The Jewish Museum
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Press Release: June 28, 2008
SUMMERNIGHTS FIVE-CONCERT SERIES AT THE JEWISH MUSEUM
NEW YORK, NY - The Jewish Museum’s popular SummerNights program returns, presenting live world music in a concert setting on five Thursdays in June and July. Cabaret singer Libby Shapiro kicks off SummerNights on June 26. Each concert begins at 8 pm. This cosmopolitan series features critically acclaimed musicians offering innovative interpretations of music from all over the world. Audiences can enjoy the sounds of Eastern Europe and Appalachia, Berlin cabaret classics, and contemporary updates of traditional Mexican melodies. Other scheduled performers include Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys performing their unique mix of bluegrass and klezmer, Pistolera fusing traditional Mexican music with a pop-rock sensibility, the virtuosic brass band music of SLAVIC SOUL PARTY!, and The Klez Dispensers performing a blend of old-school and avant-garde klezmer. The Jewish Museum is located at Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, Manhattan.
Tickets for each concert are $15 for the general public; $12 for students and seniors; and $10 for Jewish Museum members. For further information regarding programs at The Jewish Museum, the public may call 212.423.3337 or visit www.thejewishmuseum.org. Please note that digital images are available upon request.
SUMMERNIGHTS CONCERT SERIES SCHEDULE
June 26, 8:00 pm
MY SONG FOR YOU FEATURING LIBBY SHAPIRO & SPECIAL GUESTS
The William Petschek Family Music Program
Libby Shapiro headlines the start of the SummerNights concert series with an intimate evening of well-known folk, pop and jazz songs in English, German, and Yiddish. Tunes include such standards as Pennies from Heaven, Almonds and Raisins, and Bei Mir Bistu Scheyn. She will be joined by guitarist Clay Ross, accordionist Will Holshouser, and bassist Chris van Voorst van Beest.
Singer Libby Shapiro is a connoisseur of popular song in English, German, French and Yiddish - spanning many decades and even centuries - with a special interest in the 1920s and '30s. She is known for her wit, warmth, and rapport with the audience, whether in intimate clubs, large concert halls, or theaters. Her repertoire includes songs from film, the stage, and dance orchestras to swing, folk, country, chanson, pop and more. Shapiro’s New York appearances include venues such as the Bard Center, the Cornelia Street Café, La Mama and Fez under Time Café; in Germany and France, she has performed with the Mickey Katz Orchestra with special guest Giora Feidman, the New Classic Jazz Quartet, and Hatshepsut, among others.
July 3, 8:00 pm
MARGOT LEVERETT AND THE KLEZMER MOUNTAIN BOYS
This ensemble combines Appalachian and southern fiddle tunes with Eastern European klezmer melodies to create a soulful sound and a foot-stomping good time. Virtuoso clarinetist Margot Leverett adds depth and complexity to the raw and spirited energy of The Klezmer Mountain Boys.
The Klezmer Mountain Boys - bandleader and clarinetist Margot Leverett, bassist Marty Confurius, guitarist Joe Selly, fiddler Kenny Kosek, and mandolinist and guitarist Barry Mitterhoff - create a danceable and beautiful blend that draws and delights audiences of all ages. Founded by Margot Leverett (an original member of Klezmatics) and Barry Mitterhoff (Hot Tuna), their debut self-titled CD was choreographed by the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and the band has been featured at the Chicago World Music Festival and the Louisville Performing Arts Center. Margot Leverett toured Europe in the fall and was a featured guest soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra this year.
July 10, 8:00 pm
PISTOLERA
Sandra Lilia Velásquez leads Pistolera, a New York City-based foursome playing traditional styles of Mexican music fused with a pop-rock sensibility. This quartet features the Spanish lyrics of vocalist and guitarist Velásquez, the accordion melodies of Maria Elena, and the rhythm section of bassist Inca B. Satz and drummer Ani Cordero.
Since the release of their 2006 debut album, Siempre Hay Salida, Pistolero has been featured in Rolling Stone Mexico, Billboard, The New Yorker, Latina Magazine, El Diario, National Public Radio’s Open Mic, and WNYC’s Soundcheck. The band has toured the United States, Europe and Mexico, and is currently working on a second album.
July 17, 8:00 pm
SLAVIC SOUL PARTY!
The musicians of Slavic Soul Party!– featuring Jacob Garchik, John Carlson, Brian Drye, Peter Stan, Ben Holmes, Ron Caswell, Matt Moran and Oscar Noriega – forge virtuosic new brass band music, melding Gypsy, East European, Mexican, and Asian immigrant backgrounds with American jazz and soul.
One of the hardest working bands in New York City, the Brooklyn-based Slavic Soul Party! plays nearly 100 times a year in the US, Europe, and beyond. They have performed at Babylon (Istanbul) with the Karandila Orkestar, at Irving Plaza (New York City) with Gogol Bordello, on the Warped Tour (U.S.), and in virtually every major New York club. The band's third CD, Teknochek Collision is on the Barbes Records label, released in 2007 through Ryko Distribution. The band's fourth CD, Remixed, will be released this year.
July 24, 8:00 pm
THE KLEZ DISPENSERS
This eight-piece ensemble – featuring Alex Kontorovich (clarinet, alto and baritone sax), Ben Holmes (trumpet), Amy Zakar (violin, mandolin), Audrey Betsy Wright (alto and tenor sax, clarinet), Susan Watts (vocals, trumpet), Adrian Banner (piano), Heather Chriscaden Versace (bass), and Gregg Mervine (drums) - employs both tradition and innovation, mixing old-school klezmer, a wide variety of jazz styles, and avant-garde klezmer fusion to create state-of-the-art music.
The Klez Dispensers was formed in 1998 and appears throughout the year at festivals and concerts. The Klez Dispensers have performed at Satalla, Makor, Tonic, CBGB, and Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park. The opening track of their second album, New Jersey Freylekhs, was included on the compilation Celebrate Klezmer and two other tracks were featured in the award-winning film The Tribe. New Jersey Freylekhs received critical acclaim in The Forward and
Public Programs at The Jewish Museum are supported, in part, by public funds from by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. The audio-visual system has been funded by The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.
About The Jewish Museum
The Jewish Museum was established on January 20, 1904 when Judge Mayer Sulzberger donated 26 ceremonial art objects to The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as the core of a museum collection. Today, The Jewish Museum maintains an important collection of 26,000 objects – paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, archaeological artifacts, ceremonial objects, and broadcast media. Widely admired for its exhibitions and educational programs that inspire people of all backgrounds, The Jewish Museum is the preeminent United States institution exploring the intersection of 4,000 years of art and Jewish culture.
General Information
For general information on The Jewish Museum, the public may visit the Museum’s Web site at http://www.thejewishmuseum.org or call 212.423.3200. The Jewish Museum is located at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, Manhattan.
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