"Wildly variegated flavors... eclectic and sizzling klezmer" - Jewish Week

"Anything but stereotypical, and nothing but terrific" - Shaun Dale, Cosmik Debris
Metropolitan Klezmer band photo
Photo by: Angela Jimenez

Metropolitan Klezmer, established in 1994, brings eclectic exuberance to Yiddish musical genres from all over the map. Performing vibrant versions of lesser-known gems from wedding dance, trance, folk, swing and tango styles, as well as soundtrack material from vintage Yiddish films, they re-invent tradition with both irreverence and respect... an exhilarating journey!  Full band description.

Ismail Butera Accordionist Ismail Butera, a founding member of Metropolitan Klezmer, plays a breathtaking array of styles, most recently leading Sounds of Taraab, traditional court repertoire of Zanzibar: Arabic modes, African rhythms, Indian film melodies, and Turkish musical genres, with lyrics in Ki-Swahili. He has taught at Buffalo Gap Balkan Folk Arts Camp, played traditional Greek instruments with Smyrneiki Kompania, performed Balkan, Mediterranean and Near Eastern vocals and instrumentals with groups Sharqiya and Bogomila, and formed the Balkan Brothers duo with percussionist Seido Salifoski. He has also performed with The Klezmatics, Andy Statman, Michael Alpert, Noga Group, Yale Strom's Hot P'Stromi (including soundtracks of The Last Klezmer and A Life Apart: Hasidim in America), and Latin folk ensemble Chameleon, in addition to playing Albanian, Armenian, Israeli, Sephardic and Persian music. He appears on all four Metropolitan Klezmer CDs.
Pam Fleming Trumpet/flugelhorn/kudu player Pam Fleming has toured internationally with Black Rock Coalition's Nina Simone Tribute, reggae stars Burning Spear, Maxi Priest, Dennis Brown; and global blues group Hazmat Modine, as well as nationwide with Natalie Merchant for Lilith Fair (also guest soloing with Indigo Girls, Queen Latifah, and Sarah McLachlan). Broadcasts: Bonnie Raitt (VH1), Rufus Wainwright (Letterman), "Li'l" Jimmy Scott (PBS Sessions at 54th St). Pam has also played with Government Mule, Easy Star All-Stars ("RadioDread","Dub Side of the Moon", "Lonely Hearts Dub Band"), Cab Calloway, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Palmer, soca star Arrow, The Klezmatics, Buster Poindexter [David Johansen], Toots & the Maytals. She composes original world jazz for her own group, Fearless Dreamer, as heard on their two recordings, "Fearless Dreamer" and "Climb". A graduate of Eastman School of Music, Pam appeared in a recent Festival of New Trumpet Music [FONT]. She performs on all recordings by Metropolitan Klezmer as well as the band's sister sextet, Isle of Klezbos, and has composed for them as well. Her solo from Mayn Rue Plats (Metropolitan Klezmer's Mosaic Persuasion CD) is heard in the 2009 HBO film Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags. She also performed in J. Edgar Klezmer: Songs from My Grandmother's FBI Files (2008, Dixon Place).
Hailed by The New York Times for her "delirious abandon" onstage, versatile soprano Melissa Fogarty began as a leading child performer at the Metropolitan Opera, making her auspicious adult debut with New York City Opera in the Mark Morris production of Purcell's King Arthur, then singing in Magic Flute at Battery Park. Other acclaimed recent roles include Ottavia in Opera Omnia's Coronation of Poppea at Le Poisson Rouge and pieces at New York City Opera VOX American Composers Showcase for new opera (2007-2009). A favorite of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici, she has performed many of his works, including world premieres (written with Melissa in mind) at Symphony Space. She has also sung with Seattle Baroque, Ensemble for the Seicento, new music ensemble North/South Consonance, and with Sequitur at Merkin Hall, among many others. A graduate of Eastman School of Music, her debut solo CD Handel: Scorned & Betrayed won accolades including an OUTmusic Award. She received the Adams Fellowship at Carmel Bach Festival and the Giorgio Cini Fellowship for study in Venice. Vocalist for both Metropolitan Klezmer and Isle of Klezbos, she has also starred in J. Edgar Klezmer: Songs from My Grandmother's FBI Files (2008-09 Dixon Place, Puffin Cultural Forum, & The JCC in Manhattan).
Michael Hess Multi-instrumentalist Michael Hess studied classical violin and viola at the Manhattan School of Music, and learned qanun (Middle Eastern zither) from the late Egyptian master Mohammed El Akkad. He is also widely known as an accomplished player of Arabic nai flutes and frame drums, and as an eminent performer of Sephardic music, touring throughout North America as well as Turkey and Lithuania with Alhambra. He has recorded widely as well as performing with Sounds of Taraab, Mogador Ensemble, Song of the Shtetl, Klezmeydlekh & Friends, Smyrneiki Kompania, Sharqiya, and other Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Greek, Turkish, and Persian folkloric music, theater, and dance troupes. Michael is a founding member of Metropolitan Klezmer, and appears on all the band's CDs.
Dave Hofstra Bassist/tuba artist Dave Hofstra has played, toured, and recorded extensively in jazz, rock, blues, klezmer, and new music. He has performed with artists Bobby Previte, Lou Grassi, Bobby Radcliff, Grady Gaines, John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Robin Holcomb, Debbie Davies, Elliott Sharp, Tom Cora, Guy Klucevsek, Bill Frisell, Toshi Reagon, Luka Bloom, Marshall Crenshaw, Joel Forrester, William Parker, and Nora York, as well as Philip Johnston's Big Trouble; The Microscopic Septet [Fresh Air theme, NPR]; Rachelle Garniez's Fortunate Few; Casselberry & DuPree; The Waitresses; and The Klezmatics. A founding member of Metropolitan Klezmer, he appears on all the band's recordings, and is also heard as a guest artist playing on Greetings from the Isle of Klezbos.
Debrah Kreisberg Clarinet/saxophonist Debra Kreisberg performs, composes, arranges and records with the NYC-based Latin jazz octet Los Mas Valientes, Brooklyn singer-songwriters Matt Singer and Steve Waitt, as well as klezmer bands Metropolitan Klezmer and Isle of Klezbos with whom she has toured in the U.S. and in Europe. A graduate of Eastman School of Music with an MM in Jazz Studies from Manhattan School of Music, she has also performed with avant-jazz ensemble Joe Gallant & Illuminati, Canadian cabaret Yiddish star Theresa Tova, Rachelle Garniez, Rochester Philharmonic featuring Natalie Cole, the NYC funk band D'Tripp, and performed in J. Edgar Klezmer (2008-09: Dixon Place, Puffin Cultural Forum, JCC in Manhattan). In addition to her performing work, Debra is also Managing Director of Educational Outreach at the 92nd Street Y's School of the Arts, where she develops and implements arts programming for NYC public schools.
Reut Regev Trombonist Reut Regev, born and raised in Israel, has lived in NYC since 1998, touring internationally and recording with many projects. She plays jazz (old and new), salsa, rock, funk, Brazilian, blues, classical, contemporary, Jewish and Caribbean music with such artists as Butch Morris, Igal Foni, Firewater, Elliott Sharp, Dave Douglas, Frank London, Michael Attias, Anthony Braxton, Groove Collective, Ras Moshe, The Cuchimbos, Hazmat Modine, The Phantoms, Joe Bataan,, Raulin Rosendo, Eddie Bobe, and Cynthia Hopkins' Gloria Deluxe. In 2004 Reut was honored with the "Best New Talent" Award by All About Jazz. Her experimental jazz ensemble R*Time has released their debut CD This is R*Time ( Ropeadope Records), with more CDs also planned for her projects Brassix and Funbrasstick Orchestra. She appears on Metropolitan Klezmer's latest CD, Traveling Show, and has also performed in J. Edgar Klezmer and as guest artist with Isle of Klezbos.
Eve Sicular Drummer/bandleader Eve Sicular formed Metropolitan Klezmer (1994) & Isle of Klezbos (1998), producing the bands' five CDs as well as tours in the U.S. and abroad. She has received multiple awards from NYSCA, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Sparkplug Foundation and OUTmusic, and her arrangements have been heard in HBO's Schmatta, Showtime's The L Word, Royal Ballet's First Drafts at Covent Garden, and SITI Co's Score. Her original musical, J. Edgar Klezmer: Songs from My Grandmother's FBI Files, a 2008 TimeOut NY Critics Pick, played Dixon Place, The JCC in Manhattan and Puffin Forum. Drumming since age eight, she has also played samba, R&B, Balkan, swing, Cajun/zydeco, Italian folk music and more. A Harvard graduate in Russian History & Literature with honors thesis on Soviet filmmaker Esther Shub, she has published & lectured internationally on The Yiddish Celluloid Closet. Her archival work has included curating YIVO film & photo collections. Her latest performance piece, Krankayt!: Hypochondria in Jewish Song, will debut at The JCC in Manhattan with Adrienne Cooper in late fall 2010.

METROPOLITAN KLEZMER founded in 1994, is the collaborative adventure of eight exceptional New York musicians creating inspired interpretations and original compositions around a panorama of traditionally eclectic Yiddish repertoire. The band was formed by drummer/Yiddish film scholar Eve Sicular with multi-talented world music artists Ismail Butera (accordion) and Michael Hess (violin, ney flutes, kanun zither) plus ubiquitous downtown bass and tuba treasure Dave Hofstra, and originally featured klezmer legend Howie Leess (b. 1920) on clarinet & tenor sax. Since their debut at John Zorn's New Jewish Music Fest, the group has expanded to include vocalist Deborah Karpel and a dynamic horn section: Debra Kreisberg (clarinet/alto sax), Pam Fleming (trumpet/fluegelhorn), and Reut Regev (trombone). Former members also include Steve Elson (reeds), Rick Faulkner (trombone), and Brian Drye (trombone). Collectively, their experiences span genres from Albanian to Zydeco as well as jazz, Latin, classical, funk, ska and many other styles. Individually, Metropolitan Klezmer players have worked with such diverse artists as Bonnie Raitt, The Toasters, Bill Frisell, Toshi Reagon, Juan Carlos Formell, Indigo Girls, Burning Spear, Amy Sedaris, Max Roach, Rufus Wainwright, Nora York, and the Microscopic Septet, as well as Jewish music performers from the Klezmatics and Andy Statman to David Krakauer, Sephardic stars Alhambra and SF's Charming Hostess. To quote Seth Rogovoy (The Essential Klezmer), Metropolitan Klezmer is "distinguished by just plain great, versatile ensemble playing... exuberant spirit and wit."

The band's CDs have enjoyed excellent reviews, awards, and worldwide airplay. Their vibrant array of songs includes rollicking wedding dances, soulful folk tunes, modal slapstick, revved-up odd meter Hanuka fare, postwar Yiddish poetry, irresistible Turkish- and Arabic-tinged klezmer traditionals, Hungarian Jewish prayer melody, labor protest hymn, Second Avenue swing classics, vintage Yiddish film soundtrack tangos, love ballads, and originals. Their latest CD, TRAVELING SHOW (2007), was recorded live in concert at Mason Gross School of the Arts/Rutgers University and at Riverspace Arts/Nyack, and includes a 'Klezbonus' studio track by the group's sister sextet, Isle of Klezbos; according to Belgium's MazzMusikas, the band has outdone itself here, and Jewish Week gives this disc five stars (highest rating) and lists it as among the eight Best CDs of 2007. Metropolitan Klezmer's 2003 release SURPRISING FINDS, an OutMusic awardwinning CD, includes haunting original composition as well as jump swing injected into a tailor's chant, intricate and dynamic versions of 19th-c. underworld tunes, adaptations from 1920s Soviet Moscow Yiddish theater, a Balkan styling of Fagin's "Pick a Pocket" from Oliver!, and archival cameo gems from klezmer legend Howie Leess, Yiddish stage/acreen star Maurice Schwartz, and, as recorded on reel-to-reel, Phillip Karpel (grandfather of vocalist Deborah Karpel, excerpted from beautiful 1960s home audio) MetroKlezmer's MOSAIC PERSUASION (2001) joint project with the all-female Isle of Klezbos sextet, is an OutMusic Award winner featuring "fantastic players... excellent vocals... strength and diversity" (- Roots World). The Forward acclaimed its "terrific... snazzy mixture of upbeat Eastern European dance tunes, Middle Eastern-influenced improvisations, and luscious Yiddish theater tunes delivered by vocalist Deborah Karpel with just enough of an edge." Jewish Week's George Robinson noted "wildly variegated flavors... a tighter, more unified sound than ever... Five stars [highest rating].... one of the best traditional klezmer bands around.... [They] can handle any tempo and a wide range of moods with equal mastery." Germany's Virtual Klezmer says, "Extraordinary. In every regard... Simply one of the most outstanding recordings of Jewish music." Their debut disc, YIDDISH FOR TRAVELERS (Rhythm Media Records, 1998), was cited by The Village Voice's Richard Gehr for "excellent klezmer... impeccably arranged yet electrifying renditions." Folk Roots (U.K.) found "subtle but ear-catching arrangements... fire, substance, and rhythm," while CMJ called it "easily one of the most significant klezmer discs in some time."

In addition to shows at The Knitting Factory, The 92nd Street Y, The Bottom Line, Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, the World Financial Center's Winter Garden, Fez, The Emelin Theatre, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, Easthampton Guild Hall, Tonic, Makor, Jewsapalooza, Club Helsinki, The Jewish Museum/Museum Mile, The Museum for Jewish Heritage, Usdan Center, Trinity Concerts, and Caramoor Center, Metropolitan Klezmer has performed on CNN's Worldbeat, WFUV's CityFolk Live, WVBR's Bound For Glory, and WFMU 'sTransPacific Sound Paradise, as well as ARD German TV's Rhythms of New York. Their music also appears in soundscapes used by SITI Theatre Co.'s "Score" and London's Royal Ballet Company at Covent Garden. Metropolitan Klezmer's discography includes tracks on Tzadik's "Music from the Winery" compilation of recordings from the Klezmer Sundays series at NYC's Tonic, as well as guest appearances on Isle of Klezbos' acclaimed "Greetings from the Isle of Klezbos." Band recordings are distributed worldwide by Stern's Music Ltd."