Tennessee Schmaltz

Founded in Knoxville, TN, in 1995, Tennessee Schmaltz play in a hybrid Old World klezmer style peppered with strains of Appalachian string band music, and with jazz, country, bluegrass, and Yiddish music hall all tossed in for good measure. Although membership in the group has shifted somewhat over the years, the current lineup of Larry Hoffman on clarinet, Dan Shapira on accordion, Manny Herz on piano, Rob Heller on washtub bass and clarinet, and vocalist Carolyn Silver-Alford has been a fairly consistent one. The band self-released the album Old Country Klezmer in 2000, following it with Pachelbel's Canon & Other Jewish Hits in 2006. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide