With carnivalesque extravaganzas, weepy show-stoppers and traditional East European pieces arranged with an eye cocked toward worldbeat, this Toronto-based band wanders within the ample backyard of the Jewish diaspora. Songs meander through Turkey, Macedonia and the Middle East as well as... [+] Expand

With carnivalesque extravaganzas, weepy show-stoppers and traditional East European pieces arranged with an eye cocked toward worldbeat, this Toronto-based band wanders within the ample backyard of the Jewish diaspora. Songs meander through Turkey, Macedonia and the Middle East as well as scratchy 78s by blazing clarinet avatar Naftule Brandwein. Musicianship is exhilarating, mixing the pinpoint precision of a symphony orchestra with a saloon air of unabashed abandon. There's almost too much going on here to absorb: Allan Meyovitz's quavering tenor milked full-hilt on the a capella "Fishelekh in Vasser," "Kandel's Hora," which whirls the dust off a traditional Jewish dance, Anne Lederman's mercury-laden violin solo at the top of "Dance Medley," and "Der Rebbe Elimilekh"'s implicit promise of a living-room appearance by Joel Grey. ~ Bob Tarte, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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