Amsterdam Klezmer Band
| Amsterdam Klezmer Band | |
|---|---|
 |
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| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Klezmer , jazz , Roma and Sinti music |
| founding | 1996 |
| Website | www.amsterdamklezmerband.com |
| Founding members | |
| Job Chajes | |
| Gijs Levelt | |
| Henkjan van Minnen (until 2003) | |
| Jasper de Beer | |
| Current occupation | |
Saxophone, clarinet, vocals |
Job Chajes |
Trumpet |
Gijs Levelt |
Double bass, banjo |
Jasper de Beer |
| Alec Kopyt (since 2001) | |
clarinet |
Janfie van Strien (since 2001) |
| Joop van der Linden (since 2001) | |
accordion |
Theo van Tol (since 2003) |
The Amsterdam Klezmer Band is an experimental Klezmer music group from Amsterdam , founded in 1996 , which mixes traditional Klezmer melodies and songs with Eastern European influences and jazz elements . The band writes most of the songs themselves, but also reinterprets traditional Jewish or Eastern European songs.
history
The Amsterdam Klezmer Band, founded in 1996 by saxophonist , clarinetist and singer Job Chajes with two other musicians from Amsterdam, initially played mainly on the streets of Amsterdam and in smaller pubs. The band grew to four members - in addition to Chajes, trumpeter Gijs Levelt, accordionist Henkjan van Minnen and double bass player and banjo player Jasper de Beer played. A first "breakthrough" came in 1999 when the band performed for the first time at the Dutch Oerol Festival, after the two cassettes Mesjogge (= Meschugge , 1996) and Leib in de Pijp (1997), their first album on CD - still self-published, In 2003, however, as a re-publication by Verlag BV Haast - completed and completed her first international tour with stops in Slovenia and Turkey. This was followed in 2000 by the second album, Malaloka , which was released by the Dutch music publisher Syncoop. There was another tour through Turkey, as well as Italy and Switzerland.
In 2001 the band expanded to include singer Alec Kopyt from Odessa , as well as clarinetist Janfie van Strien, who was a guest musician on the album as early as 1999, and trombonist Joop van der Linden. The band released their third album Limonchiki , this time on the New York label Knitting Factory . This was followed by the first big tour through the Dutch music clubs, which ended with a big CD release party at Club Paradiso . The band's popularity in Holland also grew strongly through appearances on television and at festivals such as the Noorderslag festival (2001), North Sea Jazz (2002) and the Lowlands Festival (2001). In addition to the numerous appearances in Holland and occasionally in distant countries, the band completed an annual tour of Turkey from 2001 to 2003.
In 2003 the Amsterdam Klezmer Band recorded their fourth album - Katakofti , which was released on the largest Turkish world music label Kalan - together with the Turkish Galata Gypsy Band. Theo van Tol first played the accordion here instead of Henkjan van Minnen, who left the band.
In 2004 the EP Man bites Dog eats Amsterdam Klezmer Band was released on the jazz label try tone in Amsterdam. The fourth album followed in 2005, Son (Russian for "dream"), which was released on the Belgian label Connecting Cultures .
In the meantime, the German producer Stefan Hantel ( Shantel ) became aware of the group and arranged a remix CD with several DJs together with the band, which also contains some newly recorded pieces with guest musicians and which was released in 2006 as the Amsterdam Klezmer Band Remixed by Essay Recordings . Shantel's remix of Sadagora Hot Dub became a Balkan beat club hit and was also broadcast on various radio stations, for example on FM4 in Austria, which also had the remix of Immigrant Song in its program for a while - possibly one of the reasons why the band performed three times in 2006 toured Austria. In general, 2006 turned out to be the most successful touring year to date, thanks to the great media coverage on Shantel's Remix CD. There were also two tours in Germany and France, one tour each through Switzerland and Portugal, as well as appearances at the Ashkenaz festival in Toronto , at the Singer festival in Warsaw , at the Jazzenede in Belgium , at the Winter Olympics in Turin and at the Klezmore Festival in Vienna instead.
In 2007 he performed at the Sziget Festival in Hungary and performed a live concert on Radio WDR in Cologne. In 2018 the band performed at the Burg-Herzberg-Festival .
Discography
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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- 1996: Mesjogge , music cassette
- 1997: Leib in de Pijp , music cassette
- 1999: De Amsterdam Klezmer Band , album CD (self-published)
- 2000: Malaloka , album CD (Syncoop, Rotterdam)
- 2001: Limonchiki , album CD ( Knitting Factory , New York)
- 2003: De Amsterdam Klezmer Band , album CD, re-release (BV Haast, Amsterdam)
- 2003: Katakofti , album CD with the Galata Gypsy Band (Kalan, Turkey)
- 2004: Man Bites Dog Eats Amsterdam Klezmer Band , with Man Bites Dog EP-CD (try tone, Amsterdam)
- 2005: Son , album CD (Connecting Cultures, Belgium)
- 2006: Amsterdam Klezmer Band Remixed , remix album ( Essay Recordings , Frankfurt am Main)
- 2008: Zaraza , Album (Essay Recordings)
- 2011: Katla , Album (Essay Recordings)
- 2012: Mokum , Album (Essay Recordings)
- 2014: Blitzmash (Vetnasj Records)
- 2015: Benja- Gangsters & Entertainers (Vetnasj Records)
- 2016: Oyoyoy (Vetnasj Records)
- 2018: Szikra with Söndörgő (Vetnasj Records)
- 2020: Fortuna (Vetnasj Records)
