The K Word

The Isle of Klezbos spreads the joys of Klezmer.

By: Susan Van Dongen
   If nothing else, the popularity of klezmer music has given lots of work to brass and reed musicians, not to mention accordion players.
   Trends in world music come and go — zydeco and cajun, South American and Cuban music come to mind as being huge in the ’80s and ’90s and then trailing off in popularity. But klezmer — eclectic, Eastern European-rooted Jewish folk music — seems to have caught the imaginations of certain fans, and you hear of more and more groups popping up.
   Pam Fleming, a trumpet player and founding member of the all-female Isle of Klezbos, isn’t analyzing things too much, just enjoying the ride.
   "I’m actually earning a living doing this, but it means I have to play in a lot of different bands," she says, speaking by phone from her home in Brooklyn. As far as the popularity of klezmer, Ms. Fleming wonders if a younger generation of folks with Eastern European ancestry is plumbing its musical roots.
   But you don’t have to be from that part of the world to enjoy the music, which ranges from rollicking and cheeky to poignant, reflective, even meditative. Isle of Klezbos will return to the Nicholas Music Center in New Brunswick to perform July 18 as part of the 2007 Mason Gross Presents Summer Series.
   The series kicks off July 7 with an outdoor concert at Bettenbender Plaza by the Rutgers Jazz Faculty led by Ralph Bowen. On July 14, the Nicholas Music Center is the venue for "Summer Serenade," featuring voice faculty from Mason Gross School of the Arts.
   This concert is new to the series and includes bass-baritone Eduardo Chama, soprano Taina Kataja, soprano Judith Nicosia and tenor Frederick Urrey, singing opera arias and ensembles from Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Verdi’s Otello, as well as art songs, salon music and vocal chamber works by Rossini, Grieg and Stephen Foster, among other composers. The singers will be joined by Mason Gross faculty colleague Barbara Gonzalez-Palmer on piano and flutist Anna Urrey.
   The series concludes July 21 with "World Beats," a rousing percussion event on Bettenbender Plaza, offering international music from Afro-Cuban and African drumming to ragtime, tango and even bird calls.
   Described as a "soulful, fun-loving powerhouse klezmer sextet," Isle of Klezbos is a spin-off from New York’s Metropolitan Klezmer, a larger group where guys are allowed to play. Ms. Fleming says the "all-woman" status of Isle of Klezbos came out of necessity when they played the Michigan Women’s Music Festival, famous for its "no men!" policy.
   "We had to get an all-female band together, then we realized how much fun it was to play together," she says. "A lot of us are in both bands."
   Being a female trumpet player, she is not impressed by the "all-gal" status of Isle of Klezbos and in fact has been a part of all-female bands in a variety of genres, from big bands to hard rock. Her own group, Fearless Dreamer, has just released its second CD, Climb (available through www.cdbaby.com).
   "I’ve been playing for 41 years — since childhood," she says. "I told my parents when I was 8 that I wanted play trumpet or drums, which they weren’t too happy about. But they finally let me play the trumpet and by age 10 I knew that’s what I wanted to be when I grew up."
   Ms. Fleming, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., who has played with Bonnie Raitt, Rufus Wainwright, the Indigo Girls and Cab Calloway, among many others, says she didn’t seek out work in a klezmer band. The work found her and the music really got into her system. She loves klezmer’s syncopation and verve, but also its darker side, exploring all those minor key signatures.
   "When people think of klezmer, they think of wedding music, people being lifted up on the chairs and whatnot," she says. "But beside all the happy music, there’s also a lot of introspective, moody and even trance-inducing stuff, and Isle of Klezbos plays the whole spectrum."
   Drummer and bandleader Eve Sicular is the one who delves into the musicology side of klezmer, researching and finding the odd old tunes that help set Isle of Klezbos apart. Ms. Sicular and Ms. Fleming founded the group in 1998, and the sextet has been a hit from coast to coast, as well as at festivals in Europe including Vienna’s KlezMORE fest. Ms. Sicular produced the group’s 2003 debut, Greetings from the Isle of Klezbos (Rhythm Media Records), and produced the recently released Metropolitan Klezmer’s live CD, Traveling Show (available through www.cdbaby.com).
   "There’s a lot of standard klezmer (tunes) that all the bands play, but interestingly enough, everyone plays them differently — same songs, different interpretation," Ms. Fleming says. "We’ve also been writing originals, putting a modern spin on the old feelings. Like jazz, with klezmer, there’s lots of improvisation and lots of work for brass and reed players. Besides the concerts there are always weddings and and other kinds of parties. The work has been great."
2007 Mason Gross Presents Summer Series will feature the Rutgers Jazz Faculty, Bettenbender Plaza, adjacent to the Nicholas Music Center, 85 George St., New Brunswick, July 7, 8 p.m.; ‘Summer Serenade,’ Nicholas Music Center, July 14, 8 p.m.; Isle of Klezbos, Nicholas Music Center, July 18, 8 p.m.; ‘World Beats,’ Bettenbender Plaza, July 21, 8 p.m. Free admission. Lawn chairs are suggested as seating is limited for outdoor events. (732) 932-7511; www.masongross.rutgers.edu. Isle of Klezbos on the Web: www.metropolitanklezmer.com/islebios.html