Biography
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Years Active
1997 – 2007 (9 years)
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Founded In
Kraków, Małopolskie, Poland
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Members
- Jaroslaw Bester
- Jaroslaw Tyrala
- Oleg Dyyak
- Wojciech Front
The Cracow Klezmer Band was a Polish quartet that evolved from a traditional klezmer sound toward a dark, complex and highly arranged form of contemporary Jewish music, flavored with gypsy influences. Releasing albums on John Zorn's Tzadik record label, with its mandate of "Radical Jewish Culture", the band reformed as the Bester Quartet in January 2007.
Formed by accordionist and composer Jarosław Bester in 1997 in Kraków, Poland, members included violinist Jaroslaw Tyrala, double bassist Wojciech Front, and Oleg Dyyak, who played percussion, clarinet, and accordion. The group built a growing fan base by appearing at Jewish cultural festivals in Hungary, Finland, Poland, and the Czech Republic. In between touring, the band began to work on recordings, completing a debut album, De Profundis, in September of 2000, and a sophomore offering, the Warriors, in 2001.
The Cracow Klezmer Band's sound is different from what most people consider to be klezmer — instead of danceable versions of traditional Yiddish songs, and free-form fantasies and laments, the Cracow Klezmer Band instead plays original compositions grounded by repeated ostinatos. The compositions are also peppered with non-musical noises produced through the players' instrumers, such as the sound of a creaking ship or a distant crying bird; this actually has a long tradition in klezmer music.
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