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The Maxwell Street Klezmer Band

The Premiere Jewish Music & Cultural Experience

Founded in 1983 by Lori Lippitz, Maxwell Street Klezmer Band has played at Carnegie Hall, toured Europe, and provided the celebratory soundtrack for Chicagoland’s simchas (Jewish celebrations) for almost 4 decades. The band marked its 40th “Bandiversary” at The Old Town School of Folk Music in 2023. They were featured with The Lyric Opera of Chicago in the world’s first klezmer opera, and performed with Chicago Sinfonietta in a classical klezmer composition created for violinist Alex Koffman (“Klezmer Rhapsody” by Ilya Levinson) at Chicago’s Symphony Center. They have five commercial CDs (Shanachie Entertainment). ​​

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As part of their grassroots mission, their not-for-profit organization, the Klezmer Music Foundation, they direct community klezmer bands and the Junior Klezmer Orchestra and the interfaith ensemble, The Salaam-Shalom Music Project. The band's violinist and musical director, Alex Koffman, and co-founder, clarinetist/saxophonist Shelley Yoelin, meld their classical and jazz sensibilities into a unique sound that moves and inspires audiences of all ages.

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  • Chicago's original Klezmer revival band since 1983

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  • Master musicians and engaging entertainers

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  • Programs tailored to audiences of all ages and backgrounds

"Thank you for one of the very best parties I've ever been to. Your band is the best!" (Inauguration Ball)

-Jan Schakowsky, 9th District,

Illinois U.S. Congress, Washington D.C.

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"It was wonderful to hear Chicago's Maxwell Street Klezmer Band cut loose so exuberantly…(they) brought the audience to its feet, cheering its approval."

-John von Rhein, Music Critic,

Chicago Tribune, Review of Klezmer

Rhapsody, Chicago Symphony Center

The Maxwell Street Klezmer Band is named for Chicago's Maxwell Street, which was famous at the turn of the 20th century for its open-air Sunday marketplace crowded with Jewish pushcart peddlers--an institution which has survived in the hands of fresh waves of immigration. The band takes its musical ingenuity and sense of humor from the spirit of Chicago's early immigrants.

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In the years since its creation in 1983, Maxwell Street has become the Midwest's most popular klezmer band, touring seven times in Europe and performing throughout the U.S., including Carnegie Hall.

 

Audiences of all backgrounds have been delighted by Maxwell Street's high-energy performances that glow with warmth and humor. 

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Photo by David Sutton

According to Theodore Bikel, "These are fine musicians...they care about the music.  And when they care--I care!"

See the band in action. Maxwell Street Klezmer Band has been spreading the "Joy of Klez" in the U.S. and Europe since 1983.

Rabbi Joe Black and Maxwell Street Klezmer Band play at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Read a review of the concert here.

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For more information, email maxwellstreetband@gmail.com or call (847) 675-4800.

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