Moishe’s Bagel may play klezmer but they are not your typical barmitzvah band. Although all the musicians enjoy performing Eastern European music, their backgrounds are eclectic.
“The fiddle player is a violinist with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the percussionist is a student of tabla and Indian percussion, and the bass player is a jazz musician from Brazil,” says pianist Phil Alexander, the only member with a background in Jewish music.
The Scottish-based band got together after they met playing tango music for a Chilean vocalist. Diversity is key to their repertoire. There is klezmer at its core, but there are also strong folk and jazz influences.
“What I’m proud of is that we’ve managed to take those diverse influences and come up with a unified sound which is joyous and uplifting,” says Alexander.
“At our gigs we’ll be doing new stuff which is possibly the least klezmer-like we’ve ever done but also some stompy klezmer favourites too.”
