Blitzmash

Despite their ambition to remain at the cutting edge of innovative world jazz, the Amsterdam Klezmer Band has always been a party animal. This time around they decided to put even more emphasis on the danceable side of their music. There's an impressive cast of supporting musicians, including Brazilian vocalist Lilian Vieira, Orhan ‘Buzuki’ Osman from Turkey, trumpeter Colin Benders and Benjamin Herman, alto saxophone player extraordinaire and frontman of New Cool Collective. But the most important additions to the band's seven-piece line-up are drummer Mischa Porte and electronic FX-wizard Adam Bar-Pereg, both of whom have joined the AKB on their current international tour.

Without ever compromising their roots in the Jewish festive tradition, the Amsterdam Klezmer Band refuse to be confined to traditional boundaries. They are as comfortable with Balkan beats, Dutch oom-pah, rock, rai, jazz and hip-hop as they are with klezmer. The ensemble playing is as tight and energetic as ever, and the vocal contributions from such diverse places as Russia, Brazil, Bulgaria and Morocco add to the cosmopolitan mood of the album. The only thing non-Dutch speaking listeners will miss out on are the humorous and sometimes raunchy raps by Job Chajes, the AKB's saxophone player and MC.