Klezmer Rebs

We are the Klezmer Rebs - Wellington New Zealand's Ethnic and European Band

Storyteller extraordinaire MONA WILLIAMS and the KLEZMER REBS invite you to L’CHAYIM: a celebration of Jewish Life in Story and Song.

Sunday 15 August 4pm at Temple Sinai 147 Ghuznee St Wellington

$15 Waged / $5 Unwaged Tickets at the door – all proceeds to go Temple Sinai

We hope to see you there!

The Klezmer Rebs will open a fundraiser concert for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Pete Bethune at the San Francisco Bathhouse in Wellington on Friday 30^th July from 8pm. Tickets are $10 and the concert will feature: Klezmer Rebs (first up at 8pm so come early), Rodrigo Bros, The Charcoal White, Sam Manzanza Africa Rhythm Band, Rose’, Russell Self, Hannah Howes, oSka and more yet to confirm. Captain Pete Bethune has confirmed he will attend.

Come out and show your support for opposition to whaling.  All bands are donating their services and all proceeds go to the Sea Shepherd Society to help them continue their direct action against whalers in our oceans.

The Rebs have just lined up two Wellington area gigs in October and November.

First we play up the coast at the Raumati Inn on Saturday 2 October for an Octoberfest party.

Then we play a concert at the very classy Ruby Lounge on 21 November (note date change from 24 October). This will be a civilized 4 – 7 pm Sunday afternoon/evening at this lovely and intimate venue. Come along for a drink (or 4), have a nice Ruby Lounge dinner, and hear a full concert’s worth of Klezmer Rebs music. This is the kind of show we love to play, as it allows us to stretch out and play our whole range of repetoire, including the soft and sad tunes as well as the tuchas-shaking rebellious ones.

Last nite after a rocking good Rebs set (if I must say so myself), which included Josh (sax), Hayden (clarinet) and Dean (trombone) jamming with us on Od Yishama and Grine Kuzine, Oy Azoy did their own set and Urs stepped up and wailed away with a flurry of note noodles (note kugels?) that had us all amazed.  Great to hear Oy Azoy myspace.com/oyazoy with a new angle on klezmer – kind of a pacific reggae-ska thing with some klezmer overtones – shall we call it Jamaican kugel? Or as Dr McCoy would say to Captain Kirk: “It’s klezmer Jim, but not as we know it.” 

I loved the arrangements of the sax/clarinet/trombone trio.

Here’s a first for the Klezmer Rebs – young, exciting and just finished the Certificate in DJ and Electronic Music DJ course at Whitireia Polytech, DJ Cut Loose (aka Jen) has remixed Od Yishama, which is part of a medley on the 13th track of the Rebs latest CD Just add shmaltz.

Cut Loose was given the Rebs’ pre-mastered tracks from the song and has transformed it into something very different.  Yishama-o-rama she calls it. You can listen to it right now!

… or head over to Jen’s Myspace page, download it for a trifle

http://cutloose.bandcamp.com/track/yishama-o-rama

and you can dance to it anywhere!

Our clarinetist Urs and his lovely partner Em have thrilled the Rebs by bringing into the world a little fellow and future Klezmer Rebs fan. Enormous mazel tov from all the Rebs to Urs and Em and the little Rebbelakh!

The sun shined for the Rebs at Greytown Arts Festival on Sunday 24 January

Here are a few snaps from our 2 sets.

At the end we enjoyed an old fashioned jam session with the other musos on the bill.

Stephen Fisher of the Manawatu Standard reviews the Klezmer Rebs’ 17 January performance at the Palmerston North Library with lots of kind words here.

The Rebs have just returned from 2 stunning shows in the Manawatu. First we played the great rural cafe the Bent Horseshoe. Must have done something right because the packed cafe of 42 paying customers bought 18 CDs! Thanks to Steve at the Cafe for having the Rebs and being a passionate supporter of NZ music!

Then we drew a crowd of about 120 at Palmerston North City Library on Sunday afternoon.  What a welcome – Palmerston North sure knows how to show appreciation and support for us klezmorim!  Urs was particularly proud to have his ex music teacher from college in the audience.

Here is a foto from the Library gig.  We are looking forward to the review in the local Manawatu Standard after great publicity in all 3 local papers.