This double-barreled blast of Eastern European soul presents a program of cross-fertilized Jewish and Romani party music. Hailing from the hurly-burly streets of New York, the all-women klezmer sextet Isle of Klezbos has spent two decades touring the world, delivering a reverently irreverent array of mystical Hebrew melodies, Yiddish swing, late Soviet-era Jewish drinking songs, and re-grooved standards.
San Francisco’s Fanfare Zambaleta emerged after intensive study from Zambaleta Music and Dance School. Drawing on brass band traditions from Romani, Serbian, Macedonian and Greek culture, the group delivers an intoxicating blend of horns and percussion. Fanfare Zambaleta unleashes some of the region’s finest players with a combustible mix of ensemble arrangements and soaring improvisation.