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 | | LORI LIPPITZ
Lori Lippitz, band leader, vocalist and guitarist received her BA from U. of Michigan and did graduate work in Slavic Studies at U. of Chicago. She founded Maxwell Street in 1983, which was one of the first bands to launch the klezmer revival in the Midwest. Under the auspices of her Klezmer Music Foundation, Lori organized an annual Midwest Klezmer and Yiddish Music Institute, and organized the Maxwell Street Junior Klezmer Orchestra, a training ground for teens. She co-founded the Yiddish Arts Ensemble, a family repertory company. As well as being the Cantor for ten years at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston, Lori organized their congregational klezmer band. She lectures on klezmer music and is a frequent guest on National Public Radio and Public Television. She also has been honored by The Guide to Jewish Chicago as being 1 of the 10 Jewish Chicagoans of 2004. Lori appears on Maxwell Street's four recordings. Lori, Marc Chinitz and daughter Kayla reside in Skokie, Illinois. |
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 | | ALEX KOFFMAN
Alex Koffman, violinist, Arranger, and Musical Director, was born in Minsk, Byelorus and received his Masters Degree from the Conservatory of Minsk. His musical positions included Concertmaster of the Byelorussian Pops Orchestra. In 1990, after immigrating to America, Alex studied with Albert Igolnikov of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Subsequently, Alex was introduced to the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band and became its violinist and arranger, as well as composer of the musical scores for productions of the Yiddish Arts Ensemble Theater. Alex is co-instructor of the Midwest Klezmer and Yiddish Music Institute. His non-klezmer credits include classical and show orchestras in Chicago including the Chicago Music Consortium and the Bill Porter Orchestra, the Steppenwolf Theater, movie and commercial soundtracks. In 1999, Alex was featured soloist in the world premier of "Klezmer Rhapsody" in Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center. Alex has recorded three CDs with Maxwell Street and toured with the band in Germany, Austria, England and the Netherlands. Alex, Olga and daughters Hannah and Sonya live in Skokie, Illinois. |
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 | | KIMBER LEIGH NUSSBAUM
Kimber Leigh Nussbaum, vocalist, hails from Kansas
City. Since joining the band in 2000 she has played everywhere from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Forde, Norway. She has helped to celebrate countless simchas, both locally and nationally, and has toured with the band throughout the United States and Europe.
Prior to joining Maxwell Street, Kimber performed in
venues such as the MUNY (St. Louis), Starlight Theater (Kansas City), Martin City Melodrama (KC), Quality Hill Playhouse (KC), Famous Door Theatre (Chicago) and Chicago Jewish Theatre. For one year, she performed seven different roles in the wacky, interactive "Tony 'n Tina's Wedding" in both Kansas City and St. Louis.
Kimber was featured in a children's Hanukkah musical commissioned by the National Council of Jewish Women in Kansas City and produced by Theatre for Young America (KC). You can hear her on MAX's third album, "Old Roots, New World." In addition, Kimber is expanding her musical expertise by performing as a cantorial soloist.
Kimber earned a BFA in Acting from the Department of Theatre at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, housed in the renowned Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. She lives in Chicago, Illinois. |
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 | | BIBI MARCELL
Bibi Marcell, vocalist, has been performing music throughout the world for many years, spending most of her time in the Chicago area. She began her singing career with her father and later joined the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble. In addition to performing extensively on her own, Bibi is celebrating her 11th year as a vocalist with the Maxwell Street Klezmer band. Between singing engagements, Bibi works as a cantorial soloist and Religious School Director at Congregation Hakafa and cares for her three beautiful children. |
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| | RANDI SIMON
Randi Simon information needed here. Randi Simon information needed here. Randi Simon information needed here. Randi Simon information needed here. |
|
 | | DONALD JACOBS
Donald Jacobs, clarinet, began playing with Maxwell St. in 1983. Graduated cum laude from Washington University, he has studied with clarinet masters Sid Beckerman, Richard Corpolongo, George Silfies and James Stoynoff. He plays with M'Chaya and his own band Jazmer, and specializes in Bulgarian, Yugoslavian, Macedonian, Greek and jazz styles. His recordings include The Jazziest Balkan Band Around, Maxwell St. Days, New Times, and Meet Your Neighbor's Folk Music. Don's touring career has included two trips to Jewish festivals in London, Vienna and Germany and three Danish tours, and many festivals in the US and Canada. With Alex, he co-directs the Annual Midwest Klezmer and Yiddish Music Institute. Don and his wife Maria live in Chicago with their three children. |
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 | | SHELLEY YOELIN
Shelley Yoelin, saxophone, clarinet and flute, is a professor of music and the Director of Bands at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois. He has been playing with Maxwell Street since 1985. Shelley holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from Northwestern University and a MA from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. He is an instructor with the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Clinics and with the International Federation of Jazz in London, where he teaches annually. He has written arrangements and played clarinet and saxophone on three albums with Maxwell Street. He has also recorded Hora and Blue with his own Modern Klezmer Quartet. Shelley (father of three) and Pamela live in LaGrange Park, Illinois. |
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 | | JEFF JEZIORSKI
Jeff Jeziorski, clarinet, has been playing with Maxwell Street since 1987. His Bachelor of Music Degree in Music History and Theory is from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has played and recorded since the 1960's with Balkan ensembles at folk festivals and at venues such as Old Town Restaurant in Milwaukee, and founded the group Festival European. He has also performed with Skylight Opera. He has written the scores for musical theater productions. Jeff is featured on the band's most recent CD and has performed twice with Maxwell Street in Europe. Jeff, Elizabeth, and sons Adam and Gregory live just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. |
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 | | RALPH WILDER
Ralph Wilder, clarinet, saxophone and flute, received his musical education at Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois. For the past ten years, Ralph has been a member of Maxwell Street, as well as the leader of The Ralph Wilder Orchestra. Ralph has been a band director for High Schools and Colleges, and is Director of the Mount Prospect Community Band, which he frequently conducts. His experience ranges from symphony orchestras to jazz, pop, rock, gospel, Broadway, Dixieland and Big Band. Ralph is the father of two and lives with his wife, Lois, in Glenview. |
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 | | GAIL MANGURTEN
Gail Mangurten, piano, graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, and has played with musical theater groups such as Tuxedo Junction. She performs regularly with the College of DuPage Jazz Band. She has made two recordings with Maxwell Street. Gail, Alan and their two daughters, Rina and Eve live in Morton Grove, Illinois. |
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 | | IVO BRAUN
Ivo Braun, trumpet, is a native of Prague and has been with Maxwell Street since 1993. He received his BA in trumpet performance from the University of Illinois and his MM from the University of North Texas where he performed with the school's award-winning Two O'Clock Jazz Band. Ivo's performance experience includes Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the Irving Symphony in Dallas and the Symphonic Pops Orchestra of Chicago. In addition to performing, Ivo has enjoyed teaching music appreciation at the college level and he graduated from Chicago's famous Second City Training Center. Ivo currently resides in Des Plaines, Illinois. |
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 | | BOB SAMBORSKI
Bob Samborski's Biography to be inserted into this space. Please provide the text that will describe Bob's skills and history with the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. |
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 | | AUDREY MORRISON
Audrey Morrison, trombone, a native of New York City, received her musical training at the Eastman School of Music where she later earned the coveted Performer's Certificate for excellence in performance.Her accomplishments include Principal Trombone of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from 1975-80, the Principal Trombone of the Elgin Symphony from 1981-present, lead trombonist with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and numerous guest appearances with various orchestras throughout United States. Ms. Morrison's other credits include trombonist and leader of the Chamber Brass players Quintet for ten years and has played as a substitute/extra trombonist with the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, Grant Park Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic and San Diego Symphony. Ms. Morrison can also be heard regularly on radio and in television jingles. |
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 | | IRINA KOFFMAN
Irina Koffman's Biography to be inserted into this space. Please provide the text that will describe Irina's skills and history with the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band here. |
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 | | JIM COX
Jim Cox grew up in Champaign, Ill., where he began playing cornet, electric bass and double bass. He attended the University of Illinois in Urbana and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance on the double bass. Soon after graduating he toured with Earl "Fatha" Hines for three years. Between tours with Earl he began settling in Chicago, where he has since worked full-time musician. Jim has worked with numerous notable artists, including Judy Roberts, Johnny Frigo, Red Rodney, Randy Brecker, Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, Cheri Lewis and Lamb Chop, Debbie Boone, Catherine Russell, Corky Hale, Daryl Sherman, Morgana King, Art Van Damm, Frank Morocco, Buddy DeFranco, Sheila Jordan, Helen Forest, Lee Murdock, Mary Cleere Heron with Richard Rodney Bennett, Betty Buckley, Liza Minelli, Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Ray Mckinley, Herb Ellis, and Eliane Elias. For the last 15 years he has been working regularly with famed pianist Marian McPartland. He also performs regularly with the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. Jim's extensive discography of over 100 CD's includes projects covering a wide range of musical styles including jazz, bluegrass, klezmer, folk, cabaret and pop. He is currently teaching at Lake Forest College. |
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 | | MARK PONAROVSKY
Mark Ponarovsky, percussion, was born in Kiev, Ukraine, and received his BA from the Kiev College of Music. He toured with various show orchestras in the former Soviet Union and became the percussionist of the Kiev State Circus Big Band. After his immigration in 1989, Mark performed in Milwaukee until relocating to Chicago in 1991, when he joined Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. Mark, Lilya and son Vlad live in Northbrook, Illinois. |
|
 | | STEVEN LEE WEINTRAUB
Steven Lee Weintraub, Traditional Jewish Dance Master, came up from Atlanta and is new to Chicago. A choreographer, performer and teacher, Steve is one of only three dancers specializing in traditional Eastern European Jewish dance. Henry Sapoznik (Yiddish Radio Project, Klezkamp) calls him "The best Yiddish dance teacher around". Steve moved to Chicago this year (2003) and joined the staff of the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band as a performer and dance leader.
Steve received his dance training in Manhattan with Alvin Ailey and Erick Hawkins, among others. He has worked with choreographers Felix Fibich and Shula Kivel, and has performed the work of Fred Berk. He choreographed a production for the Joseph Papp Yiddish Theater, and has choreographed and performed dances based on Jewish themes including the annual Workman's Circle Third Seder in New York. In Atlanta, he choreographed Kuni Leml for the Jewish Theater of the South and Something's Afoot for Georgia Ensemble Theater.
He has been on the faculty of KlezKamp for the past 5 years and has taught at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. He has also given Yiddish dance workshops in Winnipeg, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. Steve also lectures on the history of Jewish dance, recreates "Shtetl Weddings," and leads dancing at real weddings. He also presents Jewish Folktales and Dances, a one-man show of storytelling; A History of Dance in Jewish Culture, a lecture series covering Jewish history from the Bible to the present. |
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 | | LARRY MARKS
Larry Marks Biography to be inserted into this space. Please provide the text that will describe Larry's skills and history with the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. |
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| | JOHN MOSE
John Mose has been playing trombone in and around Chicago for more than 30 years. His professional career began as a show musician playing locally for such luminaries as Joan Rivers, Frankie Avalon, The Lettermen, Manhattan Transfer, The Spinners, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Bob Hope, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Bob Newhart, Frank Sinatra Jr. and many, many others. He also spent time playing musicals such as Forty Second Street, A Chorus Line, How to Succeed in Business, Bob Fosse¹s Dancin¹ as well as recording jingles for Toyota, Popeye¹s, Kraft and CD¹s for various Chicago based bands. John has spent the last few years re-immersing himself in the study of jazz, his first love.
A graduate of Elmhurst College with a degree in Music Education, John continues to teach part time at the junior high level and spent over ten years teaching at Birch Creek jazz camp in Wisconsin. Currently teaching at the Western Illinois Jazz Camp, he has also appeared either as adjudicator or guest artist at the Western Illinois Jazz Festival, the Rolling Meadows Jazz Festival, the Herscher Swing and Sing as well as many Chicago area district events. |
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Skokie, IL 60076 USA