The Klezmatics

The Klezmatics explore klezmer—the Eastern European Jewish dance tradition—with exceptional boldness. While Abe Ellstein and Dave Tarras recordings from the 1940s and 1950s exert strong influence on their sound, lyrics addressing an array of political and social concerns have earned the group the designation “the planet’s radical Jewish roots band.”

An ad in the Village Voice assembled the founding lineup in 1985: Dave Lindsay on bass, Rob Chavez on clarinet, and Alicia Svigals on fiddle. Trumpeter Frank London, previously of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, joined soon afterward. The roster expanded within weeks to incorporate Lorin Sklamberg on vocals and accordion, Margot Leverett on clarinet, and David Licht on drums. Initially performing as “Hortzeplotz,” they adopted the name Klezmatics, a linguistic twist inspired by the Plasmatics.

Nearly three decades of personnel shifts have followed, yet the group has sustained its experimental approach to klezmer heritage. Bassist and tsimbl player Paul Morrissett—tsimbl being akin to a hammered dulcimer—entered at Sklamberg’s invitation before the 1988 debut album Shvaygn = Toyt. Guest reedman Matt Darriau supplied saxophone on that record and on the 1995 release Jews with Horns, then became a full member on kaval, clarinet, and saxophone ahead of the 1997 album Possessed. A leader and collaborator across multiple New York City world-fusion projects and a member of the Celtic ensemble Whirligig, Darriau facilitated the entry of Whirligig violinist and vocalist Lisa Gutkin before the 2002 Rounder album Rise Up! Shteyt Oyf!

October 2005 brought Herbie Hancock Quartet drummer Richie Barshay into the fold, succeeding longtime percussionist David Licht. Barshay arrived after the completion of Wonder Wheel, an album seven years in gestation that paired the late Woody Guthrie’s lyrics with Eastern European, klezmer, Latin, Celtic, Afro-Caribbean, and folk-inflected music and featured Kenny Wollesen on drums. Jewish Music Group issued Wonder Wheel in 2006; it received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album the following year. A companion collection, In Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah, also released by Jewish Music Group in 2006, set newly composed music to Guthrie Hanukkah lyrics discovered in 1998.

Recognized virtuosity has led the Klezmatics to two albums with classical violinist Itzhak Perlman—1995’s In the Fiddler’s House and 1996’s Live in the Fiddler’s House—while a collaboration with Israeli vocalist Chava Alberstein produced The Well, originally issued by Xenophile in 1998 and reissued by Rounder in 2001. The Piranha label released the best-of compilation Tuml = Lebn in 2008. Two years later the band independently issued the two-disc Live at Town Hall.

In 2016 the Klezmatics—now comprising Matt Darriau on kaval, clarinet, saxophone and vocals, Lisa Gutkin on violin and vocals, and veterans Sklamberg, London, Morrissett, and Barshay—delivered the studio album Apikorsim: Heretics. Their first project without guest artists or session players, it carried the explanation “Apikorsim are people who challenge orthodox opinions,” a principle the group has upheld throughout its career. The album appeared in conjunction with an international tour marking the Klezmatics’ 30th Anniversary.