Klezmer Music and Turkish Makam

Wednesday December 11, 7:30pm

Montague Center Common Hall

Suggested Donation $20

O Ksenos (Rafe Wolman, Clarissa Lyons, Ariel Shapiro, Richie Barshay, Jesse Bay) - Greek folk music and Rembetika. Vaiano's Paisanos - Cape Verdean and French Caribbean string trios.

Saturday November 16, 7pm at the Montague Center Common Hall

Doors at 6pm, suggested $20 donation

Traditional Greek music and Rembetika, at the Leverett Co-op Pizza Night. Come for the music, stay for the pizza and beer! Or maybe the other way around…

With Jesse Bay (voice, bouzouki, percussion), Heather Kuhn (voice, baglamadaki), Rachel Leader (violin), Clarissa Lyons (clarinet), Ariel Shapiro (accordion), Rafe Wolman.

Friday May 31, 6-8pm. Free admission.

Weathervane Arts and RiverCulture present an afternoon of exciting, family-friendly music at the bandshell in Peskeompskut Park in Turners Falls.

With Juan Carlos Marin Band (traditional Son Jarocho from Mexico) and Myrtle Street Klezmer (Eastern European/Jewish dance music).

Saturday May 25 - Workshop at 1pm, FREE concert at 4pm.
(Rain date: Sunday May 26)

More info HERE

The return of Ramon & Jessica!

Catch our eclectic, catchy, and heartwarming songs at the best bookshop in town. With singer-songwriter Mare Berger.

More info here.

A night of fun and strange music at The Voo in Turners Falls.

9:30: Myk Freedman (guitar) and Jesse Olsen Bay (drums) play Crooked Standards: Exploring the American jazz songbook through the lense of The modern American experience. Get ready to experience All the Things You Are including mass carnage and bright moments in the most unexpected places while The Autumn Leaves might happen a few months late.

10:30: Myrtle Street Klezmer One of the Valley's favorite party/dance bands: Myrtle Street Klezmer, finishing off the night off with some dancing (or a lot of dancing!)

Leverett co-op pizza night presents…

Traditional Greek folk music/dances and Rembetika, with an all-star lineup!

Richie Barshay - percussion; Jesse Olsen Bay - bouzouki, guitar, vocals; Rachel Leader - violin; Ariel Shapiro - accordion; Rafe Wolman - violin

Leverett co-op, 180 Rattlesnake Gutter Rd, Leverett, MA

Friday, March 8, 6-8pm

An all-star band of local musicians gathers at the Leverett Co-op to play traditional Greek folk music and rembetika. With Jesse Bay (bouzouki/guitar/voice), Richie Barshay (percussion), Reachel Leader (violin), Ariel Shapiro (accordion), Rafe Wolman (violin).

MONTAGUE MARCHING BAND OPENS THE SHOW!

Winter Klezmer Carnival 2024!

Sunday, 2/18

10:00am - 4:00pm (schedule below)

The Parlor Room, Downtown Northampton

Get your tix here! Advance tix highly recommended!

So much amazingness, including:

-Best babka ever by Matt the Baker (aka The Babka Fairy)

-Must-see musical experience with NYC-based guitarist/vocalist Jeremiah Lockwood (Balkan Beat Box, Sway Machinery, etc) and drummer Ricky Gordon (Wynton Marsalis, composer for Spike Lee, et al) 

-Enter the realm of jewish mysticism with Tarot by Myk Freedman and amulet making with Noam Lerman

-Bring your voices and instruments for the Yiddish song learning session with Ozzy Irving Gold-Shapiro

-Actual accordions you can touch and play at the accordion-curious workshop with Bea Carlson & Ariel Shapiro

-Bring Back The Babka children's book reading and art activity with illustrator, Madison Safer

-Bagels provided by the good folks at Tandem Bagels

-Soooo much klezmer with local luminaries Myrtle Street & Burikes 

-Kids are free – in both the economic and in the fun/active sense! Let's dance, sing, frolic, make art and play together

In this monthly singing circle, we gather to sing Jewish Nign — wordless melodies that are sung collectively as a form of spiritual practice — as well as other related song forms. Open to all, free of charge. Contact tangledmusic@gmail.com for more information.

Enjoy a rockin' concert and workshop by local Eastern European music groups Myrtle St. Klezmer (Jewish dance music) and Orkestar Banitsa (Bulgarian, Serbian, and Macedonian).

Sat Jan 20, 7pm. Montague Center Common Hall. $20 suggested donation.

7pm: WORKSHOP with the musicians -- learn a song, and explore the connections between Klezmer/Balkan music.

7:30pm: ORKESTAR BANITSA, a five member folk dance band, specializing in music of Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Greece. Becky Ashenden (accordion and percussion), Gawain Thomas (accordion), Addie Rose Holland (clarinet and vocals) Joe Blumenthal (bass), Barbara Blumenthal (Bulgarian tambura).
https://www.facebook.com/p/Orkestar-Banitsa-100064256404799/

8:30pm: MYRTLE ST KLEZMER an ecstatic exploration into the past, present, and future of klezmer music – the traditional celebratory music of the Ashkenazi Jews. Jason Ditzian (bandleader, clarinet), Myk Freedman (guitar), Jesse Olsen Bay (vocals, bass, bouzouki, percussion), Bea Carlson (vocals, accordion), Doug Plavin (percussion) and Dan Baker (tuba, banjo). https://www.klezmer.com/myrtle-street-klezmer

9:30pm: Group jam!

A.P.E. is thrilled to host a special two-day, live performance event to celebrate the reopening of the Workroom at 33 Hawley after its extensive renovations. The event will echo the pre-renovation participatory ceremonies of MAKING GROUND (February 2023), a public art + drawing project, in which the community covered the 3800 sq-foot floor of the Workroom with chalked drawings in an invitation to consider creative engagements with land, community, space, imagination, and stewardship.

Over the course of the two evenings, different bills of 8 artists and artists groups per night—dancers, musicians, performance + theater artists, writers, and poets— will re-activate the etchings of MAKING GROUND through short (six minutes or less!) performance offerings. As a catalyst for their performance, each performer received a packet of postcards with images of the chalked Workroom floor from MAKING GROUND. The event will conclude with a screening of a time-lapse video of the two-week MAKING GROUND creative action from February 2023.

Please join us in celebrating the re-opening of the Workroom! Events are free with donations accepted—all donations will go toward continuing to upgrade the Workroom’s technical systems. MAKING GROUND postcards will be available for sale each evening.

Friday January 19th

Julia Handschuh / Anna Hendricks

Batya Sobel

Annie Woodhull

Jules Skloot

Jesse Olsen Bay and Frieda Kipar Bay

Roy Faudree and Jane Karakula

Mary Beth Brooker

LOCULUS - Madison Palffy and Olana Flynn

More information and tickets:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/making-ground-live-tickets-790178885317

More info at https://www.arcadiafolkfest.com/

6-8pm, Thursday August 3
Peskeomspskut Park, Turners Falls, MA
Suggested donation $10-20 (nobody turned away)
RAIN DATE: FRIDAY AUGUST 4

FB event: https://fb.me/e/18moTWiob

Klezmer Brunch! Music, coffee, bagels. Brings the kids. Good stuff.

Tickets:

https://www.simpletix.com/e/myrtle-street-klezmer-klezmer-brunch-serie-tickets-132328

A fabulous evening of music in the historic Montague Common Hall! Three acts, each interpreting folk music in their own unique way. This will be a beautiful, intimate concert. Don't miss it.

Music begins at 7:30 with Martha's Vineyard-based singer-songwriter Isaac Taylor, followed by Western Mass experimental folk collective Miners, and ending with a set of gorgeous songs by Cloudbelly (Corey Laitman). $10-20 suggested donation.

• • •

Cloudbelly is the moniker of Great Falls, MA based singer-songwriter Corey Laitman. Laitman's poetic lyricism, stirring vocals, and disarming starge presence have earned them a strong and growing following in the pioneer valley and beyond. They are accompanied by a rotating cast of inspired instrumentalists and friends.

"A moving display of fragility and surrender, Cloudbelly’s debut single “Up in Smoke” weaves wondrous and haunting indie folk into a seismic outpouring of intimate emotion." - Atwood Magazine

https://www.cloudbellytheband.com/

• • •

To say music is in Martha's Vineyard-based singer-songwriter Isaac Taylor's blood is an understatement. Nephew to James Taylor, Livingston Taylor, and Kate Taylor, his musical foundation is obviously a strong one. While he admits he was never a great student, it was through connections made during his years at Berklee School Of Music that led him to recording his debut album, Peace in the Valley. During that time he met Andrew and Brad Barr (The Slip, Barr Brothers), whose friendship and encouragement helped him find his voice.

Fast forward to a few years ago, when the Barr Brothers invited Taylor to open for them on a Canadian tour. Despite being admittedly “nervous as hell”, Taylor says it was the success of that 8-show stint that gave him the motivation to record his songs. He tracked 9 originals and 2 covers at the refurbished recording studio within Columbus Theatre in Providence, with Andrew and Brad Barr backing him up. Since the recording of Peace in the Valley, Taylor has opened shows for Martin Sexton, Leif Vollebekk and the David Wax Museum.

https://www.facebook.com/isaactaylormusic/

• • •

Miners is a Western Mass based collective of experimental musicians devoted to exploring and exploding traditional folk music from the United States. Appalachian music, Spirituals, Labor Union Songs, and more are fodder for sonic collage, group improvisation, and the occasional pretty tune. With Jesse Olsen Bay (guitar, voice, electronics), Myk Freedman (lap steel), Lindsey Marie Stormo (voice, percussion), and Rafe Wolman (violin).

http://jesseolsenbay.com/miners

This event is funded in part by RiverCulture, Art and Recreation in Montague, MA
www.riverculture.org

SATURDAY, SEPT 17, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, OCT 15, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, NOV 19, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, DEC 17, 10AM-1PM

COST: $50-$100 SLIDING SCALE PER WORKSHOP

https://www.nohoarts.org/.../cate.../embodying-the-home-song

Join award-winning musician/teacher Jesse Olsen Bay for a deep dive into breath, body, sound, and song.

When we sing, our bodies are our instruments. Our breath and bones resonate with the expression of our inner worlds, connecting us to the rich stories embedded in song. In this workshop, you will deeply investigate these connections. Through improvisations, physical explorations, listening meditations, and songs, you’ll discover new forms of experience and expression. You will:

- Find ease, freedom, and expression in your voice through awareness and somatic practices

- Learn to listen and sing together in a group, blending voices in harmony and balance

- Sing beautiful, simple songs from various traditions, as a vehicle for self-expression and deeper connection with community, history, and a sense of the sacred

- Improvise with voices and bodies, journeying together through the ocean of sound

- Express and transform your deepest emotions -- joy, longing, sadness, love, peace, anger -- in a safe and supportive environment

No experience necessary - singing is for everyone! Participants are encouraged to sign up for all four workshops, but may also take them individually. Please register in advance!

SATURDAY, SEPT 17, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, OCT 15, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, NOV 19, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, DEC 17, 10AM-1PM

COST: $50-$100 SLIDING SCALE PER WORKSHOP

https://www.nohoarts.org/.../cate.../embodying-the-home-song

Join award-winning musician/teacher Jesse Olsen Bay for a deep dive into breath, body, sound, and song.

When we sing, our bodies are our instruments. Our breath and bones resonate with the expression of our inner worlds, connecting us to the rich stories embedded in song. In this workshop, you will deeply investigate these connections. Through improvisations, physical explorations, listening meditations, and songs, you’ll discover new forms of experience and expression. You will:

- Find ease, freedom, and expression in your voice through awareness and somatic practices

- Learn to listen and sing together in a group, blending voices in harmony and balance

- Sing beautiful, simple songs from various traditions, as a vehicle for self-expression and deeper connection with community, history, and a sense of the sacred

- Improvise with voices and bodies, journeying together through the ocean of sound

- Express and transform your deepest emotions -- joy, longing, sadness, love, peace, anger -- in a safe and supportive environment

No experience necessary - singing is for everyone! Participants are encouraged to sign up for all four workshops, but may also take them individually. Please register in advance!

SATURDAY, SEPT 17, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, OCT 15, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, NOV 19, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, DEC 17, 10AM-1PM

COST: $50-$100 SLIDING SCALE PER WORKSHOP

https://www.nohoarts.org/.../cate.../embodying-the-home-song

Join award-winning musician/teacher Jesse Olsen Bay for a deep dive into breath, body, sound, and song.

When we sing, our bodies are our instruments. Our breath and bones resonate with the expression of our inner worlds, connecting us to the rich stories embedded in song. In this workshop, you will deeply investigate these connections. Through improvisations, physical explorations, listening meditations, and songs, you’ll discover new forms of experience and expression. You will:

- Find ease, freedom, and expression in your voice through awareness and somatic practices

- Learn to listen and sing together in a group, blending voices in harmony and balance

- Sing beautiful, simple songs from various traditions, as a vehicle for self-expression and deeper connection with community, history, and a sense of the sacred

- Improvise with voices and bodies, journeying together through the ocean of sound

- Express and transform your deepest emotions -- joy, longing, sadness, love, peace, anger -- in a safe and supportive environment

No experience necessary - singing is for everyone! Participants are encouraged to sign up for all four workshops, but may also take them individually. Please register in advance!

MINERS • SOUND
PASSIONFRUIT• MOVEMENT
TOMMI PARISH • WORDS

33 Hawley Street, Northampton MA
A.P.E.'s Workroom Theater ( lower level )
​
Tickets $10 online/ $15 at the door
​
The School For Contemporary Dance & Thought is pleased to welcome the ELEVENTH season of HUT — the interdisciplinary performance series co-curated by dancer Jennifer Polins, sound artist Jake Meginsky, and writer Jay Keery Wiengarten. HUT showcases three artists in three short sets in an evening of music, words, and movement.

Come out and enjoy great live music in the park! Three sets by three different local and touring groups. With the raucous dance music of Myrtle St. Klezmer, the off-kilter folk-pop of Ramon & Jessica, and the award-winning experimental jazz of Caroline Davis, there will be something for everyone...

SEPTEMBER 24, 3-6pm (Rain Date: 9/25, 1pm)
SUGGESTED DONATION $10-20, NO ONE TURNED AWAY
MORE INFO AT: WWW.RIVERCULTURE.ORG

• • •

Ramon & Jessica is the folk-pop duo of Dina Maccabee (Berlin) and Jesse Olsen Bay (Montague). R&J weaves violin, guitar, ukulele, toy instruments, and a cappella breaks into a sweet and offbeat tapestry of songs and sounds. They've been charming audiences for 15 years, but this will be their first live, in-person performance since 2018! (www.ramonandjessica.net)

• • •

Myrtle St. Klezmer is an ecstatic, experimental exploration into the past, present & future of Klezmer, an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews. Led by Jason Ditzian (who directed the iconic San Francisco band Kugelplex for over 20 years, Myrtle St. features Myk Freedman (guitars), Jesse Olsen Bay (sousaphone, percussion), and Lindsey Marie Stormo (vocals). In addition, Boston-based accordionist Marie Abe (Debo Band) and Berlin-based violinist Dina Maccabee will make special guest appearances.
• • •

NYC-based composer and saxophonist Caroline Davis’s music covers a wide range of styles. She won Downbeat’s Critic’s Poll Rising Star Alto-Saxophonist (2018) and was listed in both Downbeat’s Readers Poll (2021) and JazzTimes Expanded Critics Poll (2021). Her work has garnered much praise from NPR, The New York Times, The Wire, DownBeat, JazzTimes, and many international publications.

SATURDAY, SEPT 17, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, OCT 15, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, NOV 19, 10AM-1PM
SATURDAY, DEC 17, 10AM-1PM

COST: $50-$100 SLIDING SCALE PER WORKSHOP

https://www.nohoarts.org/.../cate.../embodying-the-home-song

Join award-winning musician/teacher Jesse Olsen Bay for a deep dive into breath, body, sound, and song.

When we sing, our bodies are our instruments. Our breath and bones resonate with the expression of our inner worlds, connecting us to the rich stories embedded in song. In this workshop, you will deeply investigate these connections. Through improvisations, physical explorations, listening meditations, and songs, you’ll discover new forms of experience and expression. You will:

- Find ease, freedom, and expression in your voice through awareness and somatic practices

- Learn to listen and sing together in a group, blending voices in harmony and balance

- Sing beautiful, simple songs from various traditions, as a vehicle for self-expression and deeper connection with community, history, and a sense of the sacred

- Improvise with voices and bodies, journeying together through the ocean of sound

- Express and transform your deepest emotions -- joy, longing, sadness, love, peace, anger -- in a safe and supportive environment

No experience necessary - singing is for everyone! Participants are encouraged to sign up for all four workshops, but may also take them individually. Please register in advance!

Klezmer music with Jazon Ditzian, Myk Freedman, Jesse Bay, and Lindsey Stormo

Friday pizza night and beer garden at the Leverett Village Co-op

180 Rattlesnake Gutter Rd, Leverett, MA

Hailing from Western Massachusetts, Tree Suits mixes old-world Klezmer and Balkan music with off-kilter contemporary jazz, to create groovy, mind-bending music for wild dancing, rejoicing, and listening. Featuring Jason Ditzian (Kugelplex) on clarinet, Myk Freedman (The Hadar Ensemble) on lap steel and guitar, and Jesse Bay (Ramon & Jessica) on percussion and sousaphone.

Embodied Singing Circle
facilitated by Jesse Olsen Bay
Saturday March 25, 10am-1pm
in Sebastopol (exact location given with registration)
$30, no one turned away for lack of funds
contact: tangledmusic@gmail.com

In this workshop, we'll employ traditional songs, vocal and physical improvisation, and musical meditations to connect more deeply with ourselves and each other. Together, we will:

- Use physical awareness and embodiment practices to find ease, freedom, and expression in our voices

- Learn to listen and sing together in a group, blending our voices in harmony and balance

- Sing beautiful, traditional songs, as vehicles for self-expression and deeper connection with community, history, and a sense of the sacred

- Improvise with our voices and bodies, journeying together through the deep, wide ocean of sound

- Express and transform our deepest emotions -- joy, longing, sadness, love, peace, anger -- in a safe and supportive environment

These workshops are open to all levels of experience. Expect a special emphasis on protest songs!

I look forward to singing with you...

Embodied Singing Circle
facilitated by Jesse Olsen Bay
Saturday Feb 25, 10am-1pm
in Sebastopol (exact location given with registration)
$30, no one turned away for lack of funds
contact: tangledmusic@gmail.com

In this workshop, we'll employ traditional songs, vocal and physical improvisation, and musical meditations to connect more deeply with ourselves and each other. Together, we will:

- Use physical awareness and embodiment practices to find ease, freedom, and expression in our voices

- Learn to listen and sing together in a group, blending our voices in harmony and balance

- Sing beautiful, traditional songs, as vehicles for self-expression and deeper connection with community, history, and a sense of the sacred

- Improvise with our voices and bodies, journeying together through the deep, wide ocean of sound

- Express and transform our deepest emotions -- joy, longing, sadness, love, peace, anger -- in a safe and supportive environment

These workshops are open to all levels of experience. Expect a special emphasis on protest songs!

I look forward to singing with you...

Embodied Singing Circles
facilitated by Jesse Olsen Bay
Saturdays Oct 29 / Nov 12 / Dec 10, 10am-1pm
in Sebastopol (exact location given with registration)
$35 for one workshop / $65 for two / $85 for all three!
some sliding scale / work-trade available
contact: tangledmusic@gmail.com

In these workshops, we'll employ traditional songs, vocal and physical improvisation, and musical meditations to connect more deeply with ourselves and each other. Together, we will:

- Use physical awareness and embodiment practices to find ease, freedom, and expression in our voices

- Learn to listen and sing together in a group, blending our voices in harmony and balance

- Sing beautiful, traditional songs, as vehicles for self-expression and deeper connection with community, history, and a sense of the sacred

- Improvise with our voices and bodies, journeying together through the deep, wide ocean of sound

- Express and transform our deepest emotions -- joy, longing, sadness, love, peace, anger -- in a safe and supportive environment

These workshops are open to all levels of experience. Each workshop will build on and develop our previous explorations together, so I'm asking that you come to as many as you can. To encourage this, I'm offering a significant discount if you sign up for more than one: $35 for a single workshop, $65 for two, and $85 for three. In addition, a limited amount of sliding-scale and work-trade is available. Please contact me asap if you're in interested.

I look forward to singing with you!