The Klezmatics
“Happy Joyous Hanukkah, Lyrics by Woody Guthrie”
Thursday, November 29, 2018 at 7:30PM at the South Orange Performing Arts Center
The Klezmatics are world-renowned Grammy-winning klezmer superstars. Join them in celebration of the Festival of Lights with “Happy Joyous Hanukkah, Lyrics by Woody Guthrie.” You’ll soon feel the warm embrace of family tradition as the seasonal music envelops your senses and wraps you in the memories of a shared history.
The Klezmatics erupted out of New York City’s East Village in 1986 and revitalized klezmer for the new century with music that is steeped in Eastern European Jewish tradition and spirituality. The Klezmatics expertly incorporated contemporary themes such as human rights and anti-fundamentalism and eclectic musical influences including Arab, African, Latin and Balkan rhythms, jazz and punk.
In the course of over thirty years they have released twelve albums of wild, spiritual, provocative, reflective and ecstatically danceable music, forever redefining and transcending traditional labels. The Klezmatics have collaborated with numerous luminaries including folk hero Arlo Guthrie, classical legend Itzhak Perlman, Israeli pop icons Chava Alberstein and Ehud Banai, beat poet Allen Ginsberg, the Master Musicians of Jajouka, the Ben Folds Five and Kosher Gospel singer Joshua Nelson.
Their work has extended to numerous theater, film, dance and television projects, including Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner’s A Dybbuk and It’s An Undoing World and Pilobolus Dance Theatre’s Davenen. The Klezmatics have reached millions through performances and features on CBS’s Late Night with David Letterman, PBS’ Great Performances, the BBC’s Rhythms of the World, and John Peel Show, various NPR programs (A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, New Sounds Live and Soundcheck), CBS’s Nightwatch, FOX’s After Breakfast, MTV News and Sex and the City. Additionally, their song “NY Psycho Freylekhs” was heard regularly on Air America Radio’s The Al Franken Show. They have played in over twenty countries at some of the most storied venues and renowned festivals worldwide, including Central Park Summerstage, Carnegie Hall, Pirineos Sur (Spain), Colours of Ostrava (Czech Republic), Pohoda Festival (Slovakia), Jazzsomer Graz (Austria) and the Heimatklänge Festival (Germany).
The Klezmatics have garnered numerous accolades throughout their career, including a 2006 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album (for Wonder Wheel: Lyrics by Woody Guthrie), a New York Jewish Music Award (Best Klezmer Band, 2006) a GLAMA (Gay and Lesbian American Music Award) and the German Critics Award (twice) and have topped the Billboard world music charts on numerous occasions.