Yiddish blues with a Mobtown* twist...

Klezzazz, Baltimore’s Yiddish beat band, combines the ancient music of klezmer with the modern genre of jazz.

The Band

Their eclectic instrumentation—the Chagall-like flute, a melodic Dixie tuba, the accordionist who spent 4 years in Prague and Amsterdam before she was found wandering the streets of Fells Point—contributes to an infectious sound that wouldn’t be complete without the trumpet player whose great grandfather played klezmer violin and perished in the Holocaust. Not to mention the drummer who lays down a funky backbeat, and the fidl player who weaves in and out of each tune with such pathos and dexterity.

Then there are the vocals, complemented by entertaining and informative introductions to place the tunes in a contemporary context. Whether you appreciate the lyrics in their original Yiddish or the occasional English language verses, the songs are usually simple and the meaning universal--someone done wrong, true love gone astray, goodwill toward humankind--basically the stuff of American Country Western translated to the old country.

Each of these six musicians brings a personal passion to this music, whose roots lie deep in the history of Eastern Europe—and in each player’s personal biography.

History

Klezzazz has evolved from an informal rehearsal group at Bolton Street Synagogue, where they started jamming together in 2004 for dances, holidays and family events, to a professional ensemble that has performed at many venues in the Baltimore-Washington area. They have appeared at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Washington Jewish Arts Festival, the Jewish Museum, and multiple appearances at Baltimore’s Creative Alliance.

* Mobtown: Baltimore’s “Mobtown” nickname is rooted in its history as a rough and tumble town, with many competing stories accounting for the moniker. (http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-04/baltimore/) It was actually dubbed “Mobtown” in the 1850s after an election that elevated the Know-Nothing Party to power, when Edgar Allen Poe was rumored to have died after being dragged through the streets to the polls. (http://www.examiner.com/x-234-Baltimore-History-Examiner~topic4116-Know-Nothings)

Another wave of mob-inspired riots rocked Baltimore when Abraham Lincoln’s train passed through the city in 1861 (http://www.civilwarbattlefields.us/blog/data/19.html). By the 1920s, the sinister moniker was firmly secured by one of Baltimore’s most famous literary sons, H.L. Menken, after he published many literary crime writers, like Baltimore-born Dashiell Hammett, who invented the famous Sam Spade detective character. (http://www.citypaper.com/special/story.asp?id=5974)