Michigan's premier Jewish celebratory music bands:
- The Klezmer Fusion Band
- Klezpresso
- KFB Plus
Jewish Celebration Music
The Klezmer Fusion Band plays authentic Jewish wedding music (both before and after the chupah), fraylachs and horas, a rousing Israeli circle or line dance, Yiddish swing, waltz or lullaby. If you can't sing it or dance to it, we don't play it. No far-out, existential, new-wave Klez here.
Don't know the dances or too embarrassed to try to learn? Neil Alexander (and his assistants) lead and teach Israeli circle and line dances, many of them basic and easy to follow.
The music is derived from three traditional sources:
- Yiddish/klezmer (including folk and theater music);
- Israeli/Hebrew (including contemporary, folk, and dance tunes); and
- Religious (including music from Chabad/Hassidic, liturgical, and biblical sources).
Songs are interpreted accurately and sensitively because of the vocalist's knowledge of Hebrew and Yiddish. Traditional ethnic and folk instruments, such as a clarinet, mandolin, fiddle, or acoustic guitar give the music an old world feel. These traditional and ethnic instruments are backed by a professional jazz rhythm section, including keyboards, bass and drums. Jazz, latin, caribbean and rock and roll rhythms enliven the traditional tunes with a contemporary, "danceable" feel. This is what we call "klezmer fusion," the bridging between Old World and New World sounds. Original compositions are inspired by sections of the Tanakh and Siddur. New lyrics with Jewish theme and content are added to popular rock and roll tunes.
Our CD includes Passover (Pesach) music, including the song "I felt it through the Pesach Wine." This CD also features klezmer, Yiddish folk, Chabad, original compositions, and parody.
For those who want something a little different, we also offer:
- Klezpresso
Imagine going from a Russian Sher to "Mustang Sally" to "Mayim" to "Our love is here to stay", all in the same set! Since many of the members of the "Klezmer Fusion Band" are also members of "Espresso" (Espresso is a popular local jazz and rock group led by bassist David Stearns), secular music (e.g. jazz standards. classic rock, and Motown) can be integrated into private party performances. This is their livelihood…. and these players have been around Jewish music for years.
- KFB Plus
Many people still want a DJ and a party leader, particularly for bar mitzvahs. KFB Plus has a full DJ set-up, with many of the latest (and classical) dance and pop recordings. Kids can get their line dances and games, often led by a youth dance leader. Picture a limbo starting out with classical carribbean music and ending up in a mizrachi beat to Sarit Hadad (or other current Israeli pop or rap stars).
Contact Us
Call Neil Alexander at 734-662-0197, or send
Neil an e-mail with the date of your upcoming celebration, your phone number
and the best time to reach you.