Kroke - Trio (1996)

Kroke - Trio (1996)

klezmer | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 410MB

Oriente RIEN CD 004

Wikipedia:
The band was founded in 1992 by three friends and graduates of the Academy of Music in Kraków. Initially, they were associated with klezmer music with strong Balkan influences. Currently, their work draws inspiration from a variety of ethnic music and sounds of the Orient (especially on the album Seventh Trip), combining these with jazz to create their own distinctive style.
In addition to their own projects, Kroke have also recorded albums with artists such as Nigel Kennedy, Edyta Geppert, Maja Sikorowska and Tindra.
One of their songs, "The Secret of the Life Tree", features on the soundtrack of David Lynch's 2006 film Inland Empire.

Tracks
01. "Spiel Klezmer - Yiddish Freylekhs" - Kroke, trad. - 10:03
02. "Bessarabian Hora/Di Sapozhkelekh" - trad. - 8:45
03. "From Doina To Hava Naquila" - Kroke, trad.. - 8:53
04. "Rumenisher Tants" - trad.. - 2:39
05. "Ajde Jano (Balkan Piece In Klezmer Style)" - trad.. - 5:23
06. "Kazimierz Impressions:" - Amitai Neeman, trad., Kroke. - 13:23
--a) Nigun Atik/Sherele
--b) Impressions
--c) Nigun Atik
07. "Jerusalem (part 1)" - Kroke. - 2:01
08. "Jerusalem (part 2)" - Tomasz Kukurba. - 6:13
09. "Returns - Kazimierz 1995" - Kroke. - 3:59
10. "5757" - Kroke, trad. - 3:05

Personnel
* Tomasz Kukurba: viola, violin, vocal
* Jerzy Bawoł: accordion
* Tomasz Lato: double bass

 sample & buy: Trio 

 

Cracow Klezmer Band - The Warriors (2001)

Cracow Klezmer Band - The Warriors (2001)

world, klezmer | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 310MB

Tzadik

Allmusic bio:
The Cracow Klezmer Band is a Polish quartet that plays a style of music that started as traditional klezmer and over time, evolved into contemporary Jewish music flavored with strong gypsy influences. Members of the group are violinist Jaroslaw Tyrala, double bassist Wojciech Front, accordionist Jarek Bester, and Oleg Dyyak, who plays percussion, clarinet, and accordion. Bester formed the Cracow Klezmer Band in 1997 in the city of Cracow. Over the next few years, the group built a growing fan base by appearing at Jewish Culture festivals in Hungary, Finland, Poland, Prague, and the Czech Republic. In between touring, the band began to work on recordings, completing a debut album, De Profundis, in September of 2000. It was followed by a sophomore offering, the Warriors, a short year later. A few of the tracks fans can sample from recordings done by the Cracow Klezmer Band include "Recollections of the Past," "Devil Circle," "Secrets of Life," "The Amorous Dance of the Orchid," "The Warrior," and "Memento Mori."
Tzadik:
Each piece telling a different dramatic narrative, The Warriors is another brilliant release by one of Europe’s most original and exciting avant-Klezmer ensembles. Based in the historic city of Cracow, one of the last strongholds of Jewish life in Poland and home to one of the most important annual festivals of Jewish music in the world, this brilliant quartet blends the spontaneity of improvisation, the precision of classical music and the soul of the Jewish tradition. Ever-surprising new music by this thrilling band of virtuosos.

Tracks
-1. "The Warrior" - 7:16
-2. "Klezmer Caravan" - 7:54
-3. "Klezmer Rhapsody" - 4:20
-4. "The Prayer" - 5:59
-5. "The Amourous Dance Of The Orchid" - 3:52
-6. "Memento Mori" - 6:02
-7. "The Fortress" - 6:37
-8. "Recollections Of The Past" - 10:08

Personnel
* Jarosław Tyrała - violin
* Jarosłąw Bester - accordion
* Oleg Dyyak - accordion, clarinet, percussion
* Wojciech Front - double bass

 sample & buy: Warriors

 

David Krakauer - Klezmer Madness! (1995)

David Krakauer - Klezmer Madness! (1995)

klezmer | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 295MB

Tzadik

Allmusic:
David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness sits on the edge of the Klezmer tradition and is always jabbing at its boundaries. The music is always a little bit more unbridled, a bit more passionate, and a tad more discordant than your bubbe's klezmer records, which is not to say that it falls into the same camp as other punk, pop, or jazz-oriented groups that treat klezmer like a quaint novelty. Krakauer, with his virtuoso clarinet playing and incredibly tight and talented backing band, always shows respect for the heart of klezmer music -- these songs orbit around a pure core. The only tune which truly journeys out into left field is "Living With the H," which deconstructs and reassembles the ubiquitous classic "Hava Nagila," a song which almost begs to be messed with. The effect is not unlike a jazz band who can tip their hats to tradition without having to hash out another tired version of "My Foolish Heart." Krakauer has accepted that klezmer has never been a static form of music and has no problem imbuing his own sense of creativity into Klezmer Madness within the constraints of this classic style.

Tracks
-01. "Africa Bulgar" - Traditional - 3:43
-02. "Bogota Bulgar" - Traditional - 4:06
-03. "A Few Bowls Terkish" - Traditional - 4:37
-04. "At the Rabbit's Table" - Traditional - 5:14
-05. "Doina/Death March Suite" - Traditional - 10:32
-06. "Funky Dave" - Traditional - 5:53
-07. "The Ballad of Chernobyl" - Traditional - 5:19
-08. "Gong Doina" - Traditional - 2:19
-09. "Living With the H Tune" - Traditional - 6:03
-10. "Rachab" - Zorn - 1:27

Personnel
* David Krakauer (clarinet, bass clarinet)
* Michael Alpert (vocals, accordion)
* David Licht (percussion)
* & guests

 sample & buy: Klezmer Madness

 

London, Sklamberg, Caine - Nigunim (1998)

London, Sklamberg, Caine - Nigunim (1998)

jazz, avantgarde, klezmer | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 285MB

Savoy

Allmusic:
An excellent album of nigunim -- Hasidic melodies traditionally composed by Jewish spiritual leaders for Sabbath and holidays -- from the Gerer, Lubavitch, and Belzer (all European) traditions. The musicians here are not only klezmer revivalists, but also accomplished jazz and classical musicians. The trio consists of trumpeter Frank London, pianist Uri Caine, and the classic Hasidic stylings of vocalist Lorin Sklamberg, with a guest appearance by organist Brian Mitchell, and all present add keyboard work at some point on harmonium, Fender Rhodes, etc. Nigunim opens with "Eyli Ato," a nostalgic, classically sung rendition of a melody composed by an Alter Lubavitcher Rebbe (a Lubavitch Elder Rabbi) for singing Psalms 118:28. Other tunes from the Lubavitch tradition: the longing-filled, nearly melancholic "Esn Est Zikh," during which Uri Caine's piano at times brings to mind Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata"; and "Tsomo Lekho Nafshi," which opens with a warm trumpet solo filled with promise for the song that's about to unfold, after which the piano and accordion come in with a simple looping melody as London uses his mute, the piano solos over the top, then Sklamberg belts out in Middle Eastern-like bending moans. The "Gerer Medley" is a festive and upbeat tune composed for the meal following the Havdalah, or night service marking the end of Sabbath. Nigunim have long drawn from secular, as well as religious, sources, incorporating them into the Jewish tradition by giving them distinctly Jewish musical traits. Thus, the soul gospel stylings of the closing track, "Tayere Brider," during which Mitchell adds the anointed handclaps of his Hammond B-3. Nigunim is an excellent album for those who already know and own nigunim recordings, and for those who don't yet, but are open to enjoying incredible Jewish music from inspired musicians.

Tracks
-01. "Eyli Ato" - 3:59
-02. "Belzer Medley" - 6:14
-03. "Mipney Ma / Peysakh Nign" - 6:24
-04. "Gerer Medley" - 5:19
-05. "Esn Est Zikh" - 3:38
-06. "Nign Leshabes Veyontev" - 9:23
-07. "Tsomo Lekho Nafshi" - 7:09
-08. "Zkhor Dovor" - 3:04
-09. "Avrom Ben Shmuel" - 4:40
-10. "Tayere Brider" - 4:14

Personnel
* Frank London - Trumpet, Harmonium, Organ, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes]
* Uri Caine - Piano, Harmonium, Organ [Hammond B3], Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes]
* Lorin Sklamberg - vocals, accordion, harmonium

sample & buy: Nigunim

Cracow Klezmer Band (John Zorn) - Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass: A Tribute to Bruno Schulz (2005)

Cracow Klezmer Band (John Zorn) - Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass: A Tribute to Bruno Schulz (2005)

avantgarde, klezmer, jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 395MB

Tzadik

Allaboutjazz:
John Zorn's Masada songbooks have surrendered themselves to many modern genres and styles—free jazz with the original Masada Quartet, contemporary improvised music with the Masada String Trio and the duo of Mark Feldman and Sylvie Courvoisier, 1970s electric fusion meets today's electronica with Electric Masada, power rock with Rashanim, and a dozen others in the various tributes to the first Masada songbook (Masada Guitars; Voices in the Wilderness; and The Unknown Masada, all Tzadik, 2003). But only now, with the release of the Polish Cracow Klezmer Band's fourth disc on Tzadik, are they interpreted in the Old World Eastern European klezmer form. Many Masada interpretations have referenced, abstracted, or suggested new readings of this genre which is so identified with Jewish music.
The four members of the Cracow Klezmer Band—leader, arranger, and bayan (accordion) player Jaroslaw Bester; violinist Jaroslaw Tyrala; bayan player, clarinetist, and percussionist Oleg Dyyak; and violinist Jaroslaw Tyrala—are augmented by singer Grazyna Auguscik, who has collaborated with them before, not only to tackle John Zorn's Masada Songbooks One and Two, but also to use these tunes to paint a heartfelt tribute to the Polish-Jewish writer and artist Bruno Schultz (1892-1942), whose character still inspires contemporary writers like the Israeli author David Grossman (See Under: Love) and Americans Cynthia Ozick (The Messiah of Stockholm) and Phillip Roth (The Prague Orgy). This release is named after Schultz's second collection of short stories, published in 1936, and its official title is The Cracow Klezmer Band plays the music of John Zorn—Sanatorium Under Sign of the Hourglass: A Tribute to Bruno Schultz.
The Cracow Klezmer Band's beautiful arrangements are faithful to the original versions. In the opening track, "Meshakh," and on "Regalim," these four musicians even manage to capture the same dynamic telepathic coordination that is so identified with the original Masada quartet. But soon as Tyrala begins his magnificent solo on "Galgalim," you realize that their music is more faithful to the klezmer tradition than any other Masada incarnations or interpretations: klezmer music as a high art concert music that must be performed with subtlety, finesse, and great passion.
"Tirzah," with Auguscik's dreamy wordless vocals, and "Hamadah" both succeed in capturing the sensual atmosphere of Schulz's fantastical stories. Tyrala introduces "Adithaim" with a virtuosic, lyrical violin solo, slowly turning the piece into a gentle dance tune. "Pagiel" is the only tune from Zorn's second Masada songbook, Book of Angels, and is performed as a passionate Astor Piazzolla tune. "Meholalot" is interpreted slightly differently than the version the Cracow Klezmer Band did on Voices in the Wilderness, this time stressing its driving rhythms, as its Hebrew title suggests, and highlighting the captivating vocals of Grazyna Auguscik.
A brilliant release that blends Old World with New World, an almost vanished culture with a vital resurrecting one, by one of the world's most extraordinary new klezmer outfits.

Tracks
-01. "Meshakh" - 4:55
-02. "Galgalim" - 5:14
-03. "Tirzah" - 10:40
-04. "Yesod" - 4:45
-05. "Pagiel" - 7:34
-06. "Adithaim" - 6:45
-07. "Hamadah" - 6:17
-08. "Regalim" - 4:45
-09. "Demai" - 9:08
-10. "Meholalot" - 5:39
All compositions by John Zorn.

Personnel
* Jaroslaw Bester – bayan
* Oleg Dyyak – bayan, clarinet, percussion
* Wojciech Front – double bass
* Jaroslaw Tyrala – violin
* Grazyna Auguscik – vocals

sample & buy: Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass: A Tribute to Bruno Schulz

New Klezmer Trio - Short For Something (2000)

New Klezmer Trio - Short For Something (2000)
jazz, klezmer | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 375MB

Tzadik

Allmusic:
From the first track which saunters along like a solitary man on a rain-slicked street, the New Klezmer Trio's Short for Something is an evocative masterpiece of musical alchemy. Clarinetist Ben Goldberg often floats above the more corporeal shimmers and rumblings of his collaborators Dan Seamans and Kenny Wollesen, but never steals the show or breaks away -- this is truly a group effort. Their music is fully embedded in modern creative avant-garde jazz, yet still manages to nod its head to the sounds of old Cracow, creating a cauldron of spiritual yearnings, sadness, chaos, visions, and grace. On "Sequential," the theme crashes and burns through chaotic nests of percussion, followed by "Obsessive" where the bassline carries the theme through a much calmer and more hypnotic percussive structure. But nowhere is the Trio's magic more evident than on the title track, where Wollesen's drumming spins a web around the heartbeat murmurs of Seamans' bass and Goldberg's reed nostalgia, creating a vision that flows in ribbons of images, each beautiful and a little terrible.

Tracks
-01. "The Because Of" - Goldberg - 7:10
-02. "Short for Something" - Goldberg - 3:56
-03. "Fast" - Goldberg - 10:47
-04. "Sequential" - Goldberg - 0:50
-05. "Obsessive" - Goldberg - 2:35
-06. "All Chords Stand for Other Chords" - Goldberg - 5:41
-07. "Fomus Homus" - Goldberg - 5:42
-08. "Seven Phrases" - Goldberg - 4:27
-09. "Complicated" - Goldberg - 3:42
-10. "LBD" - Goldberg - 2:41
-11. "Halves" - Goldberg - 6:02
-12. "Fly in the Ointment - Goldberg - 3:08
-13. "Freylekhas Fun Der Khupe" - Goldberg - 9:00

Personnel
* Bass – Dan Seamans
* Clarinet, Clarinet [Bass] – Ben Goldberg
* Drums – Kenny Wollesen

sample & buy: Short for Something

 

New Klezmer Trio - Melt Zonk Rewire (1993)

New Klezmer Trio - Melt Zonk Rewire (1993)
jazz, klezmer | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 305MB

Tzadik

Allmusic:
The New Klezmer Trio are a group of three high-caliber musicians making klezmer-rooted jazz with some definite rock included. Electric bassist Dan Seamans occasionally uses effects pedals more often found in thrash rock than jazz; versatile percussionist Kenny Wolleson effortlessly moves between jazz techniques and rock; and clarinetist Ben Goldberg, well-versed in the klezmer music tradition, sometimes plays his "Fender reverb clarinet." With a perfect mixture of a sincere love of music, wit, and serious chops, they create a new klezmer that draws from jazz, rock, and improvised traditions. Melt Zonk Rewire is full of creativity, with high energy and grooves tastefully offset by subdued, whispery pieces such as "The Chant" or Wolleson's marimba solo on "The Haunt." Songs like "Feedback Doina" demand that listeners be rock fans too. This great recording for Tzadik's Radical Jewish Culture series is essential for anyone whose music collection holds many disparate musical styles.

Tracks
-01. "Gas Nine" - (trad., arr. Wolleson) - 2:24
-02. "Sarcophagous" - (Goldberg) - 5:02
-03. "The Haunt" - (Seamans) - 4:33
-04. "Thermoglyphics" - (Goldberg) - 3:33
-05. "The Chant" - (Goldberg) - 3:23
-06. "We Got" - There" - (Seamans) - 5:27
-07. "Feedback Doina" - (Wollesen) - 5:08
-08. "Freilakh Nakht" - (trad., arr. Wolleson) - 3:04
-09. "Hypothetical" - (Goldberg) - 3:22
-10. "The Shot" - (Goldberg) - 3:59
-11. "Distiller" - (trad., arr. Seamans) - 3:59
-12. "Phrases" - (Goldberg) - 3:29
-13. "Fourth" - Floor" - (Seamans) - 2:59
-14. "Starting Place" - (Goldberg) - 4:11

Personnel
* Bass – Dan Seamans
* Clarinet, Clarinet [Bass] – Ben Goldberg
* Drums – Kenny Wollesen

sample & buy: Melt Zonk Rewire

New Klezmer Trio - Masks and Faces (1990)

New Klezmer Trio - Masks and Faces (1990)
jazz, klezmer | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 310MB

Tzadik

Allmusic:
This first release from the New Klezmer Trio is rocking, energetic, and young. Not quite as developed as the later Melt Zonk Rewire, it is nevertheless an invigorating and fun listen. After all, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, bassist Dan Seamans, and drummer Kenny Wolleson are terrific musicians, and Masks and Faces is a restructuring and resurrection of traditional Jewish music melted into rock, with a good amount of improvisation. But don't let the improv element deter you -- this raucous, bursting, and somewhat disjointed music sustains a groove that's not so hard to hang on to. Almost an hour in length, New Klezmer Trio's first release ebbs and flows, relentlessly packed with high quality tunes.

Tracks
-01. "Cardboard Factory" - Goldberg - 5:06
-02. "Hot and Cold" - Traditional - 3:44
-03. "Rebbe's Meal" - Traditional - 7:36
-04. "Up" - Black Oak Arkansas, Seamas - 4:19
-05. "Washing Machine Song" - Traditional - 2:59
-06. "Galicain" - Beckerman - 5:18
-07. "Masks and Faces" - Goldberg - 6:33
-08. "Haphazard" - Kramtweiss - 4:03
-09. "Bitonal Song" - Kramtweiss - 3:06
-10. "The Gate" - Goldberg - 10:33

Personnel
* Bass – Dan Seamans
* Clarinet, Clarinet [Bass] – Ben Goldberg
* Drums – Kenny Wollesen

sample & buy: New Klezmer Trio: Masks & Faces