What is Klezmer?

Klezmer is Eastern-European Jewish Folk Music. In the old country, this music was primarily played for Jewish weddings and served a functional purpose. Today, this vital music serves as a link to the way of life which has now been almost completely lost.

Klezmer has always been a kind of hybrid music. Originally, the Jewish musicians (known as Klezmorim) would mix and trade songs with local and travelling musicians. Because of this, the music took on Gypsy, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Rumanian, Hungarian, Turkish and many other national flavours. Today, Klezmer music has mixed with rock, jazz, bluegrass and the avant-garde to give it a more modern sound, and universal appeal.

Who is KlezFactor?

KlezFactor’s first album, The Golem of Bathurst Manor, has garnered critical and audience acclaim and was hailed by Wholenote Magazine as “daring and creative.” Keith Wolzinger of the Klezmer Podcast wrote that “KlezFactor takes us to their world of first-rate musicianship, dynamic improvisation and innovative arrangements.”

Their brand new album, Klezmachine, is earning rave reviews, and has already received radio play on CBC Radio 1 in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

KlezFactor has performed all over southern Ontario, notably at Toronto’s venerable jazz venue, The Rex Hotel, and the 2008 Niagara Folk Arts Festival, as well as numerous smaller clubs. KlezFactor is a regular band at the popular “Bella, Did Ya Eat?” Brunch at the Free Times Café and they have performed at the Ashkenaz Festival at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre in 2006 and 2008. They have also performed at several City of Toronto events including Wintercity 2007, and the city’s “Tuesday Night Live” summer festival for the past three yearsat the 1500-seat Barry Zukerman Amphitheatre at Earl Bales Park.

KlezFactor’s music has been heard around the world, with traditional radio play in Canada, the United States and Russia. They have also been heard on internet radio via “Radio Free Klezmer” and Canada’s CBC Radio 3. Music from The Golem of Bathurst Manor and Klezmachine has been featured in podcasts in the USA, Spain and Portugal, as well as in DJ sets by dj tagada in Paris, France, and in a viral video for Jewish Mayhem Magazine.

Led by accomplished reed-player and composer Mike Anklewicz, KlezFactor features exciting young musicians with diverse musical backgrounds, including progressive jazz musician Ali Berkok (keyboards) who leads Arkana Music; world music fusion artist Jaro Dabrowski (guitars); rock and jazz bassist Michael Smith; celtic, rock and jazz fiddler Ben Plotnick; and jazz, funk and rock drummer David MacDougall.

What is KlezFactor up to?

KlezFactor recently returned from a 3-city tour through the US in April. We played to enthusiastic crowds in Boston, New York and Philadelphia! Even though we spent much of the winter in "hibernation", we've been getting some great buzz on Klezmachine, and we're being seen and heard all over Canada and around the world.

1. Mike, Ali and Jaro made an appearance playing some trad. klezmer on the TV show Kenny vs. Spenny. The Episode is entitled "Who is the Better Jew" and can be found here:



2. Another review of Klezmachine has been published in Wholenote Magazine. It can be found here, on page 68:

3. Our video of "Naftule Brandwein" was picked as "Medea's Video Pick of the Day". Read the Blog here:

4. Klezmachine has made it to the charts! Yup, that's right. We were #6 on CHUO's "International" chart for the week ending December 9, and #1(!!!) on their "International" chart for the week ending December 16. We were also #19 on CIUT's top 30 for the week ending Tuesday, December 16
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We are also pleased to announce that our new album, Klezmachine, is now available for purchase! Click the link below to go to CD Baby to purchase the mp3 album. CDs aren't available just yet, but you can download the whole album for just under $12. If you bring a USB Flash drive to one of our shows, you can download it directly from us for only $10.

Where else can I find KlezFactor on the web?

KlezFactor can be conveniently found at our Myspace page, as well as our Facebook page. We keep all of our internet homes updated regularly and we post full length streaming sound clips from live shows as well as our first album, The Golem of Bathurst Manor.

We've also recently updated our CBC Radio 3 page with streaming audio of Klezmachine in its entirety.

Finally, we've just uploaded 3 videos to YouTube!

 

How do I contact KlezFactor?

Simple. Please see below.

For information - info@klezfactor.com
To book KlezFactor, please contact:
booking@klezfactor.com
To view our EPK, visit Sonicbids, click here