorns, tabla, darbuka/percussion,and vocals. We perform mostly at the Knitting Factory, and at Jewish Festivals. The first CD was "Daddy's Pockets," followed by "Out of the Reeds" in 2000, on Knitting Factory Records, followed by "Exile" (2002) and "Queen's Dominion" (2004). Website: www.pharaohsdaughter.com. For Booking, or information, call Basya Schechter 718-302-9520. E-mail Pharoah's Daughter.

PiazuTrio is from Hamburg, Germany. We play a mixture of klezmer, pop and worldmusic. Clarinet, Double Bass and Acoustic Guitar. We play some traditionals like Papirosn, Nigun, Oseh Shalom but for the main part we write own songs in our own style, a mixture of chamber-like arrangements and wild solo-parts. Tel: 004915773471016. Web: www.piazutrio.com Check out our Video:

(Jonathan Krause)

The Plaid Tongued Devils, based in Calgary, Alberta, perform high performance Klezmer/Gypsy Rock. An intriguing and exotic melange of western Pop, Rock and Ska blended with Klezmer, Gypsy (Roma) and Eastern European musical styles and further flavored with elements of traditional and modern Arabic, Flamenco, Raga (East Indian) and Greek music. In 2002, the Plaid Tongued Devils made it into the top 10 list of over 2000 unsigned bands in a Canada-wide contest held by CBC Radio 1. They have also given the UNA award for being Canada'a Loudest Folk Band, by CBC Radio 1's nationally broadcast pop-culture radio program, "Definately Not the Opera" (DNTO). The Plaid Tongued Devils list of accomplishments are too extensive to list here so to find out more about the band and their music go to their website at www.thedevils.com. E-mail Plaid-Tongued Devils. (Ty Semaka)

Prague Klezmerim came into existence some eight years ago as an offshoot of the local Mishpaha (Hassidic) choir. The band plays traditional instrumental Klezmer music along with own creations and arrangements and can offer a full-length evening performance interlaced with short stories as well as background music for parties etc. They have had numerous concerts, played at bar/bat mitzvahs, weddings and private events throughout the region, in Czech Republic and Germany. All members are professional musicians/music students affiliated with the local Jewish community age 20 to 28, with instrumentation including: clarinet, 2 violins, bassoon, guitare, piano, percussion. For more information, bookings or to order CDs or tapes (one own, one together with Mishpaha) please contact Helena Roth at +420-603-467115 or fax +420-2-2318664. E-mail Prague Klezmorim. (Helena-Ester Divecka)

By many accounts the best traditional Klezmer band in Minnesota, Prague '24 has been performing at weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and public events large and small for several years. We consist of four professional musicians: Maria Mimick on violin, Mitch Blatt on clarinet, P. Samuel Johnson on double bass, and James Vculek on accordion and piano. Our repertoire runs the gamut from traditional 19th century Eastern European freilakhs, shers, horas, doinas, kolomeikes and bulgars, to Yiddish folk songs, Yiddish theater music of the 20th century, and Sephardic music of the 16th and 17th centuries. Prague's 24's debut CD - Seven Good Years was released November 2000. Contact the band, buy their CD, or find out about their upcoming gigs at the Prague '24 website. E-mail Prague 24. (James Vculek).

I play with a Klezmer band (Prairie Heym Klezmorim) in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. Our band has 5 instrumentalists-clarinet (Marty Dworkin); violin (Alan Kagan); trombone/tuba (Steve Sandberg); bass/mandolin (Paul Johnson); and piano/accordion (Allen Levine). Our vocalist is Amy Olson. E-mail Prairie Heym Klezmorim. [Allen Levine].

The Pressburger Klezmer Band is named after the Yiddish name of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia - established in 1995 as first Yiddish kapelye in the Slovak Republic. The band has 7 members -- singer, violin, viola, c-bass, piano, clarinet, drums. The band has played on many concerts in Slovakia and Czech republic like Hanukkah, Purim or Khasenes or another solo concerts - 1997 in the Concert Hall of the Slovak Radio. If you would like to know more about us visit our site at www.klezmer.sk (Slovak?) Write: Kutlikova 5, 851 02 Bratislava, Slovakia. E-mail the Pressburger Klezmer Band. (Andrej Werner)

Punkt Azoy is a tiny klezmer duo with a big, fun sound in San Diego, CA. We are Larry Goldfinger (Bb and C clarinets, accordion, kaval, piano) and Risa Goldberg (accordion, percussion, flute). We play a wide variety of the traditional klezmer repertoire as well as Hasidic nigunim and a dash of Greek, Ukranian, Russian and Polish music. We've played concerts, festivals, simchas, given lectures, and done classroom demonstrations. Our favorite is to play simchas, and we'd love to play at yours! Tel: 619-200-8505. E-mail the Punkt Azoy. (Larry Goldfinger)


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