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The band’s CD release concert Saturday also include Portland’s wacky Vagabond Opera, which blends opera with klezmer and other world music, and a hefty dose of spectacle.
“Costume and spectacle definitely have a role to play, as they do in opera,” the band’s founder, Eric Stern, told The Olympian last year. “We’re not just a band staring at our shoes.”
On Saturday, Vagabond Opera will be joined by Olympia bellydancer Heidi Jo Landin. The show also will include tunes spun by DJ Sweet Elite (also known as Lisa David).
Oh, and there will be a disco ball — a new addition to the Olympia Ballroom, which boasts new stage lighting and curtains, all part of an effort to stage regular all-ages shows, filling the void left by the closure of the Loft on Cherry.
Everything is ready for the show — except perhaps “Klezmorphic” itself, which was still in post-production when they talked to reporter earlier this week.
“We’re racing to the finish line,” said Daniel Landin, Erev Rav’s guitarist (and Heidi Jo Landin’s former husband). “It’s a pretty big part of my life right now. I’m working on getting it done correctly and giving it the time it needs.
“Hopefully, the discs are on hand at the party,” he added. “But we’re definitely celebrating.”
The album is performed by the band’s current lineup: Landin on 12-string guitar, Jeff Rygwelski on accordion and harmonica, Michael Harrison on drums, Anna Hassler on violin and vocals, Tom Russell on clarinet and flute, and Phil Post on bass, plus former members Jamie Stillman on drums and Miles Nowlin on mandolin. It roams the territory from classic tunes to new and funky numbers by Landin and Rygwelski.
“We’ve been thinking about the title for a while,” Landin said. “For us, that really sums it up. There are a few songs that are pretty traditional klezmer songs. There’s a group of songs that are significantly reworked and rearranged klezmer songs, and then there’s completely original material.”
The new tunes, he said, are influenced by funk and jazz. “In my guitar playing, I’m really inspired by West African playing, like Ali Farka Toure.”
The vocals, too, are original, he said, with a style that mixes jazz, opera and pop.
The show is the first to happen in the improved ballroom space, which has had some work done on sound dampening in addition to the visible improvements.
Heading up the efforts to turn the ballroom into a performance space is sound and production engineer Jeff Bartone, who also worked with the Loft on Cherry. Landin, meanwhile, will be booking shows for the ballroom and is working on a Balkan evening and another of roots reggae.
“I want to do a world-music focus,” he said.
CD release show
What: Portland’s Vagabond Opera and Olympia’s own Erev Rav, two bands that take traditional music and give it a twist, are celebrating new CDs with a joint show.
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Olympia Ballroom, 116 Legion Way, Olympia
Tickets: $15 in advance at vagabondopera.com, brownpaper tickets.com and Rainy Day Records; $18 at the door
More information: vagabondopera.com, erevrav.com
Also: The show is open to all ages.
