Back to home page


The Music
Learn about band members
Hear samples and buy music
Learn about upcoming performances
Learn how to contact the band

What the Chelm's two albums present a wide variety of music from Israel, favorites of the Yiddish theater of the 1920s, Ladino (Spanish/Hebrew) songs from the Jewish communities of Spanish, Balkan and Middle Eastern countries, and an occasional show tune classic with a tinge of the Jewish musical idiom.

Listen to samples from the band's albums—What the Chelm! and Oy! They're Back!—or order CDs and tapes. 

Oy! They're Back!

The band's second recording continues to expand the repertoire of the best klezmer band in the Whatcom County, the extreme northwest corner of the continental United States (actually, the only klezmer band in Whatcom County). 

Click any song to hear a sample.
(Note: You need an MP3 player application already installed on your computer.)

The Songs

  1. Araber Tantz - A Sephardic melody from Turkey
  2. Cuando el Rey Nimrod - Traditional Sephardic song
  3. Freilach - A lively circle dance
  4. Rebbe Elimelech - Composed in 1927 by American Yiddish satirist Moishe Nadir
  5. Tantz, Tantz, Yidelech - One of the best-known klezmer tunes
  6. Happy Tailor - A klezmer tale of woe
  7. Shibbolet Basade - A modern Israeli song
  8. Freilach 2 and Freilach 5 - Happy dances
  9. My Heart Belongs to Daddy - A Cole Porter song based on the Jewish melodic idiom
  10. Di Mame iz Gegangen - A playful Yiddish song
  11. Yosis - A klezmer version of a Hasidic song
  12. Harmonika - A lively Israeli folk song
  13. Sha Shtil - A folksong
  14. Of Lo Ahavti Dai - A humorous love song
  15. Galitzianer Tantz - A virtuoso clarinet performance
  16. Lo Alecha - A quotation from Pirkei Avot

What the Chelm!

What the Chelm's first album includes selections taken from a variety of Jewish musical themes of the last one hundred years. 

Click any song to hear a sample.
(Note: You need an MP3 player application already installed on your computer.)

The Songs

  1. Erev Shel Shosahnim - Literally "Night of Roses." An Israeli folk song performed with a reggae twist
  2. Korobushka - A lively Russian couples dane
  3. Ma Navu - A lyrical Israeli song
  4. Sher - A traditional Klezmer melody
  5. Rad Halaila - A unity song
  6. Broyges Tanz - A wedding dance.
  7. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen - made popular by the Andrew Sisters, a classic of Yiddish theater
  8. Zemer Atik - An Israeli line dance
  9. Tzenah, Tzenah - A light-hearted Israeli song
  10. Miserlu - A Greek line dance
  11. Los Bilbilcos - "The Nightingales," a Ladino song of love and longing
  12. A Nakht in Gan Eydn - "A Night in the Garden of Eden." Typical Klezmer tune, circa 1926
  13. Et Dodim - a sensual middle eastern melody
  14. Lech Lamidbar - An energetic Israeli folk song
And watch this space for future releases. If you'd like to be kept up to date about future album releases, you can subscribe to our mailing list.

To Buy

What the Chelm's current albums are available on both CD and cassette tape.

  • CDs are $16 each, plus shipping
  • Tapes are $12 each, plus shipping

Shipping is automatically added to your purchase at the rate of $3 for the first CD or tape ordered, plus $1 for each additional CD or tape shipped in a single order.

Washington state residents will be charged 8.2% sales tax.

  Oy! They're Back  —  CD      $16.00 (plus shipping)
  Oy! They're Back  —  TAPE $12.00 (plus shipping)
  What the Chelm!    —  CD      $16.00 (plus shipping)
  What the Chelm!    —  TAPE  $12.00 (plus shipping)

You may also purchase albums by sending a check payable to "What the Chelm" along with a complete description of your order, to:

What the Chelm
c/o Joan Wayne
456 14th Street
Bellingham, WA 98225-6105

 

  Website created by David Cohn

 

Home Page | The Band | The Music | The Gigs | Contact Us

© copyright 2003, What the Chelm. All rights reserved.