Klezmer is a traditional music first documented in the 16th century in Eastern Europe. It is the musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews that features dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for dancing and listening at weddings and other social functions. The music travelled throughout Europe and Asia and incorporates musical genres such as Greek and Romanian dance music, German and Slavic folk music and European Baroque. It spread to America where it was influenced by...you guessed it, jazz!
Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, the music is performed by the Wellington-based Klezmer Rebs who have been exciting audiences around the country for more than 20 years. The Rebs’ world music appeals to everyone. While many of the songs are sung in Yiddish (that Germanic and very onomatopoeic language), they also perform partisan songs from Italy, eastern European folk tunes, French chansons, Latin cowboy love songs, Argentine Yiddish Tangos and 1940s swing vocal songs. Their own quirky, politically charged multi-lingual originals are some of the most popular crowd tunes.
The band’s instrumentation includes guitar, mandolin, clarinet, violin, accordion, keyboards, trombone, helicon (like a tuba), string bass and vocals. The Rebs are a performance band – their show is full of stories, songs and interaction with the audience. The songs are portrayed dramatically as well as aurally. You will hear big band and vocal arrangements of genuine old klezmer tunes – from the lively genuine Yiddish wedding music to the delicate slice-of-life stories from the East European shtetl (ghettos).
If you have never been to a monthly meeting of the Whanganui Jazz Club, this is a great opportunity to experience the joy of making music that both the performers and the audience embrace.
■ Whanganui Jazz Club @ St Johns Club, 158 Glasgow St, Sunday, November 5, at 6.30 pm. General admission $25. Members $15. Memberships are available at the door.
