Artist The Klezmatics

The Klezmatics’ postmodern take on the traditional Jewish musical form, known as klezmer, combines protest-song lyrics with joyously danceable melodies nestled somewhere between polka and Middle Eastern music. It’s an unorthodox formula that’s found the band fans in David Letterman, the late John Peel, and Ben Folds, who featured members of The Klezmatics on the clarinet-powered Ben Folds Five track “Steven’s Last Night In Town.” More recently, the band followed in the footsteps of Billy Bragg and Wilco by delving into the back catalog of Woody Guthrie on the albums Wonder Wheel and Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah, a surprisingly workable marriage of the group’s music, and an unearthed set of Guthrie lyrics that the folk maestro never got around to setting to music.  

Updated 11/15/2010