The Klezmatics Infuse Traditional Klezmer with Explosive New Ideas & Sounds

Combination of world, punk, soul, jazz and klezmer catches fire on Oct. 18

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:Andrew Zender,azender@umd.edu
(301) 405-8151

September 28, 2009 — College Park, MD. — The Grammy-winning Klezmatics bring their eclectic brand of klezmer music to Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Dekelboum Concert Hall on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009 at 6 p.m. Known for their dynamic and genre-busting synthesis of sounds – including traditional klezmer, punk, jazz, gospel, Latin, African and Arab – the group brings deeply rooted traditions to life through a contemporary sensibility. The Oct. 18 performance is presented in partnership with the university’s Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies.

In addition, the Klezmatics’ Lorin Sklamberg will join Miriam Isaacs, Associate Professor of Yiddish Language and Culture at the Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies, in “Culture Bearers,” a free engagement event on Monday, October 19 at 12:30 p.m. in the Center’s Laboratory Theatre. The two will lead an engaging discussion – with audio examples – about bringing authentic ethnic music to contemporary audiences.

The Klezmatics emerged out of the vibrant cultural scene of New York City’s East Village in 1986 performing traditional Klezmer music rooted in fifteenth-century Eastern European Jewish traditions and spirituality. The group, comprised of Matt Darriau (kaval, clarinet, saxophone); Lisa Gutkin (violin, vocals); Frank London (trumpet, keyboards); Paul Morrissett (bass, tsimbl), Lorin Sklamberg (lead vocals, accordion, guitar, piano), and Richie Barshay (percussion), communicates contemporary themes through music that is wild, mystical, provocative, reflective, and ecstatically danceable – an expression of cultures old and new.

Over the course of two decades and 10 recordings, the Klezmatics have made a career out of breaking down musical barriers, working with many musical luminaries and creating a powerfully diverse repertoire. In 2003 the Klezmatics recorded eight tracks of original music set to unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics inspired by Guthrie’s mother-in-law Aliza Greenblatt, an influential Yiddish poet – working with Guthrie’s daughter Nora as a consultant. In 2006, they revisited the collaboration by placing the dust-bowl troubadour’s words into a contemporary folk-roots setting. The result, the Jewish-Brooklyn-Americana collection Wonder Wheel: Lyrics by Woody Guthrie, earned the group a Grammy Award for “Best Contemporary World Music Album.”

By using essential spiritual, historical, and cultural foundations as a springboard to ambitious new musical hybrids, The Klezmatics have cemented their status as one of the most inventive and bold musical outfits in the field today. They will draw their repertoire for the October 18 performance from a variety of recordings produced during their extensive career.

Tickets are $42 for the general public and $9 for full-time students with I.D. Tickets are available by visiting www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu or calling (301) 405-ARTS (2787). The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is located at the intersection of University Boulevard (Route 193) and Stadium Drive in College Park, on the campus of the University of Maryland. A parking garage is located across the street from the Center.

The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes that a great nation deserves great art. Additional support is generously provided by a grant from the Leading College and University Presenters Program of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and by a generous grant from The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.