Jewish Wedding Band
I watched last nights Timeshift show on BBC 4 with great interest. It was about the history of Klezmer music which has it’s origins in Eastern Europe as music to dance to at weddings and other celebrations. When Klezmer arrived in the USA with the wave of Jewish immigrants from the late 1800′s it mixed with American jazz styles and morphed into the instrumental style which is still in great demand at Jewish weddings and Bar Mitzvahs throughout the States and Europe today.
The BBC 4 documentary answered the “What Is Klezmer?” question better than any previous article or programme I have seen explaining how the music imitates the human voice with it’s “weeping and laughing” notes.It also pinpointed the time in the 1970s when the Jewish community in the USA (surprisingly less so in Israel) rediscovered their roots and began a revival of the Klezmer tradition which l established the repertoires largely played by Jewish wedding bands today.
That said like any other living,breathing music tradition Klezmer continues to develop and adapt as musicians place their own personalities and styles onto the Klezmer traditional music repertoire.Acts like The Lemon Bucket Orkestra add a wilder element to the mix (think of The Pogues playing folk) and The Other Europeans add a more formal, classical stance as indeed does noted Violin virtiouso Nigel Kennedy when he tours with Polish Klezmer band Kroke. The Wonder Rabbis add rock and jazz influences to their playing of Klezmer whilst the Amsterdam Klezma Band have incorporated rock steady, ska and Gypsy Jazz rhythms into their music in order to appeal to 21st Century audiences.
Live Music Management have a number of Jewish Wedding Bands able to play Klezmer at Bar Mitzvahs, Jewish weddings and other celebrations. Please call the LMM office on 08454 900515 or email info@lmmuk.com for further details.