“Isle of Klezbos is no novelty-concept act. The group, whose
rambunctious sound mines classic swing and tango as well as traditional
Eastern European Jewish klezmer, [is] one of the most acclaimed and
esteemed klezmer units around today.” —
Peter Aaron, Chronogram
...more
quotes
NYC-based ISLE of KLEZBOS approaches tradition with playful irreverence and deepest respect. Now celebrating a quarter century together, the soulful, fun-loving powerhouse all-gal klezmer sextet has toured from Vienna to Vancouver since 1998. Band repertoire ranges from rambunctious to entrancing: Neo-traditional folk dance, mystical melodies, Yiddish swing & retro tango, re-grooved standards, and genre-defying originals. Broadcast credits include CBS Sunday Morning, The L Word, PBS, as well as over a dozen film soundtracks such as Grace Paley: Collected Shorts and Esther Broner: A Weave of Women. The band's acclaimed debut album GREETINGS FROM THE ISLE OF KLEZBOS was followed by LIVE FROM BROOKLYN (named among New York Music Daily's "Top 50 Albums of the Year" in any genre). Their latest, YIDDISH SILVER SCREEN, is launching with a concert at Joe's Pub on Dec 17, 2023. The group is noted for their tight yet adventurous sound, lush arrangements, luscious compositions, and solos that swing the Yiddish stratosphere.
ISLE of KLEZBOS ("Cutting Edge Klezmer" - New York Magazine) has graced stages from Porgy & Bess nightclub for Austria's KlezMORE Festival to Feinstein's/54 Below to Lincoln Center. For Chamber Music America’s annual conference, the ensemble performed in both Jazz and World Music genres. Formed by drummer/leader Eve Sicular, a Harvard-educated film historian as well as music maven, the group's outstanding lineup combines the creative talents of alumnae from Juilliard, Eastman, Manhattan and Berklee Schools of Music. Recent highlights: MoMA/PS1 with Gregg Bordowitz, Detroit Jewish Film Festival, Denver debut at JAAMM Festival, headlining Oberlin Spring Folk Fest, and multi-media concert The Celluloid Closet of Yiddish Film at NYC's Center for Jewish History (YIVO Institute/American Jewish Historical Society/American Jewish Music Society, Pride Season event co-sponsors). Headlining both San Francisco's Yerba Buena Gardens Festival and Portland OR's Alberta Rose Theatre for West Coast 20th anniversary summer premieres, the band returns with sextet to California for Hanukah season tour from Sonoma to Palm Springs, then back by popular acclaim to Florida tour at The Arts Garage and The Moss Center in January 2024. Repeat recipients of honors from Sparkplug Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, NYC’s Department of Cultural Affairs, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and OUTmusic, their latest Creative Engagement award supported a year-long series Isle of Klezbos: Isle of Manhattan!
Special ISLE of KLEZBOS projects have included J.EDGAR KLEZMER: Songs from My Grandmother’s FBI Files, original musical documentary theater created by bandleader/composer and lyricist Sicular, praised by The New York Times for "lively score… smartly written;" the show sold out its Off-Off Broadway run at HERE Arts. Collaborating with the likes of Natalia Zukerman (The Women Who Rode Away), Jill Sobule (Music from Yentl at Joe's Pub & Lincoln Center), and glam rock Grammy-nominee Scissor Sisters (studio sessions), the sextet has also enjoyed guest artist MC's Jackie Hoffman, Lisa Kron, Jennifer 'Circus Amok' Miller, Deb Margolin and many more for their annual KlezBiGay Pride festivities. Recent special appearances: A Letter to Harvey Milk opening night party house band; World Science Festival surprise guest artists in honor of Alan Alda at Jazz at Lincoln Center gala; and Cinema Arts Centre featured music artists with SNL legend Alan Zweibel.
The band originated as spinoff of Metropolitan Klezmer, an octet also led by drummer Eve Sicular (approaching their 30th year). ISLE of KLEZBOS' first recordings were cameos on the joint release Mosaic Persuasion, second of five Metropolitan Klezmer albums to date. The "sister sextet" made their first public appearance at CB's 313 Gallery, a more acoustically-oriented venue run by the same owner who had founded an iconic punk stage two doors down at 315 Bowery. Unbeknownst to the band at that time, the CBGB proprietor had grown up with Yiddish music royalty in his own family, and ISLE of KLEZBOS immediately became favorite performers for the legendary Hilly [Hillel] Kristal.
Links for presenters & promoters: Band Member Bios | One-sheet | Reviews | Press-Quality Photos
“Cutting Edge Klezmer” — New York Magazine
“Rapturous and rollicking” — Los
Angeles Blade
“A concert that crosses so many genres you’ll lose track – but
who’s counting?” — The Oregonian
“One of New York’s most exciting groups in any style” — New York Music Daily
“These ladies are damned good musicians, period.” — Edge New York
“Six sexy women give a creative kick to classic klezmer
music.” — New York Daily News
“These women will make you shake your tushies!” — Village Voice
“Isle of
Klezbos tests the elasticity of the genre”
— The New Yorker
“The absolute top of the
klezmer genre” — RootsTown,
Belgium
“One of the finest young klezmer bands ever
to appear on the block” — Phat Planet,
UK
“Paradigm-shifting, brilliantly tuneful klezmer
group” — New York Music Daily
“Internationally acclaimed and much-loved... We’d
make a joke, but they beat us to it.” —
Time Out NY
“A supergroup... with an offbeat sense
of humor and a relaxed sense of swing”
— George Robinson, Jewish Week
“Love your
music!” — Douglas W Smith, Producer:
CBS News Sunday Morning
“Great ears and great
hearts” — Der Pakn Treger, National
Yiddish Book Center
“Talent as strong as its name is
provocative. Isle of Klezbos is to Eastern European Jewish music what
Cherish The Ladies is to Celtic” —
Courier News NJ
“Klezmer
goddesses the Isle of Klezbos” — Susan
Van Dongen, US 1 Newspaper
“Isle of Klezbos is no
novelty-concept act. The group, whose rambunctious sound mines classic
swing and tango as well as traditional Eastern European Jewish klezmer,
should win a prize for having one of the cheekiest band names of all
time. But despite the cute moniker, the outfit is no joke ... The
veteran New York musicians [give] an assuredly jubilant Pride Month
performance... One of the most acclaimed and esteemed klezmer units
around today.” — Peter Aaron,
Chronogram
... more reviews
PHOTO CREDIT Angela Jimenez