KLEZMER?
Klezmer is a juxtaposition of different styles of traditional Jewish music. Immigrant Jews brought this vibrant Eastern European dance and folk music to America, where it found new expression in Big Band music, Yiddish theatre and jazz. Modern Klezmer combines tradition with exuberant innovation.

The 24th Street KLEZMER! Band was originally formed at band member Martin Johnson's Bar Mitzvah in l996 and has been creating a colorful explosion of Klezmer music at festivals, clubs, and in concert ever since.

The band's combination of hot clarinet, and  rich, mellow recorders, take the lead in creating a unique Klezmer sound. Rounding out the instrumental picture is a blazing  keyboard, a punching bass, and energetic banjo and guitar. Yiddish and English vocals transport audiences all the way from Eastern European villages to modern Broadway.

Klezmer music entertains concert goers of every generation and background. Children and grandparents alike dance, clap and sing along whenever The 24th Street KLEZMER! Band plays. Making music that's rich with tradition and popular with today's audiences, The 24th Street KLEZMER! Band is the perfect combination for any musical or social occasion.

Emily Humphreys-Beher started music at the age of six, studying classical piano. She has a bachelor's degree in music from Morehead State University and a master's from Indiana University. Somewhere along the line, she got sidetracked into dance music, playing in Fullbright's Stomp Band (English and American contra dance), Scotch on the Rocks (Scottish music, what else?), and Jean-Louis and the Pommes Frites (French-Canadian), before developing a love for klezmer. She keeps her classical chops going by performing with Dragonfly, chamber music for-hire, based in Gainesville.

Jack Fisher graduated with a BA in music education from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He taught music and band at schools in New Jersey, Jacksonville and Bronson, Florida. Jack has been assistant and principal clarinet in the Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, has played clarinet with the Gainesville Community Band, and plays clarinet and saxophone for various musical theater productions. Jack's clarinet is the backbone of The 24th Street Klezmer Band. Currently, he heads a department at Valdosta State University.

Jonathan Gil is organist for Westminster Presbyterian Church, Director of Music for Gethsemane Lutheran Church  and Assistant Music Director for St. Augustine Catholic Student Center in Gainesville. He has a Masters in Music in Sacred Music from the University of Florida and plays recorder and keyboard in Greensleeves. Well-versed in popular and Latin music, Jonathan is also an accompanist for both vocal and instrumental performers.

John Johnson is a multi-instrumentalist and state champion vocalist. He has been performing in Florida for over thirty years in many different groups. He has been the back-up guitar player for banjo, harmonica and autoharp instruction tapes and has two cassette albums with The Johnson Family Band, "The Song in the Wood" and "Together Ten Years." John is recognized as a Florida songwriter and has been involved in many theatrical performances.

Lisa Deitz Johnson, the founder and director of the band, sings the Yiddish vocals. Klezmer music connects her to her Russian and Hungarian Jewish heritage, and to the immigrant culture in New York City, where she was born. Although Lisa has entertained audiences for many years with folk, old-time and traditional music, Jewish music is her passion. She has attended KlezKamp, the Yiddish Folk Arts program, where she learned more about the history of klezmer and sang and played in musical groups. She directs The 24th Street Klezmer Band.

The 24th Street Klezmer Band was founded for Martin Johnson's bar mitzvah in 1996. He lives in Tokyo, Japan, and is the currently the lead singer and fiddler for Overground Acoustic Underground. When he returns to Gainesville, he performs with The 24th Street Klezmer Band.

Harris Max is the band's newest member. He has been playing music for 26 years, but you wouldn't know it from his boyish good looks. He was a veteran of New Jersey rock band The Masterful Johnsons before settling in Gainesville. A longtime guitarist with the The Klezmer Kapelye, Harris pounds the bass with The 24th Street Klezmer Band.

John Monkus began playing recorder at age nine in Germany. Since then, he has become an accomplished performer on recorder and krummhorn. He is a featured performer in Musica Vera,  under the direction of John Kitts-Turner, and Greensleeves. Because John plays the full range of recorders, from sopranino to bass, he brings a unique sound and texture to Klezmer music. John is also the sound tech for the band and our resident computer wizard.

Jasmine Max Our 24th Street Klezmer Dancer

 OY! They're SO good! 

 

Saturday, May 28
11:00 to 12:00 a.m.
Amphitheatre Stage
7 to 9:00 p.m.
Dance Stage
Terry Abrahams, caller
2005 Florida Folk Festival
Stephen Foster State
Folk Cultural Center
White Springs

Monday, Dec. 26, 2005. Hanukkah and Boxing Day Dance and Party at Gainesville Dance and Music Association, University Ave., Gainesville. 7:30-10PM.  Contra to Klezmer!

Wednesday, Dec. 28.  Giant Menorah Lighting in Downtown Gainesville on the Plaza.  6-7:30PM.  Contact LubavitchUF@aol.com

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2006. Second Annual Klezmer Fest at the Acrosstown Theatre in Gainesville. The Klezmer Kapelye, The Bulgars (from Virginia), and The 24th Street Klezmer Band.  7:00-11PM.  Admission.

Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006.  Benefit Concert and Dance for Temple Israel in Tallahassee at the American Legion Hall, Tallahassee. 8-12PM.  Admission.

Sunday, Feb. 12, 2006.  Klezmer Concert for the Newell Concert Series at the Dixie Theatre in Appalachicola.  Admission.  Contact watkinseb@gtcom.net

Tuesday, March 14, 2006.  Lubavitch Purim Celebration in Gainesville.  Time TBA. Admission. Contact LubavitchUF@aol.com.

Friday, March 24 thru Sunday, March 26. Vernal's (All Night Dance and Music Weekend) with Roger Diggle, The Monks, and The 24th Street Klezmer Band - Contra Dancing to Klezmer Music, $135 adult, Cabins, RV. www.p2c2e.net/vernals

Saturday, May 27, 2006 2006 Florida Folk Festival at Stephen Foster State Folk Cultural Center in White Springs
Main stage, at 12:30 P.M.,
Heritage stage, at 10 P.M. Klezmer Dance

Sunday, May 28, 2006
Heritage stage, at 1:00 P.M. Museum Garden Workshop III, at 5 P.M.