Formed in New York’s East Village in 1986, The Klezmatics reinvented and revived the klezmer genre.
Currently comprised of composers Matt Darriau (clarinet, saxophone and kaval) and Frank London (trumpet), Paul Morrissett (bass and tsimbl), Lorin Sklamberg (lead vocalist, accordion, guitar, piano), Lisa Gutkin (violin and vocals) and Richie Barshay (drums), the Klezmatics musical virtuosity and use of traditional dance music of Eastern European Jews continue to amaze and uplift audiences. Their lyrics, sung in English, Yiddish, Bavarian and Aramaic, address social rights and anti-fundamentalism over a mix of klezmer, Latin, Celtic, Afro-Caribbean, Balkan, gospel and folk flavoured music.
The Grammy Award winning The Klezmatics have released 11 albums and have collaborated with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America), classical violinist Itzhak Perlman, poet Allen Ginsberg, Jewish gospel singer Joshua Nelson, Israeli vocalist Chava Alberstein and avant-garde composer John Zorn.