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Klezmer

Overview Artists Albums Songs

Klezmer is a Yiddish term for musician and refers primarily to a tradition of Jewish folk music with deep German and Eastern European roots. Two of the most important instruments in this tradition are the violin and the clarinet. Today klezmer music is not just practiced in Eastern Europe but is also practiced in the United States, where it has influenced American popular song. Klezmer music in the United States has influenced the early development of American popular song through Yiddish folk musicians who participated in vaudeville. More recently, Yiddish folk music has influenced Broadway musicals like Fiddler on the Roof.