Klezmer

The first thing you need to know about Klezmer is you don't have to be Jewish to dig it. (Klezmer, incidentally, comes from the Hebrew words kley and zemer, meaning musical instrument.) It's a vibrant, life-affirming, raucously fun music that brings a little bit of Eastern Europe to your doorstep.

Believe it or not, the Klezmer revival in the United States started in the '70s. Mickey Katz, who came to prominence with Spike Jones' City Slickers, was revered by youngsters reclaiming their ethnic identity. Suddenly, accordions and clarinets were rescued from closets all across America, and the party began again.

Even jazz musicians such as Don Byron have been caught by the allure of Klezmer music. And can you blame them? This is music that will cause one, as they say in Yiddish, hetsken zich — to shake and dance with joy. Mazel tov! And, hey, crank it up, will you?

For this you need a list from strangers, goyim for all you know, bubuleh? Oy vei! Just bring on the clarinets and the accordions, and let them swing. Klezmer is a fusion, a sort of Greco-Euro-Balkan music often played at Jewish celebrations. With its minor chordalities and breakneck pacing, it truly spans the Old and the New Worlds, and bridges the generations. So pass the matzohs and the Manischewitz, let's get farputst, and dance, dance, dance!