Fun-loving powerhouse all-gal sextet ISLE of KLEZBOS, dubbed a “paradigm-shifting, brilliantly tuneful klezmer group” by New York Music Daily as well as “rapturous and rollicking” by Los Angeles Blade, has toured from Vienna to Vancouver and Tennessee to Texas. Formed in 1998, the band approaches Yiddish tradition with both playful irreverence and soulful respect, combining stellar talents (alumnae of Juilliard, Eastman, Harvard and more) to form a unique repertoire also noted for exceptional, genre-defying original compositions. As described by The New Yorker, “Isle of Klezbos tests the elasticity of the genre”: Beyond boisterous dance rambunction, mystical melodies, haunting retro tango, love-songs, lullabies, Soviet Jewish surprises, and Big Band-stylings for long-lost Yiddish pop standards, the ensemble also presents new klezmer reggae, klezmerengue and their very latest — fabulous, Bronx-based klezmer boogaloo.

Rabbi Ellen Lippmann will join Isle of Klezbos in an onstage cameo to kindle the menorah (and share her enlightening words) for the Hanukah celebration

ISLE of KLEZBOS
Debra Kreisberg: clarinet & alto saxophone
Pam Fleming: trumpet & flugelhorn
Melissa Fogarty: vocals
Shoko Nagai: accordion & piano
Saskia Lane: double bass
Eve Sicular: drums |bandleader

The group’s creative chemistry and stratospheric solos have garnered ISLE of KLEZBOS appearances on CBS Sunday Morning, Showtime’s The L Word, and Chamber Music America programs, as well as dozens of film soundtracks. Hailed for “cutting-edge Klezmer” by New York Magazine, the group’s studio and onstage work have included collaborations at Lincoln Center and Joe’s Pub with Jill Sobule’s Music from Yentl as well as Natalia Zukerman’s The Women Who Rode Away. Honored by commissions from artist Kiki Smith and Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling Scissor Sisters, the ensemble’s projects have also received awards from Creative Engagement, New York State Council on the Arts, Sparkplug Foundation, and OUTmusic, among others. Bandleader Eve Sicular’s musical documentary theater hit “J.EDGAR KLEZMER: Songs from My Grandmother’s FBI Files” enjoyed a sold-out run Off-Off Broadway at HERE Arts Center, praised by The New York Times as “smartly written” with a “lively score” (which also featured numerous Klezbos bandmates).

ISLE of KLEZBOS has also performed for a special edition of film scholar Sicular’s Celluloid Closet of Yiddish Film at the Center for Jewish History, co-presented by the American Jewish Historical Society and YIVO Institute. Music from the ensemble’s latest CD, Live From Brooklyn, has been heard by millions of listeners on YouTube, while their debut disc Greetings from the Isle of Klezbos remains a fan favorite as well. Bandmates’ individual credits include stints with Beyoncé, Burning Spear and Seattle Baroque, as well as Natalie Merchant, Natalie Cole and New York City Opera. Following packed headline shows from Oberlin Folk Festival to Portland’s Alberta Rose Theatre, and two 20th anniversary West Coast tours and Florida debuts in 2019, Isle of Klezbos also made a surprise appearance for Fashion Week this September. Annual KlezBiGay Pride shows, each June since 1999, have also welcomed guest MCs from Lisa Kron to Jackie Hoffman.