New Orleans Klezmer All Stars

Klezmer underwent a resurgence in the 1990s through ensembles such as the Klezmatics and the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. These acts refreshed the traditional Eastern European Jewish idiom via contemporary approaches, drawing audiences through buoyant melodies and rhythms built for dancing. The New Orleans Klezmer All Stars arose within this wave and introduced a local inflection rooted in the city’s own musical lineage.

They fused street-parade and Mardi Gras elements, Dixieland, and both traditional and modern jazz with longstanding Yiddish material and fresh compositions, yielding an unmistakably exuberant style that established the group among New Orleans’ most favored bands.

The ensemble appeared on the scene in 1996. Its energetic pulse, engaging melodies, and witty lyrics generated immediate appeal, prompting crowds to dance at the French Quarter Festival, school fairs, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Rob Wagner’s incisive clarinet led the ensemble, joined by Ben Ellman’s saxophone, Glenn Hartman’s accordion, and the signature New Orleans funk supplied by drummer Willie Green III.

A self-deprecating humor further aided their popularity, reflected in album titles such as Manichalfwitz (1996) and The Big Kibosh (1997) as well as numbers like “Transition to Buffet,” “Mo’ White Fish,” and “Aging Raver’s Personal Hell.” Columnist and NPR humorist Andrei Codrescu contributed narrative segments that amplified the playful tone.

At its core the music remains the ceremonial repertoire long performed at Jewish weddings, funerals, and celebrations. The band honors those origins with Yiddish standards including “The Silver Wedding” and “Bweep Bweep.” On the 1999 recording Fresh Out the Past the focus turns to original material written by Hartman, Wagner, and guitarist Jonathon Freilich. Pieces such as “The Unholy Chazir” and “Struttin’ With Some Donor Kabob” link past and present while acknowledging New Orleans’ cultural heritage. The result forms an alchemical exchange in which musicians and dancers together produce something unforeseen and vibrant. Bandleader Wagner has noted that without their audience the group would amount to simply another Bar Mitzvah band.