The Klezmatics

DEC 8-17 | HOLIDAYS AT SFJAZZ

Dec 14, 2023

Miner Auditorium

PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production

Please visit our calendar for all upcoming SFJAZZ shows.

Original show description below.

The GRAMMY-winning Jewish klezmer superstars return to celebrate the Festival of Light, performing seasonal music from their acclaimed holiday album Happy Joyous Hanukkah that set lyrics by the late Woody Guthrie to their delightful original compositions.

Formed in the New York’s East Village in 1986, the Klezmatics led the resurgence of the nearly forgotten klezmer tradition and contemporized it with an irreverent dose of punk rock attitude, and since their inception, have been one of most visible faces of today’s Yiddish culture.

Enduring a number of personnel changes over the past two decades, the band has revolved around original members Lorin Sklamberg on lead vocals and accordion, trumpeter/keyboardist Frank London and bassist Paul Morrissett. They have collaborated with violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner and Israeli vocalist Chava Alberstein, and have released a dozen diverse albums, including the GRAMMY-winning Wonder Wheel, their first session that set previously unused Woody Guthrie lyrics to their own original material.

The group’s most recent release is 2021’s Letters to Afar, their innovative score to Hungarian found-footage artist Péter Forgács’ acclaimed installation of Polish-Jewish historical films sourced from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

The GRAMMY-winning Jewish klezmer superstars return to celebrate the Festival of Light, performing seasonal music from their acclaimed holiday album Happy Joyous Hanukkah.

CONCERT UNDERWRITERS
Mark Zitter and Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter
Mark Schlesinger and Christine Russell

The Klezmatics aren’t just the best band in the klezmer vanguard; on a good night, they can rank among the greatest bands on the planet.

Time Out New York

The Klezmatics aren’t just the best band in the klezmer vanguard; on a good night, they can rank among the greatest bands on the planet.

Time Out New York

Personnel

Lorin Sklamberg lead vocals, accordion, guitar, piano
Matt Derriau kaval, clarinet, saxophone
Lisa Gutkin violin, vocals
Frank London trumpet, keyboards
Paul Morrissett bass, tsimbl
Richie Barshay percussion