Klezmer

Klezmer: tapping into the music that makes souls dance

From Eastern European shtetls to the world stage

Born in the Ashkenazi Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, klezmer is music for both celebration and lament, carried by clarinet, violin, accordion, and double bass. Its recording golden age began in 1910s, 1920s New York, where Jewish immigrants cut legendary 78s under the fingers of virtuosos like Naftule Brandwein and Dave Tarras. After a long decline following the Holocaust and assimilation, klezmer underwent a spectacular revival starting in the 1970s, driven by musicians such as Giora Feidman, the Klezmatics, and Brave Old World, who reinvented the tradition without betraying its essence.

Essential artists, landmark albums, and the labels that shaped Klezmer

Every collector should know the foundational recordings: Naftule Brandwein's 78s (Fun Tashlikh, 1923) and Dave Tarras's Tanz! (1956) are historical treasures, often reissued on modern vinyl by labels like Rounder Records and Hatikvah Music. The revival era produced essential albums: the Klezmatics' Rhythm + Jews (1990), Brave Old World's Singing in the Dark (1987), and Itzhak Perlman's In the Fiddler's House (1995), which bridges traditional klezmer and classical virtuosity. Labels such as Tzadik (with John Zorn's Radical Jewish Culture series), Piranha Records, and Oriente Musik have extensively documented this renaissance. By comparing prices across the various record stores it references, Vinyles.com helps you track down these gems, whether you're after rare original pressings or well-crafted reissues. Look for 180g remastered editions from Rounder or Piranha, and keep an eye out for limited runs from European micro-labels like Oriente Musik, often pressed in small quantities and quick to sell out.