Facts & Fun

Here are some interesting, useful and entertaining things about klezmer.

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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...

'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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

What does 'klezmer' mean?

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

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...

Klezmer's roots

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