Opening Night
New Orleans Klezmer Allstars
Saturday, March 4, 8 pm
First Congregational Church, Oakland
2501 Harrison St.
Part of the 21st Annual Jewish Music Festival: March 4-26, 2006
For tickets and information: www.jewishmusicfestival.org or (415) 276-1511
New Orleans Klezmer Allstars: www.klezmers.com
New Orleans—a good time town, with all night parties, African-European hybrid food, and dance music of numberless variety: street parades, jazz, gospel, R&B and klezmer…klezmer? That’s right.
The Jewish Music Festival opens its 21st year with the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars. Since 1991 the band has combined the sounds of klezmer with New Orleans funk, spontaneity and improvisation. This event will be accompanied by an exhibition of photographs taken in the aftermath of Katrina.
The band has developed a signature sound of frenetic Yiddish melodies over heavy New Orleans-style drumming. NOKAS current line up consists of Jonathan Freilich on guitar, Glenn Hartman on accordion, Saxophonist Robert Wagner, Dave Sobel (drums), Dave Rebeck (violin/viola) and Nobu Ozaki (bass).
The Allstars have won over audiences at major jazz, folk, bluegrass, and rock festivals and have played in clubs of equally wide range.
“Easily the funniest and wildest of the klezmer new wave.”---Village Voice
“This genre-crossing, heroically nutty Crescent City ensemble has a raucous, wild spin on the popular Eastern European revival.”---Billboard
“NOKAS makes klezmer into a sort of rubbery jazz, an intriguingly foreign score that conveys the struggles and joys of all peoples no matter what their cultural heritage or religious beliefs.”—Philadelphia Inquirer
“The New Orleans Klezmer Allstars kicked out the jams with their ‘funky Jewish music,’ and spurred the entire audience into a dancing frenzy.”
—Los Angeles Reader
High Resolution photos for this ensemble are available immediately upon request or will be available on the festival website www.jewishmusicfestival.org/press. For further information, please call Ellie Shapiro, (510) 848-0237 x126 or
The Jewish Music Festival is a program of the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center