Sample Our Klezmer Music!

SAMPLE OUR KLEZMER MUSIC

The Best Little Klezmer Band in Texas is brought to you by:

Black Tie Productions
7823 Albin Lane
Houston Texas 77071
(713) 771-0899
(713) 446-3460 mobile

Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3	Esther’s Dream (6:01) A succession of traditional Rumanian melodies - a doina (improvised lament,) followed by slow and fast wedding dances - provides the musical backdrop for a dramatic Purimshpiel in which our heroine, Esther, dreams of her joyous wedding day.
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3	Nie Serdis/Moya Tziganotchki (4:05) Arr.: I. Ganz “Why torment yourself in vain? Why be jealous without cause? It’s nicer to enjoy caresses And coo together like doves. Don’t be angry, don’t be jealous. Hug me, kiss me!” “We used to ride to Samarkand Where, with smiling gypsy girls, We drank ‘til morning.”
Sample 1	Bubbe’s Dreydl Grandma’s Spinning Top (2:47) Mickey Katz (Joel Grey’s father) was donned New York’s “King of Klezmer” back in the ’40s. His recordings have been a rich source of both comedic and serious music for today’s klezmer revivalist bands. This tune was transcribed from “Mickey Katz: Music for Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, and Brisses.”
Sample 1 Sample 2	Eyshes Chayil A Woman of Valor (3:05) Transcription: Don Elam Recorded in the late 1950s by Claire and Mema Bagelman (The Barry Sisters) this jazzy swing tune espouses the virtues of the Jewish wife and mother: “A true woman of valor, a dear one, a golden soul, a beloved wife and devoted mother, she brings harmony to the home, and life with her is like a symphony.”
Sample 1	Sha, Shtil! (1:49) Be quiet! Be still. Don’t make any noise! The rabbi rises to sing and dance! When he sings, walls lean in to listen. And when he dances, the table leaps up, and Satan lies helpless in a trance.”
Sample 1	Hot A Gutn Chanukah Have A Good Hanukah (1:51) Arr.: D. Strba We’ve added a saucy, imaginative interlude, (you know, a little “schmaltz”) to this classic Yiddish children’s song first recorded in 1931 by Moishe Oysher. The text is from the first century priestly benediction Modim deRabbanan, associated with Judas Maccabeus and the Hanukah story.
Sample 1	And the Angels Sing/Stompin’ at the Savoy/The Angels Stomp Freylach (6:31) Arr. Yuri Bokov It was a magical moment the first time Benny Goodman, The King of Swing, heard lead trumpet player Ziggy Elman’s klezmer rendition of this lively, humorous freylach. The result, “And the Angels Sing,” is one of the all-time favorite swing tunes. Our novel arrangement by Ukrainian-born Klezmer Yuri Bokov of Chicago, couples “Angels” with “Stompin’ at the Savoy.” The medley, in true klezmer style, builds to a grand freylach finale.
Sample 1	Chiribim-Chiribom (2:14) Arr.: Alex Koffman A long-loved staple in the Yiddish folk repertoire, this delightful tune has been recorded by pop singers from The Barry Sisters and Theodore Bikel to Joan Baez.
Sample 1	Invitation To Dance (2:23) Klezmer violinist Emil Bruh represents the original gypsy stylings of 18th century Eastern European religious nigunnim (Chassidic chants.) Only one remastered recording exists, and unfortunately, very little is known about Bruh and other violinists of his ilk.
Sample 1 Sample 2	Chusn-Kaleh, Mazl Tov! (2:21) “Congratulations, bride & groom! It’s time for joyous music, lively dance and play! Celebrate, bride and groom! Today, machatonim (in-laws), we have great cause for happiness.”
Sample 1 Sample 2	Bublitchki (3:44) Barry Sisters transcription: Don Elam After the 1917 Revolution and the Civil War, Lenin, in the early 1920’s, established the “New Economic Policy - the NEP,” in an attempt to restart the devastated economy by means of small, entrepreneurial enterprises. The streets of Soviet-Russia were overrun by poor merchants and vendors. “Bublitchki” (Russian for bagels) is a song born in these conditions. “Good people, give money for bublitchki...that’s all I ask for.”
Sample 1	Memories: My Ukraine (5:48) P. Vaysburg Arr.: D. Strba Pianist-composer Pieter Vaysburg was born and raised in Kiev at a time when Jewish cultural and religious life was severely restricted by Communism. In spite of tremendous obstacles posed by the policies of the Soviet government, he was appointed music director of the prestigious L. Ukrainka Kiev Russian Drama Theater, a position he retained until he immigrated to America in 1994. The hauntingly beautiful lyricism of Memories: My Ukraine reflects his nostalgia for his former homeland.
Sample 1 Sample 2	*Ich Hob Dich Tzufil Lieb / Shein Vi Di Levone* (5:44)** ( I Love You Much Too Much) / (You Are As Beautiful As The Moon) Two love songs set to a rumba beat, these popular Yiddish favorites reached their peak exposure with the Barry Sisters on record and in live performance. Inspired by Chicago’s Modern Klezmer Quartet, our arrangement combines old-world melody and lyrics with contemporary improvisational jazz harmonies.
Sample 1	Moscovitz Ramble (2:18) Mickey Katz Transcription: Don Elam Beloved for his comic parodies, Mickey Katz and his klezmers were regular favorites at all the “hottest” spots in the Catskill resorts. Moscovitz Ramble, taken from the popular 1920’s Dixieland tune, Muskrat Ramble, contrasts America’s “cool-hep-cat-jive” scene with a “square” ethnic culture of first and second generation immigrants longing to assimilate.