Heart-opening recordings, joyful, introspective, and mindful of the world, played exuberantly by stellar musicians... A very wonderful treat.
- Linda Dailey Paulson (Ventura CA), Dirty Linen Folk & World Music Magazine
To read a fuller excerpt click here

Top-class klezmer... On their third CD, the Metros unveil ...a somewhat more "traditional" approach, with Michael Hess's zither taking a more prominent role on tunes like "Terkisher Navratilova," and big-band swing dominating on "Ot Azoy Neyt a Schneyder" and "Shpil du Fidl, Shpil." Deborah Karpel's vocals... have settled into a more relaxed, comfortable groove, and the use of old home recordings by her grandfather is a charming device.... The engine that drives the Metros is undoubtedly the band's drummer-leader, Eve Sicular. A polymath who lectures on Yiddish film when she isn't behind her drum-kit...
- George Robinson, Songlines - The World Music Magazine (U.K.), & Jewish Week (NYC)
To read the full article click here.

Talk about a surprising find! ... the absolute best in the klezmer style. Whoever listens to Metropolitan Klezmer opens the encyclopedia of klezmer. It's a history lesson. Every song has the right liner notes and information on the original composers and performers in the accompanying booklet. Musically everything fits. All styles get their turn, from pieces of Yiddish musicals, from jazzy swing, pure Balkan, tango, and waltzes to a few very strong wedding dances. Some of the songs are presented live, others are medleys that fit together seamlessly and four short pieces are live recordings of Deborah Karpel's grandfather, taped in the mid-Sixties... A mandatory buy for the true lover of Klezmer, to whom I also recommend visiting their website. It is as well-tended as the CD's and booklets.
- "RootsTown" [Belgium] , translated from Flemish;
for full article, click here

Metropolitan Klezmer is one of (I'd argue strongly for *the*, but I'm sure of universal agreement on "one of") the best klezmer bands in the world today....Surprising Finds, the group's third release, though, takes them to an even higher level, although I might not have believed such a thing was possible before hearing it... a delightfully multi-dimensional view of a musical form that is far too easily stereotyped, not only by those unfamiliar with its range, but unfortunately by some of its practitioners as well... Metropolitan Klezmer is anything but stereotypical, and nothing but terrific.
- Shaun Dale, Cosmik Debris (cosmik.com)
To read the full article click here.

An apt title as this well-established 8-piece klezmer orchestra sift through evidence of the Jewish socialist tradition. On a fine selection of traditional tunes the group seek out the history of Jewish people arriving and becoming established in America, of the labour disputes and anti-semitic practices which kept Jews out of the mainstream work force. Not all of the tunes here are from tradition, though, there are some self-penned pieces here, such as the moving 'Dreaming wizard' which focusses on the separateness of Jews in American society in the early years of the 20th century. Other subjects are covered, too, with a tribute to the Soviet Yiddish Theatre which was eventually quashed by the paranoid Stalin. Overall, a great album celebrating the vibrant and living tradition that is klezmer - serious, melancholy, exhilarating and funny by turns - witness the mad Balkan groove recklessly driving the band's cover of the Fagin masterpiece 'Pick a pocket or two'. The first 30 seconds of the album ... the band whip with humour and style into the opening 'Uncle Moses' Wedding Dance'. Brilliant, breathless stuff.
- The Phat Planet World Music website (UK),
http://thephatplanet.com/ with a clip from Uncle Moses' Wedding Dance

Long one of New York City's tightest klezmer dance bands, the band uses its new CD to explore more deeply into Yiddish and (especially) Jewish Socialist roots, and to emphasize their own continuity with tradition. I call special attention to the album's title, "Surprising Finds," which is also the album's theme. There are other old recordings, including a couple of songs by Philip Karpel, the grandfather of Metropolitan Klezmer vocalist Debra.

Opening with a clip from the movie "Uncle Moses" to which they append their own modern version of the same, the band mixes lovely Yiddish theatre vocals, incredible instrumentals, both thoughtful and dynamic, and even manages an incredible balkan brass rearrangement of "Pick a Pocket or Two." The liner notes are especially illuminating in this case, as we learn a bit of closeted Jews and gays (or both, as one person in this case) in the entertainment industry in the '60s.

Metropolitan Klezmer has achieved something very special with this album. They can't get much better musically. Instead, they have dug more deeply into history, bringing back live fragments, recreating others, and even, as with Pam Fleming's lovely "Dreaming Wizard," creating their own tradition. In the process, the band makes us more aware of the cultural struggles and diversity of Jews (especially labor struggles of migrants to the United States and England, but not limited to then, and not limited to labor issues) in the last century. Despite the focus on the West, there is a lovely suite here in tribute to the Soviet Yiddish Theatre. Not many realize that in the decades following the Soviet revolution there existed a vibrant avant garde Yiddish Theatre, until destroyed by Stalin's paranoia. The point isn't just to present older music (and some new tunes) that we might not yet know, but to use that as an excuse to make us aware of our own history. That the band can do this and still strengthen their reputation as one of the premier Klezmer bands performing today, is an additional testament as to the skill and excitement they bring to their music. Indeed, several tracks here were recorded live, in a small club in NYC--one even features Howie Leess, member of the original band, now retired to Rochester, NY, but here recorded in 1994.

Special mention should also be given to careful and copious liner notes, and to excellent typography in integrating the Yiddish with transliteration and English. This is the way to do it.

This is my favorite Metropolitan Klezmer album yet, something I have said about each of the earlier albums, but here say even louder. If you are new to the band's sound, start here. Then work your way back. You'll enjoy.
- Ari Davidow, KlezmerShack site
www.klezmershack.com/bands/metklez/finds/metklez.finds.html

"Surprising Finds" traverses a great deal of ground, musically and historically. In addition to Metropolitan Klezmer originals, there are revamped songs from the Yiddish stage and Soviet theater and long-forgotten Yiddish favorites, as well as snippets of song from Karpel's grandfather, settings of 19th-century Yiddish poetry and even a tune from "Oliver." Its liner notes alone provide a veritable yidishkayt survey, lovingly and literately recounting the provenance of each of the songs while bringing to life a half-dozen different worlds, often including original Yiddish lyrics printed side-by-side their transliterations and English translations. "The challenge" in finding old treasures and transforming them into something new and wonderful, said Sicular, is "to go beyond the mainstream."
- Erica Brody, The Forward
for full article, click here

I FINALLY saw Metropolitan Klezmer on Christmas Day. Snow, freezing rain, and an exceptionally warm and enriching experience. I'm so happy I went. Eve Sicular (recipient of the 2002 OMA for Outstanding Producer) is a marvel -- as is every member of the group.
- Ed Mannix, OUTMusic

BRIGHT SOUNDS, BIG CITY: Metropolitan Klezmer - whose eight New York musicians have since 1994 been breathing new life into traditional klezmer - brings a special holiday set of old and new songs to the Knitting Factory, with a line-up that includes a hodgepodge of yidishkayt: a song from the 1920s world of the Moscow Yiddish theater and even an Old World tailor's song set to a swing rhythm.
- The Forward

Eight virtuosic musicians bring klezmer back to the Main Space at the Knitting Factory, including new tunes and old favorites.
- Jewish Week (NYC)

With influences that range from old school Arabic music to Latin jazz to Motown, Metropolitan Klezmer interprets aged Yiddish favorites with a mixture of tradition and irreverence. Don't worry if you've never heard of the accordion-rich, Eastern European genre of klezmer. Led by percussionist Eve Sicular, the NYC-based eight-piece produces a sound that is not only exuberantly eclectic but also very danceable. Expect an eccentric cultural lesson from these modern-day purveyors of time-honored traditions.
- Jen Bachman, flavorpill.net

"Fantastic players... excellent vocals... strength and diversity"
- Scott Atkinson, RootsWorld Bulletin

"Eclectic and sizzling klezmer"
- The (NY) Jewish Week "Second Front" page

"Excellent klezmer...impeccable yet electrifying arrangements"
- Richard Gehr, The Village Voice

One of the greatest klezmer bands I've ever heard - Metropolitan Klezmer. I had to find a way to include them in this broadcast!
- The Hot Club, Australia (www.tripod.com)

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