The Red Hot Chachkas infuse the klezmer tradition of Eastern European Yiddish music with jazz, rock, oldtime, classical, and latin influences in their original compositions, arrangements, and improvisations. From performances at the 2010 Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto to San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall their hot sound and uptempo beat gets folks up and dancing. Violinist Julie Egger leads the group, Barbara Speed plays clarinet, Diana Strong plays accordion, Tony Phillips plays mandolin, Breck Diebel plays bass, and Aharon Wheels Bolsta plays drums.

The Klezmer Playboys are a high energy, groove based, improvisational band of musical freaks.  Playing a combination of original compositions and reworked traditionals, the band pushes and pushes in the name of fun. Accordionist and bandleader Glenn Hartman—who was a co-founder of the New Orleans Klezmer All Stars—is joined by Sheldon Brown on clarinet, Stu Brotman on bass, and Aaron Kierbal on drums.

Rob Reich and Ben Goldberg have been playing together in the chamber jazz group Tin Hat for several years, and recently have been exploring Klezmer together.  Ben is the founder of the innovative New Klezmer Trio and also played with the group Clarinet Thing. Rob—who plays accordion and piano—was a founding member of Kugelplex and played with the Red Hot Chachkas for many years.  Together they create a highly charged, dynamic performance, improvising on traditional Klezmer themes.

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