Fans of Eastern-European Jewish party music are in luck this week in the Okanagan.
Frank Rackow and the Black Sea will sail through the valley Aug. 1-4, making stops at Lorenzo’s Cafe in Enderby, Caravan Farm Theatre in Armstrong, Grizzly Plaza in Revelstoke and Record City in Vernon.
The Calgary-based band combines klezmer - traditional Yiddish music - with elements of folk, swing, funk and the JUNO-nominated vocals of Allan Merovitz to create both lively and heart-touching melodies.
Frank Rackow and the Black Sea is the latest project from Rackow and Merovitz, who met in Calgary in the early 2000s and have stuck together ever since. For several years the pair recorded, toured and appeared in festivals as KlezMerovitz.
Rackow also helped produce Merovitz’s klezmer musical, If Cows Could Fly, which played in Ontario cities.
Also with the band is Robin Tufts, an accomplished Calgary drummer, and Greg Rumpel, a multi-instrumentalist and teacher at the Mount Royal University conservatory.
Here are the tour dates to keep in mind:
- Thursday, Aug. 1: Lorenzo’s Cafe - Enderby
- Friday, Aug. 2: Caravan Farm Theatre - Armstrong
- Saturday, Aug. 3: Grizzly Plaza (Summer Festival Series) - Revelstoke
- Sunday, Aug. 4: Record City - Vernon
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