Rise Up! Shteyt Oyf!
OnRise Up!, The Klezmatics once again expand the concept of klezmer music by fusing the radical and the traditional via edgy jazz musicianship, interesting arrangements of traditional Jewish folk songs and Eastern European rhythms, and myriad other imaginative influences. Created in response to the 9/11 attacks, the album is an often somber meditation of loss in songs about deathbed regrets, lost love, and the dangers of vanity and complacency. While the band is typically best known for its ecstatic moments of musical celebration, even the instrumentals here have a subdued tone to them. The album is more reaffirming on its two versions (one in English and one in Yiddish) of Holly Near’s "I Ain’t Afraid": the message is a powerful indictment on religious fanaticism set to an uplifting gospel arrangement. Even though they didn’t write it, the song crystallizes the social and musical slant of The Klezmatics, a band with a message that preaches in its own unique style from its own very unique musical perspective.--Tad Hendrickson