This article appeared in the March 5, 2004 Jewish Advocate.

Avant sounds from the past

By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

One of our more enjoyable traditions, Klezmer music, which came to America in the early 19^th century, has enjoyed a revival over the past two decades. But the jazzy folk genre has also branched and innovated into the globally popular New Jewish Music, which goes far beyond the classic Greek, Eastern and Central European sweeping clarinet and frenzied stringed sequences.

Next Wednesday, March 10, Khevre, a youthful, cutting-edge Klezmer fusion band at the forefront of the New Jewish scene, will perform at the Zeitgeist Gallery in Cambridge. Khevre, which means “friends,” or “community,” combines elements of jazz, Latin, Middle Eastern, American, and European music. Founded and directed by New England Conservatory student Michael Winograd on clarinet, the band also features Dana Sandler on bass clarinet, Eylem Basaldi on vocals, Carmen Staaf on violin, Jorge Roader on piano and accordion, and Richie Barshay on drums.

Winograd, 21, a staff member at the Workman’s Circle in Brookline, is learning Yiddish while completing a bachelor’s degree in improvisation at the NEC. A Manhasset, Long Island native, his family attended synagogue on a regular basis, which gave him early exposure to Jewish musical themes. He studied classical and jazz at Herricks High School, but it wasn’t until after he had immersed himself in Manhattan’s avant garde music scene, which included the Klezmatics, studied with a Yiddish songwriter, and ultimately put together a band of eclectic NEC musicians that he realized his musical comfort zone.

Klezmatics clarinetist Matt Darriau helped Winograd expand exploration into classic Klezmer as well as traditional sounds from Bulgaria, Macedonia and other Eastern European countries. A pop music aficionado at heart, he readily incorporated old klezmer recordings and studied Naftule Brandwein, Dave Tarras and other genre masters, finally deciding to migrate to the NEC to study with Eastern European Jewish music professor and Klezmer Conservatory Band founder Hankus Netsky.

Winograd, who also directs the 25-piece Balkan brass band Smackin’ the Brass and plays with the Turkish ensemble Sohbet, the French Cabaret quartet Gitanes, and the jazz trio Go Figure!, has performed with groups including Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars, the Klezmatics, members of Brave Old World, and the Klezmer Conservatory Band. Khevre has appeared on myriad radio programs and played at venues including Tonic and the Richmond County Baseball Stadium in New York, the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst and the Regent Theater in Arlington.

“Many klezmer fusion bands draw from outside influences like jazz and ethnic music, where we derive from the authentic Jewish aspects,” said Winograd. “Khevre is redefining the edges of New Yiddish music,” said critic Ari Davidow, who hosts and reviews CDs and concerts on www.klezmershack.com, regarded as the largest and most popular klezmer website on the net.

The group’s musically diverse members span the globe in style. Miami native Sandler, who is completing her master’s degree in Jazz Vocal Performance at the NEC, holds a bachelor’s degree in Studio Music and Jazz Vocal Performance from the University of Miami. Basaldi, a member of the Boston Philharmonic as well as classical Arabic music group Sharq and Turkish ensemble Sohbet, is finishing her masters degree in improvisation at the NEC. Staaf, who studied in Cuba with Andres Alen and Joaquin Pozo and has played with Klezmer Conservatory Band members, is completing a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Piano at NEC. Peruvian native Roeder toured with the country’s first student jazz orchestra and is completing a degree in Jazz Bass at NEC. Percussionist Barshay, who founded the Latin jazz band Insight, performs jazz and world music throughout the US, and is currently attending the NEC while appearing with Herbie Hancock’s "Gershwin's World" tour.

At the Zeitgeist, the group will continue to hone the edge of modern Yiddish music as it melds both genre and timespan. "These musicians have truly brought this music up to date," said Netsky.

Khevre appears Wednesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. at the Zeitgeist Gallery, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge. Suggested donation is $5. For information on Khevre, please e-mail michaelwinograd@hotmail.com. For information on the Zeitgeist Gallery, please visit www.zeitgeist-gallery.org, or call 617-876-6060.