Kosher Style

This is a splendid celebration of brash, Brooklyn, big-band klezmer revelling in the retro flavour of the style. Many of the titles, including the title-track, are surely tongue in cheek like ‘Bar Mitzvah Bulgar’ and ‘Scenes from a Kosher Restaurant’ (on the back there's a close-up image of a pastrami sandwich). Other tracks like ‘Dinner in Bay Ridge’ and ‘Manhattan Beach Doina’ name local areas; the latter, next to Brighton Beach, is popular with the Russian and Jewish population of Brooklyn.

Whereas Winograd's previous klezmer albums (Bessarabian Hop and Storm Game) were more Old World in flavour, this is very American and very accomplished. Winograd's lithe and nimble clarinet playing is superlative and the nine-strong band includes a punchy horn section. The inventive arrangements say a lot about his work at KlezKamp, KlezKanada and the Yiddish Summer Weimar. Recommended.