METROPOLITAN KLEZMER: Surprising Finds

Metropolitan Klezmer

Surprising Finds

© 2003 Metropolitan Klezmer (616892534426)

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Wonderfully diverse, amazingly arranged, and gorgeously played klezmer on an exotic instrumental array, from wild dances to lilting sinuous tunes to jumping swing & tango vocals, with added spice from "found sound" and bonus live tracks.

notes

Metropolitan Klezmer's third CD is their most expressive disc yet, encompassing dynamic live and studio tracks, a wide range of approaches to traditionals (embracing Greek, Turkish, Rumanian, Russian, and Arabic roots of klezmer styles). The disc won a 2004 Outmusic Award for Outstanding New Recording/Instrumental -- though we also include many fabulous vocals, including lesser-known treasures. Interspersed among the band's studio tracks and live cuts is a series of excerpted archival gems. The group even revisits "Pick a Pocket or Two" from Oliver!, with a version that is surprising indeed.

Fun and virtuosic, the eight-piece ensemble's tight and imaginative arrangements bring new life to these pieces, adding trombone for the first time to their mix of clarinet, sax, accordion, violin, trumpet, vocals, ney flute, bass, tuba, drumset, dumbeq, and kanun (78-string plectrum zither). Rarely heard folk and theater songs are sung not only by luscious vocalist Deborah Karpel, but also through the miracle of reel-to-reel tape, by her grandfather Phillip Karpel, whose Yiddish tenor has a breathtakingly lovely old-world feel. A clarinet doyna and yearning hora by klezmer legend/original Greater Metropolitan Klezmer Band member Howie Leess are also featured.

Bonus tracks bring the energy of live performances from noted NYC clubs such as Joe's Pub at the Public Theater and the Knitting Factory, with great on-stage solos. And at the very top and finish of the CD, vocal samples of the great Yiddish theater and screen star Maurice Schwartz in his 1932 role as Uncle Moses, a drunken sweatshop owner, add flavor to the mix.

"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 Folk & Roots music magazine [Belgium], translated from Flemish

In addition to wonderful sounds and booklet graphics, all lyrics are printed in Yiddish, with both transliteration and translation into English. And the British reviewers at The Phat Planet (Music from the Whole Wide World) included "Surprising Finds" in their Top 30 Picks for all of world music in 2003.

reviews

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  • electrifying!
    author: barry negrin

    Among the best contemporary klezmer CDs, Surprising Finds is one you'll listen to over and over (and not just to annoy your rommate!).

  • Very enjoyable
    author: Ira Kleiman

    I really enjoyed this CD, even though I am not particularly into Klezmer and my Yiddish is rusty to say the least. It's just fun music with beautiful vocals. The music provides a wonderful insight into a musical world and culture of days gone by.

  • author: Rich Mechaber

    What a gem! Played it much of the 6-1/2 hours drive back to New Hampshire. The band's playing made a joyful occasion exuberant; I really love the fat, rich sound the group flows out through the solos, liquid without being syrupy, with rich but not operatic vocals. So far, Dreaming Wizard's a favorite, but I'll have to give the CD another 12 listens first....

  • fine world-music, edgy klezmer, Soviet Yiddish theatre tunes & tango
    author: Gigi Yellen-Kohn, Seattle Jewish Transcript

    "The drummer and founder of Metropolitan Klezmer, Eve Sicular, is also the leader of its all-female offshoot, Isle of Klezbos. Both bands are associated -- just like the Klezmatics -- with Manhattan's edgy incubators of Klezmer music and contemporary urban lifestyles. Live recording[s] from Joe's Pub ... grace both new discs: a medley of a doyna, an old nigun, and 'Abi Gezunt' features vocalist Deborah Karpel... a guaranteed crowd-pleaser with lyrics by Molly Picon... Among [Metropolitan Klezmer's] 'surprising finds' is the 'Shadkhn [matchmaker] Tango from a 1940 Yiddish movie. A Rumanian medley features the fine world-music accordionist Ismail Butera. Short tracks of 1960s home recordings of Karpel's grandfather's warm Yiddish singing voice enrich the album. There's also a suite of songs from the Soviet Yiddish theatre. Album notes cover interesting historical information, including the closet struggles, both as a Jew and a gay man, of Lionel Bart [ne Begleiter], composer of the musical Oliver! from which the band arranges -- in Klezmer style -- the Jewish character Fagin's 'Pick a Pocket or Two.' "

  • Seamless, strong and surprising delight [translated from Flemish]
    author: RootsTown folk & roots music magazine (Belgium)

    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.

  • Cause for rejoicing
    author: Linda Dailey Paulson, Dirty Linen magazine

    The "surprising finds" that Metropolitan Klezmer makes are musical treasures on Yiddish and mainstream film, as well as home recordings. They've rediscovered "Pick a Pocket or Two" from Oliver! and many traditional folk tunes. Part of the charm of this CD is that all these influences are incorporated into this modern recording seamlessly. The shining vocalist is Philip Karpel, grandfather of Deborah Karpel, recorded circa 1960. His a cappella voice is on four brief tracks. There are also four tracks capturing the group performing live. It's a very wonderful treat.... Each of these are very heart-opening recordings, joyful, introspective, and mindful of the world, played exuberantly by stellar musicians. - DIRTY LINEN Folk & World Music Magazine

  • Top-class klezmer
    author: Songlines magazine (U.K.)

    The engine that drives the Metros is undoubtedly the band's dummer-leader, Eve Sicular. A polymath who lectures on Yiddish film when she isn't behind her drum-kit, Sicular has been playing for some time with an all-women's sextet, Isle of Klezbos, much of whose personnel overlaps with Metropolitan Klezmer.

  • Cause for rejoicing
    author: Linda Dailey Paulson, Dirty Linen magazine

    The "surprising finds" that Metropolitan Klezmer makes are musical treasures on Yiddish and mainstream film, as well as home recordings. They've rediscovered "Pick a Pocket or Two" from Oliver! and many traditional folk tunes. Part of the charm of this CD is that all these influences are incorporated into this modern recording seamlessly. The shining vocalist is Philip Karpel, grandfather of Deborah Karpel, recorded circa 1960. His a cappella voice is on four brief tracks. There are also four tracks capturing the group performing live. It's a very wonderful treat.... Each of these are very heart-opening recordings, joyful, introspective, and mindful of the world, played exuberantly by stellar musicians. - DIRTY LINEN Folk & World Music Magazine

  • Brilliant, breathless stuff, with levity amongst the gravity
    author: Phat Planet world music

    One of New York's best known klezmer outfits, Metropolitan Klezmer, have produced a new album. 'Surprising Finds' brings us old music from, and new music within, the tradition, with plenty of levity in amongst the gravity... 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 appear in the soundclip below, as the band whip with humour and style into the opening 'Uncle Moses' wedding Dance'. Brilliant, breathless stuff.

  • a terrifically entertaining, charming CD [review from The Jewish Week]
    author: George Robinson

    On their third CD, the Metros unveil a somewhat revamped lineup with the departure of original Metro sax player Steve Elson as the most significant change. Happily, Debra Kreisberg, who had joined the band for the previous set, takes over the reeds seat quite nicely. What results is a slight shift in emphasis from the frequently post-bop inflected improvisations of the band’s first two albums to 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, which seemed a bit too self-conscious on the first two sets, have settled into a more relaxed, comfortable groove, and the use of old home recordings by her grandfather is a charming device... a terrifically entertaining CD. [Rating: four stars!]

  • Hugely enjoyable, extraordinarily polished performance, plus the fun of discover
    author: Rainlore Reviews (U.K.), Richard/Renaissance Mann

    The latest album from Eve Sicular's fabulous Metropolitan Klezmer, titled "Surprising Finds", is finally here! Metropolitan Klezmer yet again present an extraordinarily polished performance, surpassing even their previous efforts. The sophisticated, elegant arrangements are as tight as the sensemble itself, as indeed one has come to expect from this band. Needless to say, Metropolitan Klezmer's trademark cosmopolitan blend of sounds, styles and genres graces this album too, with a mix of traditional klezmer, Middle Eastern, swing, Balkan, Mediterranian, even the odd echo of Dixie and other influences and inspirations. All this is presented with the usual high energy and sophistication. At just over 62 1/2 minutes, "Surprising Finds" is not only generous, but every second is filled with delight and charm. Of the twenty tracks presented, five were recorded live, which blend seamlessly with the studio tracks. "Uncle Moses' Wedding Dance", an Eastern European old-style freylekh, opens the album with archival clips of a live band from the soundtrack of a 1930s Yiddish film drama, Uncle Moses. The transition from clip to studio recording is handled very subtly and smoothly, and this lively dance gets straight to your feet. Michael Hess' wonderful kanun opens "Terkisher Navratilova" with a taksim (a traditional improvisation common to all Middle Eastern classical traditions and widespread in klezmer until the late 19th century C.E.), transitioning smoothly into the stately Terkisher dance based on Naftule Brandwein's 1920s recording of "Terkisher Yale V'yovye Tantz", here given a much more elegant and relaxed treatment. The title is a tribute to one of the band's favourite female athletes. "Ot Azoy Neyt A Shnayder", a folk song documented in Moshe Beregovski's Soviet Yiddish song collection and once sung with English lyrics by Cab Calloway, is given an irresistable swing treatment. Lionel Bart's "Pick A Pocket Or Two" from his 1960 musical Oliver!, a tribute to its composer, receives a driven Balkanised treatment, in keeping with the influences of Jewish melodies that Bart refers to in this song. "Shpil Du Fidl, Shpil", aka "Lonely Hearts Tango", from the 1936 Polish/Yiddish co-production film Yidl mitn fidl, is a well-known Molly Picon - Abe Ellstein song. Metropolitan Klezmer add a unison instrumental chorus by Debra Kreisberg reflecting some retro inspirations which works very successfully. "Harei At" is an excerpt from a mid-1960s reel-to-reel home recording featuring Phillip Karpel and, in the background, his grandchildren including future Metropolitan Klezmer singer Deborah Karpel. The excerpt is from a multi-stanza'd ballad narrating a young man's journey through life as leading up to the taking of his wedding vows. Of great charm and intimacy, it adds a great touch of nostalgia. The following three tracks make up a little Soviet Yiddish Theater Suite, the first of which is "Soothsayer Taxim" featuring a superb taksim played on ney, a Middle Eastern flute, by Michael Hess. This leads into "Tailor's Sher", by Lev Pulver, one of the most esteemed musical directors of the Soviet Yiddish theatre of the early decades of the Soviet Union. A jolly, moderate tempo dance, it also features Hess' magical ney again. Closing this mini-suite is "Striver's Sher, also credited to Pulver, originally scored for a 27-piece orchestra, a livelier affair with overtones of humour and even irony. Another excerpt from a home recording of Phillip Karpel provides the next track, "Der Dish-Washer", the title tune from a depression era Yiddish theatre production. "Szol a Kakas Mar", perhaps already familiar from Metropolitan Klezmer's previous "Mosaic Persuasion" album and Isle of Klezbos' "Greetings From The Isle Of Klezbos", comes from both the Hungarian folk and the Hassidic tradition and is the first of the five live tracks featured on "Surprising Finds". A contemplative extended rhapsodic opening on Ismail Butera's accordion, taken up by Debra Kreisberg's alto leads into the ever livelier dance. A charming, lively khosidl-like tune, "Dreaming Wizard" is a Debra Kreisberg original. "Dray Shvester" by Lithuanian-born, London-based Hebrew and Yiddish poet and political activist Morris Winchevsky (1856-1932) is a touching tale of three sisters, set in the Victorian London Jewish underworld. Another brief excerpt of Phillip Karpel's vocals, "Kinder Yorn", follows. "Howie's Doyna & Hora / No. 2 Freylekh" is the second of the live tracks. The first part consists of a 1994 demo recording by the then Greater Metropolitan Klezmer Band, which then featured clarinetist Howie Leess. From the opening note you instantly recognise you're in for something a little extra special. This segues seamlessly into a brief freylekh performed live at The Knitting Factory in late 2002 by the present Metropolitan Klezmer line-up. A live medley of "Northern Doyna", featuring accordionist Ismail Butera, "An Alter Nigun", and the Molly Picon signature song "Abi Gezunt", follows. The latter is as fine an example of restrained, laid-back Yiddish swing as you're likely to find anywhere. Rick Faulkner's trombone stands out by virtue of its subtlety and of being ample testimony to how well he fits into this line-up. "Der Milner's Trern" is a final brief excerpt from a recording of Phillip Karpel, followed by "Blue Doyna Reprise", a live accordion improv that served as an intro to "Ot Azoy Neyt A Shnayder". "Shadkhn Tango" was adapted from the soundtrack of a 1940 Yiddish movie, Americaner Shadkhn (American Matchmaker) and segues into "Rumanian Medley", both recorded live. The medley starts off with another Ismail Butera doyna leading into a series of dances, from a stately hora to a more lively sher and finally an almost manic dance tune. The closer, "Moses' Morning After", like the opener presents a short clip from the soundtrack of the movie "Uncle Moses" and thus brings things full circle, and very nicely too. The informative liner notes by Eve Sicular include the lyrics for songs in Yiddish, romanised Yiddish, as well as English translation, also by Ms. Sicular. Eve Sicular and Metropolitan Klezmer were taking some huge chances with this album, but are entirely vindicated by just how well these "findings" form a nicely cohesive whole on "Surprising Finds". The best thing you can do is put your CD player on continuous play and listen to this hugely enjoyable album all over again straight away. Discover how much fun discovering findings can be, and the wonderful things you can do with them with a little imagination.

  • delightfully multi-dimensional, anything but stereotypical, and nothing but terr
    author: Shaun Dale, Cosmik Debris

    An assemblage of eight outstanding musicians from the worlds of rock, jazz, folk and world music, 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. That's high praise, but it was earned on the basis of their two previous albums, Yiddish For Travelers and Mosaic Persuasion. 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. Combining live and studio tracks with archival recordings from the Yiddish theater and the family archives of vocalist Deborah Karpel, the band draws on everything from the Broadway stage to traditional sources, with a healthy dose of their own creations folded into the mix, to present 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. Under the direction of drummer/ organizer/arranger/producer/wonder woman Eve Sicular, Metropolitan Klezmer is anything but stereotypical, and nothing but terrific. If you already love klezmer music, you simply must acquire this album. If you don't know anything about klezmer music, you simply must acquire this album. If you have ears and live on earth, well, by now you know the drill....

  • Village Voice: eclectic panorama, klezmer to jump blues to tango
    author: Village Voice, Chuck Eddy

    The eight-member local Metro Klezmer incorporate tuba, violin, and ney flute, and their new album ranges from an 11-minute tango to the one-minute "Der Dishwasher." They also claim a jump-blues influence.

  • my favorite Metropolitan Klezmer album yet
    author: Ari Davidow (full CD release review)

    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.

  • A delectable dish!
    author: Ari Davidow, Klezmer Shack

    Metropolitan Klezmer is one of the best urban klezmer dance bands around. The only thing better than listening to a Metropolitan Klezmer album is seeing them live. Given that, a "preview" of their new album, which includes even a few live tracks, is a treasure. Anchored by Sicular's precise, fluid drumming, and wonderful, brassy horns, Deborah Karpel's voice and a variety of lead instruments... tasty... delectable dish!

  • MK continuing on their sturdy, raucous road with many threads intertwining
    author: Judith Gennett, Green Man Reviews

    [Several] energetic MK tracks are live, but the recording is so good, and conversely the production so true, that it is hard to tell... One full-length "produced" item from the original band is a perky "Tailor's Bounce," which carries a sense of many threads intertwining. Recommended for danceaholics and partygoers from anywhere...but especially those who like those Eastern sounds!

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