Klezmatics

The GRAMMY-winning Jewish klezmer superstars celebrate 40 years of music with this performance of material from their new album, We Were Made For These Times — a powerful new body of work rooted in protest, hope, and resilience. 

Formed in 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 band would expand their integration of Guthrie’s words to new compositions on their Happy Joyous Hanukkah and Happier Joyous Hanukkah projects that have been an SFJAZZ holiday tradition for many years. 

Released on International Workers’ Day in 2026, We Were Made For These Times brings together Jewish, Black gospel, Latin American, Crimean Tatar, and avant-jazz voices, creating a shared musical language of solidarity for the world we are living in now.