The Klezmatics, Apikorsim, Heretics

The Klezmatics are by now a central institution of the Klezmer revival, celebrated for their irreverent attitude but vibrantly idiomatic take on the tradition. Their new album, Apikorsim, Heretics (World Village 450031) gives us more spirited music with songs that are new to me, irreverent as ever, most frankly espousing an enjoyment of life in spite of troubles, others wearing the mantle of tradition lightly, with the unorthodox freely mingling with the orthodox.

The instrumental and vocal excellence of the band is paramount, and again they take on Klezmer tradition seriously but playfully, sometimes straying adventurously into modern jazz territory and other non-traditional realms, widening what Klezmer can be without losing sight of the roots.

It is music to savor, an album that will remind you that the musical world we inhabit is a remarkably
fluid one, that the river of world heritage is wide so long as we have creative musicians like the Klezmatics to renew our immersion in living form, in tradition as interjected into our polyglot present, just as past Klezmer was a melding of disparate influences.

Kudos!