PAUL KOHN S
La Difference
We will be open for dinner
Closed for lunch
Yiddishe Cup
Klezmer Band.
"This is not some
sort of high-class
classical/jazz
concert;" says
bandleader
Bert Stratton.
"We want people
to be moved by
the music, and
either dance or
watch people
dance. And we
put a lot of humor
into the music;
we want people
to laugh."
Labor Day
Monday, September 4, 2000
Make your reservations now
Every Tuesday night we now feature
Sushi
7295 Orchard Lake Road,
West Bloomfield, Michigan 48322
(Robin's Nest Shopping Plaza)
248-932-8934
Reservations Suggested
band; a violinist, Steve Ostrow, who
also plays the trumpet and trombone
and is a member of the Akron (Ohio)
Symphony Orchestra; a drummer,
Don Friedman, another professional
musician; and Daniel Ducoff, who
leads the dancing.
Of the dancing, Stratton explains:
"We were afraid that nobody would
know what to do after `Hava Nagila' —
which is true." He believes dancing is
"an important part of klezmer music,"
and Ducoff is the kind of guy who is
very aggressive" on the floor. He likes
to grab hands and get people going.
In fact, if the audience is not par-
ticipating — dancing or singing
along or laughing — Stratton is not
pleased. Klezmer concerts where peo-
ple just sit and take the music very
seriously -- well, don't even get him
started. Hip, oh-so-cool klezmer
makes his skin crawl, too: "that
`Chasidic new-wave stuff' — it's hor-
rible," he says.
Instead, Yiddishe Cup offers a dis-
tinctly 1950s (i.e.Mickey Katz) sound,
with lots of humor thrown in. One
song remembers a mean Hebrew
teacher, while others recall that won-
derful pastime
food, and lots of it.
Everyone in Yiddishe Cup lives in
greater Cleveland ("but in three dif-
ferent area codes," Stratton says).
They have released two recordings,
Klezmerized and Yiddfellas, available
on CD and cassette.
By the way, Stratton isn't in this
just for the big concert appearances.
He actually loves playing at wed-
dings. He appreciates "being part of
the Jewish community," while not
attending a single meeting, and he
"
likes seeing people of so many differ-
ent ages in one room.
About 12 times a year, Yiddishe
Gip travels out of state for a concert.
In Boca Raton, Fla., they met up
with a crowd that "knew our materi-
al better than we did," while other
performances are 99.9 percent non-
Jewish (often, the group is booked by
arts councils who have read about
Yiddishe Cup in a catalogue and
want an "ethnic" sound). But,
Stratton says, no matter where he has
performed, "there's always at least
one Jew in the audience."
One of Stratton's favorite appear-
ances was on the Texas border, where
virtually everyone in attendance was
Mexican-American. The concert was
pure klezmer, though Yiddishe Cup
came back with an encore of "La
Bamba."
"What I'd like to do next is an
international appearance," Stratton
says. "I dream of making it to
Windsor."
Visit our website at: www.ladifference.com
elli~
of Auburn Hills
Now Featuring Sunday Brunch
,From 11am - 3pm
Auburn Hills Location Only
•
Reservations Suggested
248-373-4440
PRIVATE
BANQUET FACILITIES FOR ALL OCCASIONS °gil l
'2 OFF FOR
SPECIALLY-TRIMMED RIBS
❑
ALL DINNERS INCLUDE: SALAD OR COLE
SLAW POTATOES AND GARLIC BREAD
GOOD 7 DAYS!
Yiddishe Cup performs 3 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 10, at Temple
Emanu-El, 14450 W. 10 Mile
Road, Oak Park. They will be
joined on several numbers by
Detroit's own Kids Klez Band.
Admission is free. For informa-
tion and tickets, call Andy
Roisman at the Oak Park JCC,
(248) 967-4030.
To learn more about Yiddishe
Cup, visit the group's Web site
at www.yiddishecup.com .
s
L
Li*
■ Exp. 9-14-2000 JN
r
'2 OFF MVP
WITH OR WITHOUT SKIN
ALL DINNERS INCLUDE: SALAD OR COLE
SLAW POTATOES AND GARLIC BREAD
I GOOD 7 DAYS!
■ Exp. 9-14-2000 JN
Brass Pointectx0c/k7Q-9'/ - ' /(>,(4
24234 Orchard Lake Rd., N.E. corner of 10 Mile • 476-1377
. 9/ 1
2000
81