JOY TO THE PEOPLE

By Libby Herz

Klezmerkaba. “Audience members come up to us with tears in their eyes. They say they haven’t heard this music since they were children. It’s special when we hear that.”

Klezmer music reflects Jewish migration experience and incorporates joyous, heartfelt melodies originating from Greece, Eastern Europe, and Spain. Klezmer also incorporates many soulful Chassidic tunes, too, which reflect deep spirituality and love of G-d.

Ross, the clarinetist, has played the clarinet since he was ten years old. But in 2008, he became hooked on Klezmer after attending a performance by the famous Klezmer clarinetist Giora Feidman. Inspired, Ross bought Feidman’s Klezmer music book and began taking Klezmer clarinet lessons from a Jewish music teacher. “I felt very pulled by it,” he says. So much so that he decided to form a Klezmer band right in Tucson.

The musician began making inquiries among his musician friends to find others who might be interested. “At the time, they were all Jewish, but even non-Jews appreciated the music and ultimately joined us,” he says of his fellow Tucson musical friends. Eventually, a well-rounded group of musicians found their way to each other. The group consisted of an accordion, tuba, trumpet, and more. They got together and played out of Feidman’s Klezmer music book. Over time, Ross had time to research other Klezmer music, and the band’s repertoire has grown.

Fifteen years since its inception, Klezmerkaba is growing stronger and making waves on the Tucson music scene. The band consists of a dozen members who are having the time of their lives. “We play for fun,” says Ross, “so that’s the beauty. It creates camaraderie.”

Members of Klezmerkaba, in addition to Ross, include Elaine Andaloro (accordion), Scott Esbit (drums), Nathan Frankenberg (guitar), Trudy Haggard (keyboard and piano), Alan Honeker (tuba), Rabbi Daniel Price (bass guitar), Mark Poarch (trumpet), Michael Schwartz (vocal, drums), David Seigel (clarinet and alto saxophone), Lisa Seigel (flute), and Jessica Slade (trombone).

“One of the things I like best about

Klezmer is how interactive with the audience it is,” says Lisa Siegel, the group’s flutist. “It is a joy to see audience members get into the music, first by clapping along to the beat, and then, little by little, feeling moved and uninhibited enough to get up and join the circle dancing that almost always seems to spontaneously form when we play one of our happy freilachs (joyous dance tunes).”

Klezmerkaba plays at numerous Tucson events including the Tucson Book Festival, Tucson Meet Yourself, and the Tucson Folk Festival. They have played at the Tucson Botanical Gardens, Reid Park, The Hut, and at various synagogues and private functions. The group selects the tunes most appropriate for each event from their repertoire of over fifty songs. “It’s nice to play for Jewish organizations in Tucson,” Ross says.

People often ask the group about their unique band name. “The name Klezmerkaba,” explains Ross, “is a mashup of the words Klezmer - the music form, and Merkaba - the Chariot of G-d and a three-dimensional Jewish star, the band’s logo.”

Chasidic melodies on the big screen

What can speak but has no words? Music. Music can speak and evoke feelings in ways that words cannot.

Klezmerkaba, Tucson’s premier Klezmer ensemble led by Mark Ross.

The origins of the term ‘Klezmer’ is in itself a combination of the Hebrew words “kley” (vessel) and “zemer” (melody). These terms refer to musical instruments used in ancient times. Decked out in traditional attire of Russian Kasket hats and black vests, the Klezmerkaba troop definitely gives off a European-Jewish vibe. “We look like we’re coming out of the Shtetl,” Ross laughs.

The performer is particularly thankful for every minute he spent practicing the clarinet because it led him to make so many musician friends and to find his Klezmerkaba mates who give him such joy. “Once,” he recalls, “my father told me the proudest day of his life was the time I publicly thanked him for making me practice the clarinet.”

Klezmer music is the perfect vehicle to get people in the joyous Purim spirit. “There are many forms of music that are performance-oriented,” Ross says. “People tap their foot, but it doesn’t have the same energy. Klezmer music is high energy. It gets you dancing.”

Perhaps you can recall the feeling from the first concert you went to, or from when you discovered an angsty band that blew your mind and made you feel like it changed your life . . . or at least it gave you a soundtrack that, when you hear it today, brings you back to those earlier experiences.

Next month, Chabad centers in Southern Arizona will be presenting “The Sound of the Soul,” an experiential learning experience combining stirring music, fascinating narratives, and motivational messages.

The ninety-minute program will take place on Sunday, April 2, at 4:00 PM at The Loft Cinema - 3233 E Speedway Blvd.

The program will be centered around niggunim, or Chasidic melodies, which is the beat behind the wisdom and inspiration of Chasidic mystical Jewish thought. Each song is packed with nuance, depth, and history that will inform the mind and speak to the heart. As Rabbi Shneur Zalman, founder of Chabad Chasidic philosophy, taught: “Music is the pen of the soul.”

The on-screen and off-screen production will include two songs that will be performed live on stage by

Rabbi Yossie Shemtov, Executive Director of Chabad Tucson, is enthusiastic about the music in this program. “These Chassidic melodies tell a soul-stirring story about life’s purpose and what truly matters in this world. There is so much that can be learned from these moving tunes and I look forward to sharing these transformative teachings.”

He said participants will listen to the story of their soul in its own words, to the feelings—of love or longing, of devotion or despair—that express the complicated relationship between a spiritual soul and a material world. “Come with an open mind, an open heart, and be ready to have a great time,” he recommended.

The program was developed by the acclaimed Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) and is presented by Chabad Tucson, Chabad at the University of Arizona, Chabad on River, Chabad of Oro Valley, Chabad of Casa Grande, Chabad of Vail and Chabad of Sierra Vista. The event is open to the wider public and is designed to appeal to people at all levels of knowledge, including those without prior experience or background in Jewish learning.

More information and reservations are at ChabadTucson.com/Sound