[Pictures Attached at end of release.]
MEDIA CONTACT:
Terri Berns
561-297-1164, tberns@fau.edu

 

“Beyond the Tribes,” Hot New Album Defies Classification
with Fusion of Jazz, Classical and Ethnic Melodies

BOCA RATON, FL (April 10, 2008) – Klezmer Company Orchestra, an out-of-the-box ensemble that masterfully fuses jazz, classical and ethnic music, is heralding the national release of its first studio-produced album “Beyond the Tribes.”  The groundbreaking album is a celebration of cultural fusion and a tribute to ethnic melodies.  The 12-track recording is energetic and pulsates with Latin, Arabic and African rhythms. 

Klezmer revivalist Aaron Kula, a prolific composer, accordionist and founder of the 11-year-old KCO, balances tradition and innovation throughout the 50-minute recording. The music seems to bend time and timbre as Kula morphs exotic melodies into entirely different songs that push innovation to the extreme and ultimately propel Klezmer into the 21st century. Absolute rules have no place in “Beyond the Tribes.” Simply put, the music defies common classification. One writer even described KCO’s sound as “world music on steroids.”

“Beyond the Tribes” was independently produced by Kula and associate producer Terri Berns. The album’s tracks were selected from 150 works Kula has composed and orchestrated for KCO over the past decade. All of the compositions are based on original melodies from the music archives at Florida Atlantic University Libraries in Boca Raton, where Kula is on the faculty.  “We literally took the music from shelf to stage to studio,” said Kula.

Each song has its own back story and features different KCO members who contribute their own improvisational style to the orchestrations. The opening track, called “JewOrleans March,” is a fusion of New Orleans jazz and a 100-year-old Rumanian melody. “Dos Mambo Freylachs” superimposes a hyper drive Latin percussion section over fragments of an old Klezmer melody from Eastern Europe. “Macedonian Tantz” (dance) is a fusion composition that combines a bulgar (Slavic dance) rhythm with folk songs from Macedonia, resulting in a complex asymmetrical 7/8 meter. “Teresa’s Bulgar” is a Rumanian song that features the xylophone in a super fast improvised style. Vocalist Elena Correia delivers a sultry performance on the Malaguena style song “Eishishoken Nigun” (melody) and on “Miami Beach Rumba.” Trumpeter Chaim Rubinov orchestrated two Latin dance band songs on the CD, “Miami Beach Rumba” and Bet Hamikdash a la Salsa. The final track “Wrong Note Freylach” is an original composition for full orchestra where Kula uses melodic fragments that stress chromatic chaos in a rag rhythm. The result is harmonic hysteria that is frenetic and funny.

KCO’s 22-member orchestra includes nine core soloists and a vocalist with accomplished backgrounds in classical and jazz music.  Soloists include Elena Correia, vocals; Jackie De Los Santos, double bass and guitar; Randi Fishenfeld, violin; Teresa Flores, percussion; Doug Friend, drums; Scott Klarman, saxophones and flute; Aaron Kula, accordion; David Levitan, trombone; Stas Pomerants, clarinet and Chaim Rubinov, trumpet and flugelhorn. KCO has performed before thousands at South Florida concerts, and consistently garners rave reviews for its style, innovative arrangements and high-energy.   

The CD is available online for purchase through CDBaby.com, iTunes music store and DigStation.com, or it can be ordered through www.klezmercompany.com.  To experience KCO, go to the music and video link www.klezmercompany.com/media.html.

For more information on “Beyond the Tribes” and KCO, contact Aaron Kula, music director, at 561-297-3742 or akula@fau.edu.

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