The Alexandria Kleztet Returns to Mason District Park

The Alexandria Kleztet will take the stage at tomorrow night as part of the Spotlight by Starlight summer concert series. The Washington/Baltimore-based klezmer band has been performing a combination of traditional Eastern European/Jewish music and new arrangements of traditional melodies and original songs with jazz, classical, world beat and rock influences for 13 years. The members of the award-winning Kleztet (the winners of 15 Washington Area Music Awards, or Wammies) are excited to bring their unique blend of music to Annandale.

Learn more about the Kleztet’s performance in this Q&A with woodwind player Seth Kibel.

Has the band ever performed at Spotlight by Starlight before? Are you looking forward to playing an outdoor venue?

Indeed, we have, for quite a few years now. Outdoor concerts like this are always a blast, since they tend to attract a very diverse audience. Audience members at this show will probably range in age from 9 days old to 90 years old! Of course, we are a little at the mercy of the elements, but so far, the forecast looks pretty darn good for Wednesday evening.

What can local concertgoers expect from your upcoming performance? Can you give us a sneak peek of what the band might play on Wednesday night?

We’ll try to cover the range of Jewish klezmer and klezmer-inspired music. That’ll include traditional selections, including repertoire such as Yiddish folksong, Yiddish Theater classics, as well as Hebrew and Israeli material. But we’ll also do some more modern repertoire that incorporates some of our varied musical backgrounds in other genres, such as rock and roll, jazz, and classical music. We might even play a song from Star Wars, but you’ll have to show up to find out which one!

How long has the band been playing together? What motivated you to start the band?

I first formed The Alexandria Kleztet in 1998. I had previously been in a klezmer band in upstate New York, and missed playing this music once I moved down to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. So I put out some feelers, placed some ads, asked around and eventually found the right combination of musicians to put together my own group. And the lineup’s been remarkably stable. Scott Harlan (bass) and Tim Jarvis (drums) have both been in the band since 2000, and Helen Hausmann (violin) has been in the band since 2004.

How has the band’s sound evolved over time?

Well, not to toot our own horns, but I think we’ve gotten a lot better. We’ve got a lot of gigs, tours, rehearsal and recordings under our belt, and I think that comes through in our live shows these days. And with the exact same lineup for the last seven years, we’ve really developed a cohesion and “musical telepathy” that I think is hard to come by in bands these days. I feel like we also struck an excellent balance between the traditional and the innovative in our repertoire.

With 15 Wammies under your belt and the recent release of your fourth album, it must feel like the sky is the limit for your band. What are your goals for the future?

We just love continually introducing new audience to this music. We’d love to travel a bit more. We’ve done some of that. We’ve done several domestic tours and, in 2007, we even got to tour Chile. Touring is a pretty daunting prospect in these economic times, but we’d love to do more of that.

Who would you recommend Wednesday’s concert to? What would you say to local music lovers to encourage them to attend?

Everyone! We tend to appeal to a really wide age range. Kids love the energy, excitement, and almost reckless abandon that characterizes our music. Music aficionados tend to appreciate the innovation, improvisation, and diverse influences in our music. And those of the “more mature” generations enjoy hearing sounds and melodies that might have heard in days gone by.

Click here for more information on the Alexandria Kleztet.

For last minute performance cancellations due to inclement weather, call 703-324-SHOW (7469) one hour prior to the program start time.

Wednesday, Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m.; Free
6621 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA; (703) 324-SHOW