Amsterdam Klezmer Band: Zaraza
(featuring a very special version by Shantel)
Catalogue No.: AY CD 19 (EAN: 881390201921)

Here's what the renowned Dutch daily paper NRC has to say about the AMSTERDAM KLEZMER BAND: "This group has very little to offer to 'Klezmer-purists' since Klezmer was never meant to be polished and perfected for concert halls. With their festive approach they take the music out of the conservatory corridors into the street." It is 2008 and the AKB has been blessed with many enthusiastic fans both in the Netherlands and abroad. Other bands are covering AKB songs and remixes of their tracks are found worldwide. Over the past few years they have performed at many prestigious venues around the world, including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and at important festivals such as North Sea Jazz, Ashkenaz, Sziget and Lowlands. The Amsterdam Klezmer bug is spreading...

Hence the title of AMSTERDAM KLEZMER BAND's latest release ZARAZA. In Slavic languages zaraza means infectious or contagious, in Polish it is the word for epidemic. Zaraza is indeed an infectious album from an extremely virulent and passionate band. The album contains 15 brand new tracks, all original compositions rooted in the Klezmer tradition and infused with Romanian, Turkish, Serbian, Russian and Macedonian sounds. With Zaraza the band has achieved the optimal CD recording of their unique sound and qualities. The AMSTERDAM KLEZMER BAND is showcased in its purest form, with virtuoso and provocative performances by the musicians. On Zaraza the musical fire so characteristic of the AMSTERDAM KLEZMER BAND is stoked to an even greater heat. "Not only do the horns play the signature Klezmer parts like they could do it in their sleep, but also the cool sounds of Dutch hip-hop. Could this be the future sound of Klezmer?" Franz Zipperer/Clarino

The AMSTERDAM KLEZMER BAND story began in 1996. A few Amsterdam boys with Jewish backgrounds became inspired by the catchy sounds of Klezmer music and started busking. Since that time the band has evolved into a seven-member formation which is now the Klezmer and Balkan music pride of the Netherlands. Their lengthy time on the road and extensive experience are now paying off spectacularly. The band just keeps getting better and better and has again reached a new level with Zaraza.

JOANN SFAR All started with a dedication in his comic best seller "Klezmer". Joann Sfar wrote: "At the beginning of the book, I'm not too sure what tune the Baron of My Backside plays with his harmonica. But I imagine that when it heats up it must sound like some pieces by the Amsterdam Klezmer Band. They're my favorite group. They know what it's like to play in bars. They sound like a Klezmer version of The Pogues. They are giving Klezmer music a street credibility". We are outmost happy that this star of the French comic scene did the cover for this CD. In his work Sfar expresses a pleasantly unorthodox perspective on his Jewish background, something he has in common with the AMSTERDAM KLEZMER BAND.

AMSTERDAM KLEZMER BAND & Essay Recordings Zaraza is released on the German label Essay Recordings, continuing their earlier collaboration. The 2006 release of AMSTERDAM KLEZMER BAND "Remixed!" resulted in good sales and reviews worldwide. The track "Sadagora Hot Dub", Shantel's remix of the track Son became a genuine club hit. The accompanying tour and collaborative project with the prodigious producer duo C-mon and Kypski in the Netherlands, Germany and France were a great success and proved that Klezmer music and Beats are going together very well.

A BIOGRAPHY: With their talented musicians, the Amsterdam Klezmer Band (AKB) is an energetic and poetic stage act that charms international audiences. Their refreshing approach to Klezmer and Balkan music transcends the traditional aspects of this music and results in a very lively mix of Eastern-European sound. Their strength lies in their ability to appeal to a remarkably broad audience across all age groups; they play clubs or theatres, festivals, parties, weddings or formal functions. AKB can both fire up a crowd and create pure listening pleasure with the vibrancy of their playing. Their instrumental skills are complemented by the vocals of Alec Kopyt from Odessa and Job Chajes (also on saxophone).

Since its foundation in 1996 by saxophone player Job Chajes, the band has evolved rapidly. In no time the band became world-famous in Amsterdam for its many vibrant performances on the streets, in the parks and in the pubs. Soon the rest of The Netherlands followed: the band performed at the Oerol Festival in 1999, 2000 and 2001 to great acclaim and was invited to the Noorderslagfestival in January 2001 (the media describing their performance as 'the great surprise of the festival'), followed by the Lowlands Festival in August 2001. During that period the band toured in Slovenia, Switzerland and Italy and completed three successful tours of Turkey. The third CD of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band, Limonchiki, was released on the New York label Knitting Factory label and the band had a grand tour of the Dutch club scene in the autumn of 2001, with as its highpoint the presentation of Limonchiki at the Paradiso, Amsterdam. In September 2003 the CD Katakofti was released. It's the result of a collaborative effort of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band and the Galata Gypsy Band from Turkey. The CD was released on Turkish label Kalan Records. In January 2005 SON (Russian for 'dream') was released, containing a veritable treasure-trove of new Amsterdam Klezmer and Balkan music. The album received an enthusiastic reaction from the (international) press and led to a year of heavy touring and playing gigs in clubs and theatres including world famous Concertgebouw Amsterdam and venues in New York, Moscow, Paris and Hamburg.

Nowadays only part of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band repertory consists of traditionals of Balkan or Klezmer origin. Most of the AKB repertory has been created by the band members themselves, who all without exception contribute musically to an ever-growing melting-pot of infectious Balkan/Gypsy/Klezmer cross-over grooves. In this manner the band endeavours to breathe new life into the Eastern-European Balkan, Klezmer and Gypsy music tradition. Passionate performances, spectacular live shows and a good dose of street credibility form the ingredients of their cocktail.

MEMBERS of the AMSTERDAM KLEZMER BAND on the SONGS of this ALBUM

Banat (Gijs) It is 2008, time for the Amsterdam Klezmer Band new style! Folk Music from Romania and the surrounding area is exerting more and more influence on the band members' compositions. The inspiration for my high octane instrumental comes from the music of the Banat region. Pay special attention to the awesome playing by clarinettist Janfie van Strien and accordion player Theo van Tol.

Takaj Zhizn (Janfie and Alec) Springtime makes me party day and night, so much so that in early autumn I have to ask my doctor for a pill to prevent it.

Alles Kan Beter (Theo) is the Amsterdam Klezmer Band's take on a contemporary style from Bucharest. It is characterised by the tight double-bass accompaniment and the zither, which has been replaced here by the accordion. You would be unlikely to hear the big band-like wind section in Rumania however; this is another typical Amsterdam Klezmer Band touch. Some people think it sounds more like old-school Jazz, but hey, Alles Kan Beter (Anything can be improved upon!). If it's not actually better then at least it's different, and it grooves like nobody's business.

Kesikköprü (Jasper) is named after a Turkish village and a Turkish/Kurdish festival at which the band has performed three times. It means "Broken Bridge”. The melody and the rhythm are inspired by Turkish and Bulgarian music.

Op een Goppe (Job) A Kolo with attitude. The lyrics are about the band's past, how we got to where we are today, and why I can't go for long without a "feestje” (party)!

Vesna (Janfie and Alec) The unhappy love triangle; he loves her and she loves hard drugs. The painful choice has had to be been taken.

Netty (Joop) For my mother.

Sîrba Katoomba (Janfie) A Sîrba is an up-tempo dance from Rumania. Katoomba is a town in the breathtakingly beautiful Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. Sîrba Katoomba is an equally breathtaking piece, certainly for the musicians who perform it!

The Seventh Seven (Jasper) was composed on the guitar banjo and happens to be the seventh 7/8 or 7/16 composition to be recorded by the band. The rhythm and the melodic content are inspired by Bulgarian music.

Zlabya (Joop) One of the main characters in "Le Chat du Rabbin” by Joann Sfar comes to life in a piece that attempts to emulate the original sound of Klezmer. In contrast to the many grand tuttis in the band's oeuvre, this is a composition that allows breathing space to a number of solo passages.

Doina (Jasper) is an improvisation on guitar banjo, whereby the performer was influenced by both Greek and Eastern stringed instruments and playing techniques.

Tarantula (Jasper) A Southern European dance. Like a spider which jumps from Eastern to Western Europe and back again!

Kolodobre (Job) I originally wrote this for the di Fidl Kapelye violins, but is also turned out to be a great dance number for the Amsterdam Klezmer Band. It has us going at it all guns blazing!

Zaraza (Gijs en Alec) The title song was composed by Gijs Levelt and Alec Kopyt, who also wrote the piece Son, which was remixed by Shantel as the club hit Sadagora Hot Dub. Zaraza is about untrustworthy women, broken men's hearts and lost souls. Saxophonist Job Chajes plays a dazzling solo over the Breaza Dance rhythm on which the piece is based.

Gde (Joop) The time was ripe for an irregular metre song. This irregularity is further expressed in the phrasing of the piece.

Shantel & AKB: Buchalter Joint (Shantel) I am taking you to a joint that veneers the memory of famous mobster Louis 'Lepke' Buchalter. AKBs instruments join with mine and the mixing console also comes in to play its role in true Kosher Nostra stylee.

LYRICS

Gde

Where is my peace of mind? / I feel like I'm possessed / my life is a mess / everything is upside down / and the wrong way around.

My best friend is suddenly vanished / I am not in love anymore / where are the days of my cloudless youth? / Time is flying and / the folly of the daily routine is bringing us nowhere. / It leaves us with tears and heartache.

What should I do? / Where is the key to the gate / into the world with no pain, sadness and tears?

Takaj Zhizn

The sun is shining / the leaves are rustling / and the tree branches are drumming into the windows: / "it's springtime, don't stay indoors, go out, enjoy and celebrate life!”

The time is flying, the autumn is near, / but I carry on day and night / despite warnings against dangers / of excessive partying. / So I ask my doctor for the anti-party pill, / and I hope it will work.

Vesna

You were heavily addicted to smack / and lived nearby the movie house "hammer and sickle” / All you knew about life was the exact alcohol content of beer. / So when you stole and had sold your grandma's jewellery, / it was the sign to stay away from you / since you don't need me anyway.

But one day you kicked the smack habit. / Soon after you fell in love with some guy, / got yourself a job, working nights. / And in no time got busy again sniffing up cocaine.

Oh what a drag, you are back in the street, so fuck you, / I have got no time for you.

Zaraza

You didn't show up again, you bitch, / blaming some urgent business matters. / My telephone is silent for days / and my heart is pounding like a hammer. / These "business matters” are / going out dancing or going to the movies. / In fact, all I care is – you are not with me. / Maybe I am too ugly for you?

I would not change you for any other girl, / not for a million. / Look what you have done to me. / I have lost 23 kilos of weight / and my life is hell without you.

STAN RIJVEN, a JOURNALIST WORKING FOR DUTCH TV, RADIO & PRESS on AKB

Mix a helping of Klezmer with a portion of Ska, add a liberal dash of Balkan and a pinch of Gypsy. Garnish with a tablespoon of Jazz and a pinch of Punk. Throw it all in the blender and the recipe for the Amsterdam Klezmer Band is complete. Serve immediately!

Their vette (throbbing) Klezmer/Balkan style never fails to leave the audience well and truly 'klezmerised'. As the wind instruments, double-bass, accordion and percussion join battle with pulsating grooves full of raw refinement, you know you are in for a long and sweaty evening; be it in a small club in Canada or Turkey or at large festivals such as Sziget in Hungary or Lowlands in the Netherlands. According to saxophonist and band leader Job Chajes, it's all about the "age-old cross-fertilisation of Hassidic, Balkan and Turkish influences, but in a modern context”.

The band members have been plucked both from the street and the conservatory, and have paid their dues within a range of other styles such as Jazz, Funk and Latin. "That's why the wind section can switch so effortlessly between Jamaican Ska and Serbian Bleh music” according to Chajes.

Their secret lies in the surprisingly natural mix of deep-seated tradition and contemporary avant-garde. Trumpet player Gijs Levelt: "Some purists think that we're not nearly traditional enough, and yet the early Klezmorim themselves incorporated the hits of the day into their own repertoire”.

It is precisely this 'omnivore' approach which allows the band to embody the true spirit of Klezmer. Klezmer is nothing more or less than 19th Century Eastern European dance music for weddings and parties, as played by travelling Jewish musicians who incorporated the musical traditions that they came across into their music.

The Amsterdam Klezmer Band has been based in Mokum (Yiddish for Amsterdam), itself once the 'Jerusalem of the North', since 1996 and is now celebrating the Klezmer tradition on a Global scale. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the brushing aside of the Iron Curtain, Amsterdam has once again become a magnet to musicians from Eastern Europe. Singer Alec Kopyt, who came to Amsterdam from Odessa, is a good example: "If someone had told me 28 years ago back in the Ukraine that I, a 19 year old rock freak, would end up performing the traditional music of my fatherland and would actually learn to love it, I'd have laughed in their face”. This was his comment in 2006 on the release of the album 'Remixed!'. Kopyt is once again the front man for the new album, acting as a bridge between the two harbour cities of Odessa and Amsterdam. Now and again Chajes takes over the microphone to sing lines such as: "I was born in a town that was built on stilts and where you can eat gefilte fish”.

This much is clear: They may be based in Amsterdam, but together they form an international outfit that stands for much more than Klezmer alone. The new CD is a boisterous testimonial to this. In fact, they might as well have been called the Amsterdam Klezmore Gang: Thanks to them, the whole mishpocha now laughs when it used to cry.

TRACKLISTING

1. Banat - M: Gijs Levelt
2. Takaj Zhizn - M: Janfie van Strien/ L: Alec Kopyt
3. Alles Kan Beter - M: Theo van Tol
4. Kesikköprü - M: Jasper de Beer
5. Op Een Goppe - M and L: Job Chajes
6. Vesna - M: Janfie van Strien/ L: Alec Kopyt
7. Netty - M: Joop van der Linden
8. Sîrba Katoomba - M: Janfie van Strien
9. The 7th Seven - M: Jasper de Beer
10. Zlabya - M: Joop van der Linden
11. Doina - M: Jasper de Beer
12. Tarantula - M: Jasper de Beer
13. Kolodobre - M: Job Chajes
14. Zaraza - M: Gijs Levelt/ L: Alec Kopyt
15. Gde - M: Joop van der Linden/ L: Alec Kopyt
Special Bonus
Shantel & AKB: Buchalter Joint – M: Job Chajes & S.Hantel

All tracks published by Edition Essay

Jasper de Beer: double bass, guitar banjo, backing vocals
Job Chajes: alto saxophone, vocals
Alec Kopyt: vocals, percussions
Gijs Levelt: trumpet
Joop van der Linden: trombone, percussions
Janfie van Strien: clarinet, backing vocals
Theo van Tol: accordion

ABOUT AKB

With their talented musicians, the Amsterdam Klezmer Band (AKB) is an energetic and poetic stage act that charms international audiences. Their refreshing approach to Klezmer and Balkan music transcends the traditional aspects of this music and results in a very lively mix of Eastern-European sound. Their strength lies in their ability to appeal to a remarkably broad audience across all age groups; they play clubs or theatres, festivals, parties, weddings or formal functions. AKB can both fire up a crowd and create pure listening pleasure with the vibrancy of their playing. Their instrumental skills are complemented by the vocals of Alec Kopyt from Odessa and Job Chajes (also on saxophone).

Since its foundation in 1996 by saxophone player Job Chajes, the band has evolved rapidly. In no time the band became world-famous in Amsterdam for its many vibrant performances on the streets, in the parks and in the pubs. Soon the rest of The Netherlands followed: the band performed at the Oerol Festival in 1999, 2000 and 2001 to great acclaim and was invited to the Noorderslagfestival in January 2001 (the media describing their performance as 'the great surprise of the festival'), followed by the Lowlands Festival in August 2001. During that period the band toured in Slovenia, Switzerland and Italy and completed three successful tours of Turkey. The third CD of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band, Limonchiki, was released on the New York label Knitting Factory label and the band had a grand tour of the Dutch club scene in the autumn of 2001, with as its highpoint the presentation of Limonchiki at the Paradiso, Amsterdam. In September 2003 the CD Katakofti was released. It's the result of a collaborative effort of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band and the Galata Gypsy Band from Turkey. The CD was released on Turkish label Kalan Records. In January 2005 SON (Russian for ‘dream') was released, containing a veritable treasure-trove of new Amsterdam Klezmer and Balkan music. The album received an enthusiastic reaction from the (international) press and led to a year of heavy touring and playing gigs in clubs and theatres including world famous Concertgebouw Amsterdam and venues in New York, Moscow, Paris and Hamburg.

Nowadays only part of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band repertory consists of traditionals of Balkan or Klezmer origin. Most of the AKB repertory has been created by the band members themselves, who all without exception contribute musically to an ever-growing melting-pot of infectious Balkan/Gypsy/Klezmer cross-over grooves. In this manner the band endeavours to breathe new life into the Eastern-European Balkan, Klezmer and Gypsy music tradition. Passionate performances, spectacular live shows and a good dose of street credibility form the ingredients of their cocktail: Klez dance!