The word Klezmer comes from a Hebrew phrase meaning "vessels of song," and for centuries the genre now known by that name has served not only as a vessel of Eastern European Jewish song and dance, but for Ashkenazi cultural life as a whole. Rooted in Jewish liturgical music and influenced by surrounding Gypsy, Romanian, Slavic, and Turkish styles, Klezmer developed through the wanderings of folk musicians (klezmorim) who traveled from shtetl to shtetl, trading tunes and techniques. Although Klezmer, along with most of traditional Yiddish culture, suffered a near-fatal blow in the Holocaust, it was revived in the 1970s and 80s by a new generation of musicians (such as Andy Statman, The Klezmorim, and The Klezmatics) who undertook the task of both preserving and innovating a bubbe and zayde genre. In recent years Klezmer has continued to gain speed, spreading to Europe where klezmorim have gone in both traditional (Di Naye Kapelye, Shtetl Band Amsterdam) and not-so-traditional (Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird, Dibbukim - Yiddish Metal from Sweden) directions.

The Yale Klezmer Band was founded in 1992 and since then has taken its inspiration from the modern day klezmorim, many of whom have wandered to Yale and shared their tips, techniques, and tales with us. We play not merely to preserve an endangered piece of Jewish culture, but to celebrate and embrace a genre that is very much alive and kicking and relevant as ever. A raucous night of Klezmer music and dancing is like A Nakht in Gan Eden - a night in Paradise - and all are welcome to join in.