Led by violinist Jake Shulman-Ment, Midwood is an eclectic supergroup, with each member bringing their mastery of a myriad of styles. The resulting sound is something quite new, traveling through veins of rock, avant-garde free improvisation, classical, and Romanian folk music, all finding its place within the expressive language of klezmer. Stay tuned for their debut album, to be released soon!
Jake Shulman-Ment – violin
Yoshie Fruchter – electric guitar
Richie Barshay – drums, percussion
Special Guest:
Eleonore Weill – vocals, flutes, hurdy-gurdy
Born in New York City, violinist Jake Shulman-Ment is among the leaders of a new generation of Klezmer and Eastern European folk music performers. He has performed and recorded internationally with Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird, Di Naye Kapelye, Adrian Receanu, The Other Europeans, Frank London, Duncan Sheik, and many more. Jake has been a faculty member of New York’s Henry Street Settlement, KlezKamp, KlezKanada, Klezmer Paris, the Krakow Jewish Culture Festival, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and other festivals throughout the globe. In 2010 Jake received a Fulbright research grant to collect, study, perform, and document traditional music in Romania. Jake’s debut solo CD, “A Redele (A Wheel)” (Oriente Musik, 2012) was nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award.
Yoshie Fruchter is a guitar, bass, oud player and composer whose band, Pitom (Tzadik Records) has received critical acclaim from Jazz Times magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Guitar Player Magazine and many more. The unique blend of rock, jazz, experimental and jewish styles in his playing and composing is a defining characteristic of his music. He has toured the US and Europe with Pitom and other groups, playing the Atlantique Jazz Festival in France, the Krakow Jewish Culture Festival, Saalfelden Jazz Festival in Austria and others. He recently released an album on the new Jewish record label Blue Thread Music of post-rock arrangements of old cantorial recordings entitled Schizophonia.
Yoshie is also a sought-after freelance musician in New York City in bands ranging in style from acoustic world music to heavy metal and has performed with John Zorn, Cyro Baptista, and Frank London, among many others.
Percussionist Richie Barshay, noted for his work with the Herbie Hancock Quartet, has established himself as a prominent musical voice of his generation and is regarded as “a player to watch” by JazzTimes magazine. On tour and recordings his diverse résumé includes Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, The Klezmatics, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Lee Konitz, Natalie Merchant, David Krakauer, Fred Wesley, Claudia Acuña, Bobby McFerrin and Pete Seeger among others. Since 2004, he has led outreach projects as an American Musical Envoy with the U.S. State Department in Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. Now based in New York City, Richie began playing Jazz and Afro-Caribbean music during his youth and has expanded his focus to Indian rhythmic concepts and tabla, inspiring his 2007 recording debut Homework on Ayva Records. “Homework introduces a major rhythm voice on the rise” says Downbeat magazine, and The Guardian (UK) praises “the arrival of a major innovator who also knows how to have fun.”
Thursdays at Jalopy Theater & School of Music
315 Columbia Street Brooklyn, New York 11231 phone 718.395.3214Klezmer Instrumental Music Workshop 6:30pm-8:00 $25 per class,
Concerts & Dance Parties begin at 8:30pm – $15
Jam Session follows Concert 10-11:00ish
Full night pass – $35 (includes Workshop, Concert & Jam Session)
more info about Jalopy, including how to get there, at www.jalopy.biz