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  1. klezmer love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A traditionally itinerant Jewish folk musician of eastern Europe performing in a small band, as at weddings.
  2. n. The Jewish folk music played by small, traditionally itinerant bands.

Wiktionary

  1. n. countable A Jewish folk musician.
  2. n. uncountable A type of popular Jewish folk music especially associated with Ashkenazi cultures.

Etymologies

  1. From Yiddish כּלי־זמיר (klezmer), from Hebrew כְּלֵי זֶֽמֶר (k’lê zémer, "musical instruments"). (Wiktionary)
  2. Yiddish, from Mishnaic Hebrew kəlê zemer, musical instruments : kəlê, pl. bound form of kəlî, instrument; see kll in Semitic roots + zemer, music, song; see zmr in Semitic roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Their music ranges from the sweet and mournful to the highly expressive sounds of Eastern European klezmer, which is best described as jazz mixed with traditional Eastern European music.”

    Anderson Independent Mail Stories

  • “One of the most conspicuous examples of such transmission is klezmer, which is recognizable at least back to the nineteenth century and possibly a great deal farther.”

    PopMatters

  • “Feb. 27 by Abraham Inc., an all-star ensemble fusing funk, jazz, hip-hop and klezmer, which is led by virtuoso clarinetist David Krakauer, trombonist Fred Wesley and "beat architect" Josh Dolgin, aka Socalled.”

    BroadwayWorld.com Featured Content

  • “But for me, the best kind of klezmer is already headnoddingly funky.”

    Jewschool

  • “In Mahler's time the word 'klezmer' wasn't used, they'd have just called it something like 'Yiddish racket'.”

    BBC Blog Network

  • “As for the tune itself: It sounds a light rock holiday note, complete with singing children and a bit of a klezmer vibe.”

    Orrin Hatch does Hanukkah

  • “I was entranced by the music, the solo guitar and the lively fiddle tunes, which for some reason reminded me of Jewish klezmer music from the shtels of Eastern Europe and Russia.”

    La Hacienda Ci�naga del Carmen

  • “To the comment that the Orientalist composer's intoxicating minor mode—based on what is called the ahava-rabba mode in Hebrew cantillation and klezmer music—is virtually the same as the mode Liszt called the "Hungarian Minor" in his rhapsodies, Mr. Botstein says that "many scholars have pointed out that the same musical gestures end up as ethnic signals for any number of cultures.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Go East, Monsieur

  • “He played with an aggressive tone, like a Sonny Rollins calypso, but never completely stole the spotlight, instead blending in with the unusual ensemble and an equally individual tune, which felt like a Cuban samba, a Rio choro, and a klezmer bulger all at once.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Ringing in the American Revolution

  • “The hidden gem is Wilmoth Houdin's "Black But Sweet," a klezmer calypso jam that would be immortalized by Shantel's numerous renderings of his most beloved track, "Bucovina.”

    The Huffington Post: Derek Beres: Global Beat Fusion: Buzzing Cicadas and Jewish Gangsters

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rhymes (1)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. Mesmer

tags (2)

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  1. music
  1. yiddish

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tagging (2)

Words tagged ‘klezmer’

  1. I think it's the clarinet
  1. balalaika

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Comments

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  • reesetee I suspect they hear it as sounding like other birds and are trying to communicate with it, so they sing back. You should hear what happens when the teakettle whistles! :-) Jul 17, 2007

  • trivet They do!

    I wonder if they hear something we don't. Jul 17, 2007

  • reesetee Zebra finches--which sound like little horns themselves. Jul 17, 2007

  • trivet What kinds of birds do you have? Jul 17, 2007

  • reesetee My birds love this music. I think it's the clarinet. :-) Jul 17, 2007

  • ecrivaine33 Heard a story about this type of Jewish music that is in a revival in the U.S. - on NPR today Dec 18, 2006

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‘klezmer’ has been looked up 1075 times, added to 19 lists, commented on 6 times, and has a Scrabble score of 22.