released March 3, 2023

Shpilkis is:
Zimyl (Simone) Adler, clarinet
Jimmy Austin, trombone
Layne Benofsky, baritone
Stefanie Brendler, baritone
Michael Grant, trumpet, flugelhorn, clave
Nancy Hartunian, alto & soprano sax
Gary Luke, sousaphone

With deep gratitude to our teachers and mentors: Zilien Beret, Dan Blacksberg, Christina Crowder, Jordan Hirsch, Josh Horowitz, Craig Judelman, Margot Leverett, Sasha Lurje, Mark Rubin, Ilya Shneyveys, Susan Watts, Michael Winograd; and to KlezKamp, KlezKanada, and Yiddish New York for providing opportunities to learn and connect.

All songs arranged by Shpilkis, except where otherwise noted.
Recorded by Eric Paget on October 21, 2022, October 22, 2022, and February 1, 2023 at Noise Noise Ouch Stop Records in Seattle, Washington. Mixed and mastered by Eric Paget, who joined with the whole band in singing (track 7) and clapping (track 6).

Album art by Eva Gross.
www.evasturmgross.com

Song Credits:

Di Naie Chuppe was written by J.D. Chajes for The Amsterdam Klezmer Band, recorded on their 2012 album Mokum.

A Nakht in Gan Eydn comes from Abe Schwartz’s Orchestra (1924), arranged for Shpilkis by Michael Grant.

Sweet Tea is our name for the theme from "The Swee Touch Nee Tea Time Radio Hour," a Yiddish radio program from the early 1900s. Swee Touch Nee Tea ("цветочный (tsvetochny)," Russian for "floral"), was a staple in Jewish homes during the early years of the 20th century. The origin and title of this song are unclear, possibly dating back to the Yiddish theater of Abraham Goldfaden in the 1870s or 1880s.

Bulgarskaya comes from Belf’s Rumanian Orchestra (c. 1911-1914), co-arranged with Dan Blacksberg.

Wedding Melody was written by Emil Kroitor (b. 1947 in Moldova). We first believed this song was written by German Goldenshteyn (1934-2006), a Romanian-born American klezmer musician, and we called it “Goldenshteyn’s Hora.” However, we recently learned the song was written by Kroiter, who titled it “Wedding Melody.” Kroitor’s song was a part of Goldenshteyn’s repertoire, and we are happy to correct our mistake here.

Librescu Tango was written by Gustavo Bulgach for Klezmer Juice, recorded on their 2009 album Klezmer Juice 2 (Yiddish Lidele).

Dem Rebns Tantz comes from Art Shreyer’s Orchestra (1929), co-arranged with Dan Blacksberg.

Der Gasn Nign is of unknown origin, possibly from Abe Schwartz (1881-1963), a klezmer violinist, composer, Yiddish theater and ethnic recordings bandleader, or from Harry Kandal (1885-1943), an clarinetist and klezmer bandleader. Arranged for Shpilkis by Stefanie Brendler.

Grupp is courtesy of Dave Levitt, from the repertoire of violinist Louis Grupp (1888-1983).

Goodnight Waltz comes from the repertoire of Jacob Hoffman (1897-1974), courtesy of Susan Watts. Arranged by Dan Blacksberg. This tune has been used to end many weddings in Philadelphia.