Cotuit Center for the Arts presents Bart Weisman’s Klezmer Swing

Bart Weisman Klezmer Swing Gallery Concert At Cotuit Center for the Arts

The Bart Weisman Klezmer Swing Group will kick off Cotuit Center for the Art’s new informal Gallery Concert series with a performance in the center’s art gallery on Friday, March 2, at 7 PM.

Tickets are $18, $15 for members, and may be purchased at artsonthecape.org or by calling 508-428-0669. Refreshments will be available.

Led by percussionist Bart Weisman, the Klezmer Swing Group features Monica Rizzio on violin and vocals, Clayton March on clarinet, saxophone, and mandolin, Alan Clinger on guitar, and Laird Boles on bass.

Weisman has been playing and recording Klezmer and swing music for over 25 years on the Cape and up and down the East Coast. He brought the Klezmer and Swing Group together about two years ago, and the band has already gained a following. It has performed at venues across the Cape, opening for last summer’s Pops by the Sea concert with the Boston Pops and will perform with the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra at their holiday concert in December. They just recorded their first CD. 

As its name implies, the Klezmer Swing Group specializes in Klezmer music, a traditional folk music of the Jewish people of Eastern Europe. Played at weddings, dances, and other celebrations, Klezmer is lively and expressive, sharing many qualities with jazz, including improvisation, distinctive melodies, and infectious rhythms.  Often described as “Jewish jazz,” Klezmer first became popular in this country in the 1940s and 50s, as Jewish musicians immigrated from Europe; it has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years.

The group is also well-versed in the swing music of the 1930s and 40s, and Monica Rizzio, who also sings with the alternative folk/jazz/pop group, Tripping Lily, gives voice to a number of hits from the era, including the Andrews Sisters’ hit, “Bei Mir Bis Du Schon,” "I'll Be Seeing You" and "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing."

The Gallery Concert series will continue throughout the year.  On March 23, jazz cabaret singer Dane Vannatter and sultry jazz vocalist Donna Byrne will perform, accompanied by Tim Ray on piano, Marty Ballou on bass, and Bart Weisman on drums. 

Meetinghouse Chamber Music Festival concerts will be held on June 26 and July 10 as part of the Gallery Concert series. Peter Donnelly will sing his blend of pop, folk, rock, and country music on November 17, and singer-songwriter Zoe Lewis will offer her unique blend of jazz, jump jive, Latin, swing, folk, and funk on November 24.