SummerNights Concert Series Begins at The Jewish Museum, 6/27

The Jewish Museum's popular SummerNights program returns, with live music in a concert setting on three Thursdays in June and July. This cosmopolitan concert series presents critically acclaimed musicians offering innovative interpretations of music from all over the world. Hazmat Modine kicks off SummerNights on June 27, with high-energy blues, swing, and world-infused jazz. Other scheduled performers include Howard Fishman and his Band, with an exuberant blend of jazz, soul, country, blues, gospel and experimental music; and the all women's klezmer sextet, Isle of Klezbos, playing imaginative versions of eclectic Eastern European-rooted Jewish folk music, Yiddish swing and tango. Each event also features an open bar with beer and wine. 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. Visit TheJewishMuseum.org/summernights to purchase tickets online. For additional information, the public may call 212.423.3337.

SUMMERNIGHTS CONCERT SERIES SCHEDULE

June 27, 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 and 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 unconventional 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 CD, Cicada, includes special appearances by Natalie Merchant and the Kronos Quartet.

July 11, 7:30 pm
Howard Fishman AND HIS BAND

According to The New York Times, Howard Fishman "transcends time and idiom" performing his particular blend of jazz, pop, blues and experimental music.

Critically-acclaimed singer, guitarist, composer and bandleader Howard Fishman's infectious, spontaneous, and unvarnished music has made him a favorite of audiences and critics alike. Fishman filters a passion for New Orleans jazz, Brooklyn soul, open-hearted country, blues and gospel music through an original, experimental aesthetic, to create a sound entirely his own. He has headlined in some of the most prestigious venues in the United States and abroad, including Lincoln Center, The Steppenwolf Theatre, The Blue Note, The Pasadena Playhouse, Joe's Pub, The Great American Music Hall, and Le Petit Journal in Paris. Fishman has performed with such diverse artists as Odetta, Yo Yo Ma, Maceo Parker, Robyn Hitchcock, Madeleine Peyroux, Allen Holdsworth and Nellie McKay. He is a frequent NPR guest, making feature-length appearances on Fresh Air, World Café, The Leonard Lopate Show and Soundcheck. Fishman's latest recording, The Howard Fishman Quartet Vol. III: Moon Country, was released in October 2011.

July 25, 7:30 pm
ISLE OF KLEZBOS

Isle of Klezbos approaches musical tradition with irreverence and respect. Based in New York, this soulful, fun-loving, powerhouse all-women's klezmer sextet has toured from Vienna to Vancouver since 1998. Band repertoire ranges from rambunctious to entrancing: neo-traditional folk dance, mystical melodies, Yiddish swing and retro tango, late Soviet-era Jewish drinking song, re-grooved standards, and genre-defying originals.

Formed by drummer/leader Eve Sicular, Isle of Klezbos features alumnae of Juilliard, Eastman and Manhattan Schools of Music as well as Harvard, and has been honored with multiple awards by The New York State Council on the Arts, Outmusic, and Sparkplug Foundation. The ensemble has performed at venues such as Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival, Joe's Pub, the Brooklyn Museum's First Saturday, and the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. Isle of Klezbos concert footage has been broadcast on CBS Sunday Morning, CNN WorldBeat, and PBS In The Life, and their music has also featured on The L Word (Showtime), and in film soundtracks for Grace Paley: Collected Shorts and I Guess I'm Not Going to Get to Vegas.

An infrared assistive listening system for the hearing impaired is available for programs in the Museum's S. H. and Helen R. Scheuer Auditorium.

The 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. Major annual support is provided from public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo. The stage lighting has been funded by the Office of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer.

About The Jewish Museum
Widely admired for its exhibitions and collections that inspire people of all backgrounds, The Jewish Museum is one of the world's preeminent institutions devoted to exploring the intersection of art and Jewish culture from ancient to modern times. The Jewish Museum organizes a diverse schedule of internationally acclaimed and award-winning temporary exhibitions as well as dynamic and engaging programs for families, adults, and school groups. The 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 a collection of 25,000 objects - paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, archaeological artifacts, ceremonial objects, and broadcast media.

The Jewish Museum is located at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, New York City. Museum hours are Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, 11am to 5:45pm; Thursday, 11am to 8pm; and Friday, 11am to 4pm. Museum admission is $12.00 for adults, $10.00 for senior citizens, $7.50 for students, free for children under 12 and Jewish Museum members. Regular admission is Pay What You Wish on Thursdays from 5pm to 8pm, and free on Saturdays. For information on The Jewish Museum, the public may call 212.423.3200 or visit the website at TheJewishMuseum.org.

Images: Hazmat Modine; Howard Fishman. Photo: Carole Cohen; Isle of Klezbos. Photo: Angela Jimenez.