New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars May 16, 2006

Months after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars (NOKAS) drummer David Sobel does not fear for the future of his hometown?s musical life. In fact, he?s positive that New Orleans culture will go on. It?s fitting that he and his bandmates, now scattered across the country, are coming together to play a style of music with roots in the tunes of Gypsy nomads?klezmer. For fifteen years, NOKAS has taken its cue from their city, where cultural borrowing and blending are as ubiquitous as tennis shoes with pantyhose in Washington. Layering the unmistakable sound of Eastern European Jewish folk music with New Orleans-style funk, spontaneity and improvisation, their celebratory energy makes you ?just want to go bananas and dance.? A crowd-pleaser at the first WJMF in 2000, NOKAS is back by popular demand.

Official Website: http://www.wjmf.org/