"Wildly variegated flavors... eclectic and sizzling klezmer" - Jewish Week

"Anything but stereotypical, and nothing but terrific" - Shaun Dale, Cosmik Debris
band photo 2006
Photo by: Allison Chipak

Metropolitan Klezmer, established in 1994, brings eclectic exuberance to Yiddish musical genres from all over the map. Performing vibrant versions of lesser-known gems from wedding dance, trance, folk, swing and tango styles, as well as soundtrack material from vintage Yiddish films, they re-invent tradition with both irreverence and respect... an exhilarating journey!  Full band description.

Ismail Butera Ismail Butera is a renowned virtuoso accordionist playing in a range of styles including Balkan, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Albanian, Armenian, and Persian, as well as klezmer, Israeli and Sephardic music. He has performed with the Klezmatics, Andy Statman, Michael Alpert, Song of the Shtetl, Klezmeydlekh & Friends, Noga Group, Chameleon, and Yale Strom's Hot P'Stromi, including soundtracks of The Last Klezmer and A Life Apart: Hasidim in America. He has taught at Buffalo Gap Balkan Folk Arts Camp, plays traditional Greek instruments with Smyrneiki Kompania, and plays and sings Balkan, Mediterranean and Near Eastern music with his own music and dance project, Sharqiya. Ismail has also led Bogomila and played with percussionist Seido Salifoski in the 'Balkan Brothers' duo. His ensemble Sounds of Taraab plays traditional court music of Zanzibar. He is a founding member of Metropolitan Klezmer and appears on all four of the band's CDs.
Pam Fleming Trumpet/flugelhorn artist Pam Fleming, toured nationally with Natalie Merchant in Lilith Fair, where she was also a frequent soloist with the Indigo Girls. She appeared with Bonnie Raitt on VH1 and with Rufus Wainwright on Late Night with David Letterman. Composer/leader with her jazz project Fearless Dreamer, which has just released its second CD, "Climb," she also plays styles from salsa to swing to funk, and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music. In addition to extensive work with reggae star Burning Spear, she has been a guest artist with "Li'l" Jimmy Scott (Sessions at 54th St. on PBS), Cab Calloway, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Palmer, Arrow [Hot Hot Hot], Queen Latifah, Sarah McLachlan, the Klezmatics, Hazmat Modine, RadioDread, Toots & the Maytals and the Easy Star All-Stars. Performing and writing for both Metropolitan Klezmer and the all-female Isle of Klezbos, she appears on all five of the klezmer bands' CDs.
Michael Hess Multi-instrumentalist Michael Hess studied classical violin and viola at the Manhattan School of Music, and learned kanun (Middle Eastern zither) from the late Egyptian master Mohammed El Akkad. He is also widely known as an accomplished player of Arabic ney flutes and frame drums, and as an eminent performer of Sephardic music, touring throughout North America as well as Turkey and Lithuania with Alhambra. He has recorded widely as well as performing with Mogador Ensemble, Smyrneiki Kompania, Sharqiya, and other Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Greek, Turkish, and Persian folkloric music, theater, and dance troupes. Michael also plays in Sounds of Taraab. He is a founding member of Metropolitan Klezmer, and appears on all the band's CDs.
Dave Hofstra Bassist/tuba artist Dave Hofstra has played, toured, and recorded extensively in jazz, rock, blues, klezmer, and new music. He has performed with artists Bobby Previte, Lou Grassi, Bobby Radcliff, Grady Gaines, John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Robin Holcomb, Debbie Davies, Elliot Sharp, Tom Cora, Guy Klucevsek, Bill Frisell, Toshi Reagon, Luka Bloom, Marshall Crenshaw, Joel Forrester, William Parker, and Nora York, as well as with Philip Johnston's Big Trouble, the Microscopic Septet, and the Transparent Quartet; Rachelle Garniez's Fortunate Few and Twilight Time; Casselberry & DuPree; The Waitresses; and the Klezmatics. He is a founding member of Metropolitan Klezmer, and heard on all the band's CDs as well as on "Greetings from the Isle of Klezbos" (guest tuba).
Deborah Karpel Vocalist Deborah Karpel's background fuses musical theater, jazz standards, cabaret, opera, and Yiddish repertoire from her grandfather. She performed regularly in Jeff Weiss's Obie award-winning Hot Keys, is a frequent song recitalist at NYC's Donnell Library Auditorium, and recently sang the role of Contessa Almaviva ( Le Nozze di Figaro) in concert at Weill and Merkin Halls in NYC. Deborah was a founding member of the improv comedy group "Shock of the Funny" and has written and presented plays and performance pieces at P.S. 122 and Dixon Place, as well as appearing on Comedy Central's Strangers With Candy. She performs on all Metropolitan Klezmer and Klezbos CDs, and just released her solo project, Songs My Mother Never Taught Me.
Debrah Kreisberg Clarinetist/alto saxophonist Debra Kreisberg has performed in a wide range of genres, from jazz, Latin, klezmer and funk to classical and musical theater. A graduate of Eastman School of Music with an MM in Jazz Studies from Manhattan School of Music, she currently performs, composes, arranges, and records with the Latin jazz group Los Mas Valientes, as well as Metropolitan Klezmer, and the all-female Isle of Klezbos, and various other projects. She has also performed with the avant-jazz group Joe Gallant and Illuminati, Canadian jazz/cabaret Yiddish star Theresa Tova, the Rochester Philharmonic featuring Natalie Cole, and the New York City funk band D'Tripp. On the production side, she has co-produced mixes on Metropolitan Klezmer/Isle of Klezbos' award-winning CDs Mosaic Persuasion, Surprising Finds, and Greetings from the Isle of Klezbos. In addition to her performing work, Debra is Managing Director of Educational Outreach at the 92nd Street Y's School of the Arts.
Reut Regev Trombonist Reut Regev, born and raised in Israel, has lived in NYC since 1998. She plays jazz (old and new), salsa, rock, funk, Brazilian, blues, classical, contemporary, Jewish and Caribbean music with such artists as Butch Morris, Igal Foni, Firewater, Eric Revis, Adam Lane, Billy Bang, Michael Attias, Anthony Braxton, Groove Collective, Ras Moshe, The Cuchimbos, Dominic, Gold Sparkle Brass Band, Assif Tzahar, Jeremiah Lockwood, FBI, Reggie Nicholson, The Phantoms, Raulin Rosendo, Eddie Bobe, Cynthia Hopkins' Gloria Deluxe, and Ray Santiago. Her own experimental jazz ensemble, R*Time, recently recorded their debut CD. She is also touring internationally with the band Firewater. She appears on Metropolitan Klezmer's latest CD, "Traveling Show."
Eve Sicular Drummer/bandleader Eve Sicular has played klezmer, rock, r&b, Cajun/zydeco, samba, swing, Balkan and Middle Eastern music with such artists as David Krakauer, The Voodoobillies, The Mazeltones, Pink Noise, and Charming Hostess. She founded Metropolitan Klezmer in 1994, Isle of Klezbos in 1998, and produced (as well as composing and arranging for) the two bands' five CDs on Rhythm Media Records, receiving two Outmusic Awards and more nominations. In addition to soundscapes for SITI Theatre Co. and London's Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, her arrangements appear on episodes of Showtime's The L Word. Her numerous musical theater credits include Molly Picon is Alive Well Living in Brooklyn. As a film scholar, she worked on the milestone Yiddish film series Bridge of Light: Between Two Worlds at The Museum of Modern Art before becoming curator of Film & Photo Archives at YIVO Institute. She has lectured and published internationally on The Yiddish Celluloid Closet, received her BA in Russian History & Literature from Harvard (her thesis, Ideology & Montage profiled Soviet documentarian Esther Shub), and is a 2008 Manhattan Community Arts Fund recipient for J. Edgar Klezmer: Songs from My Grandmother's FBI Files, an experimental live music & multi-media theater piece to be produced at Dixon Place.

METROPOLITAN KLEZMER founded in 1994, is the collaborative adventure of eight exceptional New York musicians creating inspired interpretations and original compositions around a panorama of traditionally eclectic Yiddish repertoire. The band was formed by drummer/Yiddish film scholar Eve Sicular with multi-talented world music artists Ismail Butera (accordion) and Michael Hess (violin, ney flutes, kanun zither) plus ubiquitous downtown bass and tuba treasure Dave Hofstra, and originally featured klezmer legend Howie Leess (b. 1920) on clarinet & tenor sax. Since their debut at John Zorn's New Jewish Music Fest, the group has expanded to include vocalist Deborah Karpel and a dynamic horn section: Debra Kreisberg (clarinet/alto sax), Pam Fleming (trumpet/fluegelhorn), and Reut Regev (trombone). Former members also include Steve Elson (reeds), Rick Faulkner (trombone), and Brian Drye (trombone). Collectively, their experiences span genres from Albanian to Zydeco as well as jazz, Latin, classical, funk, ska and many other styles. Individually, Metropolitan Klezmer players have worked with such diverse artists as Bonnie Raitt, The Toasters, Bill Frisell, Toshi Reagon, Juan Carlos Formell, Indigo Girls, Burning Spear, Amy Sedaris, Max Roach, Rufus Wainwright, Nora York, and the Microscopic Septet, as well as Jewish music performers from the Klezmatics and Andy Statman to David Krakauer, Sephardic stars Alhambra and SF's Charming Hostess. To quote Seth Rogovoy (The Essential Klezmer), Metropolitan Klezmer is "distinguished by just plain great, versatile ensemble playing... exuberant spirit and wit."

The band's CDs have enjoyed excellent reviews, awards, and worldwide airplay. Their vibrant array of songs includes rollicking wedding dances, soulful folk tunes, modal slapstick, revved-up odd meter Hanuka fare, postwar Yiddish poetry, irresistible Turkish- and Arabic-tinged klezmer traditionals, Hungarian Jewish prayer melody, labor protest hymn, Second Avenue swing classics, vintage Yiddish film soundtrack tangos, love ballads, and originals. Their latest CD, TRAVELING SHOW (2007), was recorded live in concert at Mason Gross School of the Arts/Rutgers University and at Riverspace Arts/Nyack, and includes a 'Klezbonus' studio track by the group's sister sextet, Isle of Klezbos; according to Belgium's MazzMusikas, the band has outdone itself here, and Jewish Week gives this disc five stars (highest rating) and lists it as among the eight Best CDs of 2007. Metropolitan Klezmer's 2003 release SURPRISING FINDS, an OutMusic awardwinning CD, includes haunting original composition as well as jump swing injected into a tailor's chant, intricate and dynamic versions of 19th-c. underworld tunes, adaptations from 1920s Soviet Moscow Yiddish theater, a Balkan styling of Fagin's "Pick a Pocket" from Oliver!, and archival cameo gems from klezmer legend Howie Leess, Yiddish stage/acreen star Maurice Schwartz, and, as recorded on reel-to-reel, Phillip Karpel (grandfather of vocalist Deborah Karpel, excerpted from beautiful 1960s home audio) MetroKlezmer's MOSAIC PERSUASION (2001) joint project with the all-female Isle of Klezbos sextet, is an OutMusic Award winner featuring "fantastic players... excellent vocals... strength and diversity" (- Roots World). The Forward acclaimed its "terrific... snazzy mixture of upbeat Eastern European dance tunes, Middle Eastern-influenced improvisations, and luscious Yiddish theater tunes delivered by vocalist Deborah Karpel with just enough of an edge." Jewish Week's George Robinson noted "wildly variegated flavors... a tighter, more unified sound than ever... Five stars [highest rating].... one of the best traditional klezmer bands around.... [They] can handle any tempo and a wide range of moods with equal mastery." Germany's Virtual Klezmer says, "Extraordinary. In every regard... Simply one of the most outstanding recordings of Jewish music." Their debut disc, YIDDISH FOR TRAVELERS (Rhythm Media Records, 1998), was cited by The Village Voice's Richard Gehr for "excellent klezmer... impeccably arranged yet electrifying renditions." Folk Roots (U.K.) found "subtle but ear-catching arrangements... fire, substance, and rhythm," while CMJ called it "easily one of the most significant klezmer discs in some time."

In addition to shows at The Knitting Factory, The 92nd Street Y, The Bottom Line, Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, the World Financial Center's Winter Garden, Fez, The Emelin Theatre, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, Easthampton Guild Hall, Tonic, Makor, Jewsapalooza, Club Helsinki, The Jewish Museum/Museum Mile, The Museum for Jewish Heritage, Usdan Center, Trinity Concerts, and Caramoor Center, Metropolitan Klezmer has performed on CNN's Worldbeat, WFUV's CityFolk Live, WVBR's Bound For Glory, and WFMU 'sTransPacific Sound Paradise, as well as ARD German TV's Rhythms of New York. Their music also appears in soundscapes used by SITI Theatre Co.'s "Score" and London's Royal Ballet Company at Covent Garden. Metropolitan Klezmer's discography includes tracks on Tzadik's "Music from the Winery" compilation of recordings from the Klezmer Sundays series at NYC's Tonic, as well as guest appearances on Isle of Klezbos' acclaimed "Greetings from the Isle of Klezbos." Band recordings are distributed worldwide by Stern's Music Ltd."