This year’s JArts/MFA Hanukkah celebration will feature some of the top musicians from Boston’s vibrant Jewish music scene. Whether you’ve heard them in Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band, the Klezmer Conservatory Band, Naftule’s Dream, Klezperanto, Klezwoods, Shirim, or somewhere else entirely, these are the folks that make Boston such an international hub for Jewish music. 

Of course, they don’t just play klezmer. You might have also heard them over the years backing up Esperanza Spalding, Hugh Jackman, Itzhak Perlman, or Trans-Siberian Orchestra, among many others. Being a freelance musician is sometimes trying, but it’s rarely dull. 

Take this opportunity to get to know the band before you meet them at Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights on December 15th, 2022! 

Featuring:

Abigale Reisman – violin 

Edmar Colón – tenor sax 

Grant Smith – drums 

Kirsten Lamb – upright bass and voice 

Michael McLaughlin – accordion 

Nat Seelen – clarinet 

Pete Fanelli – trombone 

Tutti Druyan – voice 

Above: (2 min) Hanukkah at the MFA 2022 | Trailer [HD] | Jewish Arts Collaborative

Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights is presented by JArts, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Consulate General of Israel to New England, and Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP).

This performance by Abigale Reisman is one of the most beautifully captured examples of solo klezmer violin available right now. From the playing to the lighting, every detail sparkles. 

All the production quality that makes the first example sing is inverted in this live recording from trumpet player Mark Berney’s digital camera. The mix is wonky, the video shaky. But the performance? Total fire. That’s Grant Smith on drums with the Klezmer Conservatory Band and Itzhak Perlman, fiddling away at his daughter’s wedding! 

It’s a common occurrence for American audiences to listen to a song in Yiddish and say: “…huh. I wonder what that was all about?” Which is why it’s so delightful to watch Pete Fanelli’s lyric video to the recording of “A Khosn On A Kale” from Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band’s 2019 album, The Thread | Di Fodem. Sing along in Yiddish, read the translation below, or just bop to the rhythm of this burner. 

Tenor saxophonist Edmar Colón arranged this gorgeous bolero for his musical partner and wife, Israeli vocalist Tutti Druyan. Edmar’s expert arrangements and orchestrations have graced the pages of the Boston Pops and the National Symphony Orchestra. We’re delighted to have both him and Tutti aboard this Hanukkah. 

Long known as one of Boston’s top party bands of any genre, The Klezwoods began at a holiday show at East Cambridge’s beloved Atwoods Tavern. This live recording features both accordionist Michael McLaughlin and drummer Grant Smith, who will be joining us at the MFA. 

Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band found early success through a winning performance at the Boston Jewish Music Festival’s inaugural (and only) “Klezmer Idol” competition. This video was recorded live in concert at Jamaica Plain’s much-missed DIY venue The Space.