Facts & Fun

ilanacravitz

Not for dancing!

A lot of klezmer music isn't for dancing. Here's an interesting article written by tuba player Simon Carlyle for KlezNorth on the...

ilanacravitz

'Klezmer: Jewish Jazz? Not really, but sometimes...'

Clarinet player Michael Winograd describes and presents his top 10 klezmer recordings, ranging from the 1920s to the present day - with a...

Ilana Cravitz

Klezmer Dance Word Search Puzzle

A word search puzzle to help you learn about klezmer dances. Download and print, or follow the link to play online. BACK TO KLEZMER FACTS...

Ilana Cravitz

Klezmer band in a film from 1932

It's unusual to have a black-and-white Yiddish film with sound that shows a klezmer band in so much detail. Here's Art Shryer's Modern...

Ilana Cravitz

Klezmer & fairy lights

Clarinetist Naftule Brandwein had a big personality and he liked to have fun at his gigs. It is said that sometimes he would hide fairy...

Ilana Cravitz

Klezmer and improvisation

As well as heterophony, there are some specific types of improvisation in klezmer: 1. The kale-bazetsn (seating of the bride) ceremony....

Ilana Cravitz

What does 'klezmer' mean?

Original meaning: 'kle' and 'zemer', two words in Yiddish & Hebrew, make up klezmer, meaning vessel of song = musical instrument. A...

Ilana Cravitz

Star Trek and Yiddish: what's the link?

Yiddish is the language that klezmer musicians would have spoken. It started around the 1100s and is mainly early German, with some...

Ilana Cravitz

Klezmer's roots

Klezmer music has its origins in Yiddish-speaking eastern European Jewish communities. They mainly lived in the countries that are now...