Just up the Finchley Road at JW3, members of the Jewish Labour Movement were debating antisemitism. But in Regents Park on Sunday,  there was a sunnier side of Jewish life. More than 6,000 festival-goers sang and danced for hours at the  Jewish Music Insitute’s (JMI) annual free festival, Klezmer in the Park. 

Jennifer Jankel, JMI’s chair, says that the trick is “choosing special bands. If you get the right bands, people will come. This year we wanted to have a big mix.”

Klezmer in the Park 2018 was exactly that; an eclectic mix and fusion of genres. Bands included Shir, who shared the stage with power house gospel singer Debbie Charles and Klezmer band Don Kipper, who looked completely at ease jamming on stage with percussion-based group TalkingDRUM, who draw on Brazilian, African and Cuban styles.   

For the ninth consecutive year, the event was hosted by BBC Radio 3 presenter Max Reinhardt, who kept the crowd entertained with his acerbic wit, at one point telling the crowd that “though I don’t want to go all gender binary,” in this year’s JMI Youth Big Band “there are a lot more female musicians amongst them this year. Let’s hear it for the female musicians!” He introduced diverse acts, which also included Fran & Flora, the London Klezmer Quartet & Kadialy Kouyate and  She’koyokh.

With various activities for kids organised by JMI, the JW3 and the Jewish Museum, including face painting, arts and crafts, food provided by the Hendon Bagel Bakery (its popularity highlighted when the food ran out) a group of stilt walking musicians, Klezmer on Stilts, and stalls from UK Jewish Film and the Community Security Trust (CST), the afternoon had something for everyone. 

“It’s clear that Klezmer is becoming more and more relevant to a younger audience,” says Reinhardt.  

Event organiser, Noa Lachman  adds “Klezmer has become part of the world music scene. We wanted to illustrate that fusion by inviting acts from different genres to play together, which is what Klezmer is all about, reading between styles.”

A theme of the day was that performers offered more than Klezmer musicians. Take Shir, for example.  The much-loved band’s Maurice Chernick, says  “we don’t consider ourselves a Klezmer band. That’s just one genre. We are a Jewish fusion band. We play for the community. 

“For us it feels like being at home musically, growing up in Orthodox communities. The traditional tunes that we play are indestructible, you can do a huge amount with them .“

Musical director of the JMI Youth Big Band, Sam Eastmond says Klezmer in the Park  “shows that Jewish music is more than one thing, just like Jews are more than one thing.

“The secret to having a day to celebrate it is to make it as inclusive as possible, extending it to people who might otherwise not hear Jewish music.” 

Sax player Issy, 15 who played with Sam’s band, says that though “this was a completely new style of music for me. It’s not always what you’d expect, it’s really fun music. Lots of the bands, like ours, have put a modern twist on it.”

Prize-winning band She’Koyokh fused klezmer with traditional music from the Balkans and Turkey. The star of the show was four-year-old Andjelija Nikolic, who sang the chorus with vocals and confidence beyond her years. 

The only snag was that due to park licencing and with timings slightly off, Don Kipper didn’t play for as long as many would have liked.