If you’re planning a simcha, you know that one of the most important elements is the music. Sure, you could choose some trendy band with strobe lights and smoke machines. But if you want to get things really going, go traditional.
Go klezmer!
If you’re new to klezmer but can’t really get beyond “Fiddler on the Roof,” then you can preview some great songs for your simcha — right on your computer.
One of the finest online assortments of klezmer that I have come across is at Ashkenaz, a Yiddish culture festival that was held in Toronto. At the site — www.ivritype.com/ashkenaz/sounds.html — there are lengthy excerpts from Ashkenaz ’97, including the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, the Israeli quartet Esta, Holland’s Salomon Klezmorim, Boston’s Naftule’s Dream and much more. Also, don’t miss Jewishmusic.com, which offers complete selections of the best performers anywhere. Go to www.jewishmusic.com and click on “Audio Library,” then click on “Klezmer.”
Two wonderful klezmer CDs are Itzhak Perlman’s Emmy Award-winning “In the Fiddler’s House” and his “Live in the Fiddler’s House,” which Perlman recorded with some of the best groups around, like Brave Old World, the Klezmatics and the Klezmer Conservatory Band. You can listen to all of Perlman’s first CD online and a third of the second CD. To find them, go to www.jewishmusic.com and search for “Itzhak Perlman.” Six of his albums should come up. To hear selections, click on the red album title and then click on the songs with a record icon.
The Israeli-Jewish-Yiddish-Hebrew-Folk-Cultural Music Midi Free Library — http://members.aol.com/israelmidi/index.html#FOLK — doesn’t specialize in klezmer, but you can find a few Yiddish tunes there like “Frailakh” and “Im Zer Kotzim Koev.” Take a listen to excerpts from the Brookline, Mass., radio show The Yiddish Voice at www.yv.org And you can hear 20 minutes of the lively fiddling of Steve Greenman, who has played with several bands in Cleveland and New York. Hear him online at www.klezmershack.com/demos/980822.greenfidl.ram
If you prefer to watch some klezmer masters in the comfort of your home then rent the video “A Tickle in the Heart” (1996). The documentary profiles the veteran klezmer performers Julie, Willie and Max Epstein. Just when the eightysomething brothers tried to retire in Florida, klezmer enjoyed a resurgence and the Epstein brothers were stars again. The Montreal Gazette called Tickle “one part musical history, one part ‘Seinfeld’ and totally enthralling.” Check it out at http://us.imdb.com/Title?Zemerl0117907
is a site that not only has a great selection of songs but also includes lyrics so you can sing along. It’s at www.princeton.edu/zemerl You can read up (and listen to) “Mekhuteneste Mayne,” which tells the story “half-joking and half-begging of a mother who is giving away a bride who wants her daughter to be treated well in the in-laws’ home.” And if you know the lyrics to “Momele” (as sung by Connie Francis) or the Yiddish lyrics to “Fiddler on the Roof,” the folks at Zemerl want to hear from you.
Now that you’re a klezmer expert, it’s time to look for a band. There is no better place to start your hunt than at Ari Davidow’s Klezmer Shack, www.klezmershack.com This massive site is dedicated to all aspects of contemporary klezmer, with sections devoted to KlezNews, KlezCalendar and KlezLinks. KlezContacts — www.klezmershack.com/klezcontacts.html — has e-mail addresses for everybody who’s anybody in klezmer. Now I wouldn’t recommend booking a band simply because it has a great name. But how could you miss with Yiddishe Cup — www.klezmershack.com/bands/ycup/klez/ycup.klez.html — the Jews Brothers — www.jewsbrothers.com — the Klez Dispensers — www.princeton.edu/~klez — and, of course, Tennessee Schmaltz — http://techno-info.com/TennesseeSchmaltz
Have a great simcha!