About the project
The Klezmatics Release New Holiday EP: Woody Guthrie’s Happier Joyous Hanukkah
Grammy Award-winning klezmer and world music pioneers The Klezmatics are thrilled to announce the release of their special holiday EP, Woody Guthrie’s Happier Joyous Hanukkah. This festive collection features an original recording by Woody himself, unreleased live recordings by the band, and tributes inspired by their acclaimed 2004 album, Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah.
A Journey Through Time and Music
In the 1940s, the legendary American singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie moved to Brooklyn with his family, where he became immersed in the Jewish community of Coney Island and found an unlikely source of inspiration in his mother-in-law, the well-known Yiddish poet and social activist Aliza Greenblatt. This influence led Guthrie to write songs about Hanukkah, Jewish history and spirituality.
Decades after his 1967 death, these songs, most of which survived solely as lyrics, lay packed away in boxes until their rediscovery by Guthrie’s daughter, Nora. A chance encounter with The Klezmatics at the Tanglewood music festival inspired her to entrust the band with the task of bringing these treasures to life by writing music for her father’s words. The result was Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah (2004), followed by their Grammy-winning album Wonder Wheel (2006).
More about Participants
The legendary New York Yiddish band The Klezmatics has changed the face of contemporary Jewish culture through their uniquely original and expansive work in the fields of klezmer music and Yiddish song, blending klezmer’s aching East European Jewish tunes with raucous Latin stomps, wild jazz riffs and provocative Balkan, Middle Eastern, African and American rhythms. Their career achievements span 13 full-length recordings, countless international concert tours and festivals across five continents, and collaborations with renowned visionaries of music, theater, television, radio, cinema and dance. The Klezmatics are the subject of an acclaimed documentary film (On Holy Ground) and the recipients of numerous international accolades, including a 2006 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album. During their 35-plus years together, The Klezmatics have collaborated with such brilliant artists as violinist Itzhak Perlman, Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner and Israeli vocal icon Chava Alberstein, plus many other prominent performers working within multiple genres.
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma. Over the decades, his songs have run around the world like a fast train on a well-oiled track. They've become the folk song standards of the nation, known and performed in many languages throughout the world. He wrote over 3,000 songs in his lifetime, hundreds of which that have become staples in the canon of American music. He inspired several generations both politically and musically with songs such as "This Land Is Your Land"
Fugu Dugu is Chicago’s powerhouse female-led international gypsy punk band, known for their electrifying performances and vibrant sound. Their music takes listeners on a journey through the rich cultural landscapes of Moldova, the mountains of Romania, and the railways of Ukraine and Russia. Infused with elements of Klezmer and Americana, the band is fronted by Grammy-winning violinist and lead singer Madame Broshkina, along with Chicago singer-songwriter Bucky Wanko. Their original music is performed in five languages.
Mostly Kosher, the acclaimed Klezmer/Rock band, radically reconstructs Judaic and American cultural music through ravenous klezmer beats and arresting Yiddish refrains. Mostly Kosher is a musical feast that explodes into a global food-fight of Jazz, Latin, Rock, and Folk. In response to the poetry and music of Judaic roots, their original voice resounds with themes of social justice, human dignity, and mutual understanding. Led by frontman Leeav Sofer, one of Jewish Journal’s "30 under 30" most accomplished professionals in the Los Angeles Jewish diaspora, Mostly Kosher is comprised of some of the highest regarded Los Angeles musicians: violinist Janice Mautner Markham, drummer Eric Hagstrom, bassist Adam Levy, accordionist Gee Rabe, guitarist Nadav Peled and Ben Tevik on clarinet and sax.
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