DOINA KLEZMER

was formed in 1996 by Hannu Vasara (violin, viola), Markku Lepistö (accordion), Sampo Lassila (double bass) and Tapani Jämsen (percussions). 

After establishing Doina Klezmer, klezmer music has reached growing audiences in Finland and in Europe. The ensemble has performed in Sweden, Russia and in the most important festivals in Finland with own concerts, beside the gigs in clubs and various happy occasions.

Doina Klezmer has also succesfully collaborated with other artists like Tommi Kitti, the YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company) Radio Theater and Zagros Ensemble.

In 2004, Doina Klezmer's Nomada album was one of eleven candidates for Teosto (Finnish Composers' Copyright Society) Award.

The band respects klezmer’s tradition but also looks forward, creating music that reflects our life today. Klezmer is in fact a fruitful source of creating a parallel style, an original new impression of the genre. The ensemble displays a multitude of influences that its members have gained in a wide variety of musical contexts, from classical and contemporary music through modern jazz and improvisation to major Finnish ethno bands.

Doina Klezmer’s repertoire consists of both traditional klezmer music arranged by the band and original music composed by the double bass player Sampo Lassila, full of Finnish and Nordic influences. The rugged earthy sound of the Finnish tradition and the wistfully joyous beauty of klezmer meet in a tension-bound state with sharp contrasts. The simultaneous presence of tradition and improvisation projects onto the listener a sense of an arc spanning the ages from past to present. The band combines disparate elements in an original and inventive manner. 

Doina Klezmer is not only a klezmer band – it is a Finnish klezmer band.