MAZEL TOV COCKTAIL PARTY (vinyl)

Description

The album and touring project 'Mazel Tov Cocktail Party' were conceived and created by Krakauer and producer Kathleen Tagg as an "explosion of good vibes" in response to the current climate of incredible polarization and negativity that invades our daily lives. Alongside them, the album features a brand-new lineup made up of a group of world-renowned musicians: clarinet virtuoso Krakauer takes center stage as godfather of Tagg's keyboards and eccentric production, Iranian drummer and multi-talent Martin Shamanpoor, the virtuoso bass of jazz guru Jerome Harris, the voice and words of soul singer and rapper Sarah MK, and the lines of oud player-guitarist Yoshie Fruchter. This group brings its enormous musical and cultural diversity to the project, and collaborates to create both original works and unique reinventions of works from around the world. The album takes traditional and ancient dance forms and completely refashions them to deliver a clear message of tolerance and inclusion. Polka, square dance and hora have never sounded like this before, with electro rhythms, acoustic Middle Eastern hand drums, deep grooves and lyrics calling for space for everyone. Krakauer's screaming clarinet urges us to unite, celebrate and feel the power of our lives. A square dance? Polka? Hornpipe, Hora and Calypso? Urban rhythms mixed with acoustic instruments and thought-provoking rap? What is this music? What is the common ground where we have the potential to come together as human beings, without needing to know the beliefs of the person next to us, to have a good time? It is music and dance. Krakauer and Tagg therefore turned to ancient dance forms. Those designed for communities to come together and move. Dances that are immediately recognizable. And from there, they dove into the realities of their America, with all its astonishing diversity, and added these sounds: for example, a square dance with words partly in Quebec French, drums on an Iranian daf and a beat maker rhythm born in Morocco and based in New York. Music with the shape and pulse of a traditional square dance but the rhythm of a Brooklyn nightclub. A musical meeting place where each member showed up as they were, with all their history and skills, to create a new sound where little bits of individuals create the whole. It's a Mazel Tov cocktail party and everyone is invited! In these uncertain times, it's an opportunity for artists and audiences to come together, celebrate everything we have in common and toss a metaphorical "Mazel Tov cocktail" into the air to brighten the world!