During the quarter-century since their formation in New York City, the Klezmatics have stood at the forefront of a popular revival of klezmer music—the traditional secular music of the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe that, in its earliest incarnations, flourished mainly at celebratory occasions. Whether it’s a sober, evocative ballad or an irrepressibly happy dance tune, The Klezmatics’ music is a comfortable hybrid of the traditional and the modern, injecting time-honored styles with a global outlook and plenty of downtown chutzpah.
 
In addition to inspiring delirious joy in audiences around the world with their brand of wild, provocative, reflective, and ecstatically danceable “Jewish roots music,” this Grammy- Award winning ensemble has raised the bar for Eastern European Jewish music, collaborating with such brilliant artists as violinist Itzhak Perlman, playwright Tony Kushner, and poet Allen Ginsberg. The group has released 10 albums to date (most recently the two-CD Live at Town Hall).
 
The group’s current lineup includes three founders—Lorin Sklamberg (lead vocals, accordion, guitar, piano), Frank London (trumpet, keyboards, vocals), and Paul Morrissett (bass, tsimbl/dulcimer, vocals)—alongside longtime members Matt Darriau (kaval/flute, clarinet, saxophone, vocals) and Lisa Gutkin (violin, vocals).

Yiddish, the trans-national language of East European jewry, is replete with vivid, emotional, and colorful expressions. One such, farshafn a sakh freyd un fargenign, (“to give much joy and pleasure”) perfectly encapsulates the happiness that The Klezmatics deliver. As Time Out New York would have it, “The Klezmatics aren’t just the best band in the klezmer vanguard; on a good night, they rank among the greatest bands on the planet.”

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