Rhythm & Jews
One of the hallmarks of a great klezmer band is its ability to make a tune that's been played countless times still sound improvised. This spirit of free-wheeling improvisation runs rampant through the New York-based Klezmatics' first album, which borrows freely from the repertoire of Naftule Brandwein, the 1920s American klezmer legend noted for a rambunctious and intoxicated style of clarinet playing. "NY Psycho Freylekh" and "Araber Tants" in particular add a psychedelic tinge to music that's plenty wild to begin with. Singer Lorin Sklamberg's gay activism manifests itself in his Yiddish adaptation of the "Song of Songs" verses that ask, "Who is that coming out of the desert?  Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." Mostly, however, the band rocks out with clarinet-, trumpet-, and violin-led jams that blend East European wedding music and a New York free-jazz vibe into something joyous, celebratory, and way more hep than the sum of its parts.--Richard Gehr