Jewish Museum Hosts SUMMERNIGHTS FIVE-CONCERT SERIES

The Jewish Museum's popular SummerNights program returns, presenting live world music in a concert setting on five Thursdays in July and August. Each concert begins at 7:30 pm. Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys kick off SummerNights on July 7 with their creative combination of bluegrass and klezmer music. This cosmopolitan concert series features critically acclaimed musicians offering innovative interpretations of music from all over the world. Other scheduled performers include Sexteto Rodriguez Cuban Jewish All Stars, performing Cuban roots music with klezmer influences; Slavic Soul Party!, mixing Balkan and Gypsy sounds with American jazz and soul; the Michael Winograd Trio, with a fresh approach to klezmer music; and Hazmat Modine, drawing on eclectic elements from 20th century American music. The Jewish Museum is located at Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, Manhattan.

Tickets for each concert are $15 for the general public; $12 for students and seniors; and $10 for Jewish Museum members. For further information regarding programs at The Jewish Museum, the public may call 212.423.3337, or visit the Museum's website at http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/SummerNights. Please note that digital images are available upon request.

SUMMERNIGHTS CONCERT SERIES SCHEDULE

July 7, 7:30 pm
MARGOT LEVERETT AND THE KLEZMER MOUNTAIN BOYS

This ensemble combines Appalachian and southern fiddle tunes by Bill Monroe with Eastern European klezmer melodies to create a soulful sound and a foot-stomping good time. Virtuoso clarinetist Margot Leverett adds depth and complexity to the raw and spirited energy of The Klezmer Mountain Boys.
The Klezmer Mountain Boys - bandleader and clarinetist Margot Leverett, bassist Marty Confurius, guitarist Joe Selly, fiddler Kenny Kosek, and mandolinist Barry Mitterhoff - create a danceable and beautiful blend of bluegrass and klezmer music that draws and delights audiences of all ages. Founded by Margot Leverett (an original member of The Klezmatics) and Barry Mitterhoff (Hot Tuna), the band has been featured at the Chicago World Music Festival and the Louisville Performing Arts Center.

July 14, 7:30 pm
SEXTETO RODRIGUEZ CUBAN JEWISH ALL STARS

Percussionist and composer Roberto Rodriguez leads talented Cuban-American and Israeli musicians in the creation of an unique sound that joins Cuban roots dance music and klezmer infuences.
Roberto Rodriguez was born in Cuba, the son of veteran horn player Roberto Luis Rodriguez. The younger Rodriguez studied violin, piano, and trumpet and drums in Havana, and left Cuba for Miami with his family when he was nine. Rodriguez immersed himself in the culture of Miami's large Jewish population, sensing historic similarities between Cuban expatriates and the Jewish diaspora. Moving to New York, he quickly established himself as a drummer of note, working with the likes of T-Bone Burnett, Phoebe Snow, Rubén Blades, Paul Simon and Joe Jackson, and became the drummer for Marc Ribot's Los Cubanos Postizos band. John Zorn approached Rodriguez about recording an album of Jewish music, resulting in El Danzon de Moises in 2002. Later albums of Cuban-Jewish music include Baila! Gitano Baila! (2004), Oy Vey! Ole! (2006), and The First Basket and Timba Talmud (2009).

July 21, 7:30 pm
SLAVIC SOUL PARTY!

The musicians of Slavic Soul Party!, led by Matt Moran, forge virtuosic new brass band music, melding Balkan, Gypsy, Mexican, and Asian immigrant backgrounds with American jazz and soul.
One of the hardest working bands in New York City, the Brooklyn-based Slavic Soul Party! plays nearly 100 times a year in the US, Europe, and beyond. They have performed at Babylon (Istanbul) with the Karandila Orkestar, at Irving Plaza (New York City) with Gogol Bordello, on the Warped Tour (U.S.), and in virtually every major New York club. The band's fifth CD, Taketron, is on the Barbes Records label, and was released in 2009.

July 28, 7:30 pm
Michael Winograd TRIO

This ensemble led by clarinetist Michael Winograd offers a fresh approach to klezmer music that blends traditional Yiddish songs with new compositions.
Brooklyn-based clarinetist/composer Michael Winograd has performed with SoCalled, Frank London, Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird, the Klezmer Conservatory Band, Michael Alpert, Alicia Svigals, and the Xylopholks. He also leads Michael Winograd's Infection, the Michael Winograd Klezmer Ensemble, and Pop Phenom Yiddish Princess. Winograd has performed at such international festivals as KlezKamp, KlezKanada, the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow, the Klezmer Workshop in Paris, the Winnipeg and Calgary Folk Festivals, and the Dawson City Music Festival.

August 4, 7:30 pm
HAZMAT MODINE

Hazmat Modine - harmonica players Wade Schuman and Bill Barrett, tuba player Joseph Daley, guitarists Michael Gomez and Pete Smith, trumpeter Pam Fleming and drummer Rich Huntley - draws on American music of the 1920s and 30s through the 50s an early 60s, blending elements of early blues, hokum, jug band, swing, klezmer, New Orleans R&B, and Jamaican rocksteady.
The band, led by front man Wade Schuman, has built a wide and devoted following, drawing crowds to shows at venues as diverse as the Knitting Factory, Terra Blues, the Fez and Galapagos Art Space. Their mix of genres extends to their use of instrumentation, including the sheng (a Chinese mouth organ), the claviola, and the cimbalom (a Romanian hammered dulcimer). While they play mostly original compositions, they also do covers of songs by Slim Gaillard, Jimmy Rogers, Jaybird Coleman, and Irving Berlin. Their new CD, Cicada, includes special appearances by Natalie Merchant and the Kronos Quartet.

The 2011 SummerNights concert series has been funded by a generous endowment from the William Petschek Family.
Public Programs at The Jewish Museum are supported, in part, by public funds from by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties. The stage lighting has been funded by the Office of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer. The audio-visual system has been funded by New York Assembly Member Jonathan Bing.

About The Jewish Museum
Widely admired for its exhibitions and educational programs that inspire people of all backgrounds, The Jewish Museum is the preeminent United States institution exploring the intersection of 4,000 years of art and Jewish culture. The Jewish Museum was established in 1904, when Judge Mayer Sulzberger donated 26 ceremonial art objects to The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as the core of a museum collection. Today, the Museum maintains an important collection of 26,000 objects-paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, archaeological artifacts, ceremonial objects, and broadcast media.

General Information
For general information on The Jewish Museum, the public may visit the Museum's Web site at http://www.thejewishmuseum.org or call 212.423.3200. The Jewish Museum is located at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, Manhattan.