Vocalist Lorin Sklamberg and Klezmatics founder and trumpeter Frank London come together for Tsuker-zis, released on Tzadik Records. Translated into English, the title means “sugar sweet.” The recording earmarks music steep in history from the Eastern European motifs of “Blessing Without End” to the glassy melodic wavelets of “A Sukkah Of Branches” and the Yiddish-tempered spins and vaunting rhythms of “Our Life Is Sugar Sweet.” The duo blends traditional Middle Eastern phrases with Yiddish-folk tones and noir-soul brushstrokes in their verses. This mixture heaves with emotion in “Our Parent, Our Sovereign” as Sklamberg’s vocals lantern a meditative glare moving like a ghost around the colonnade of silk-draped horns. The upbeat tempo of “Increase Our Joy” has a gypsy beating with horns dribbling merrily along the buoyant slopes, shifting into a folksy gossamer quilting the guitar-laden “Heed Not The Accuser” seamed in exotic percussive beats.

Joining London and Sklamberg are guitarist Knox Chandler and Indian percussionist Deep Singh who bring out wonderful flavors in the music. The plush guitar strings of ‘The Lord Sent His Servant” tingle with a Spanish sonorous, and the sitar-tinged strings of the oud, played by Ara Dinkjian, floating in and out of “Elijah The Prophet Bought A Red Cow” are by mantel by Sklamberg’s emotive vocal streaks. The accordion-soaked keys of “Greeks Gathered Against Me” are jubilant as London’s trumpet wails with the happiness of Mardi Gras in its tubes. The Middle Eastern accents of “Mighty, Blessed…” have a celebratory spree that is positively-charged, and the blossoming buds of “One, Two, Three, Four” have a prayer-like lift as Sklamberg’s vocals soar through the plumage of roulette-spinning synths, Middle Eastern-textured guitar strings and wavy trumpet flutters.

The group reveals in the liner notes that Tsuker-Zis is consisted mostly of Hasidic holiday songs based in dance and traditional folk music. The songs take excerpts from music tied to Jewish heritage and Zion’s ancient roots. They speak volumes of the Israeli-Middle Eastern-Eastern European cultures with music that has characterized this portion of the world for hundreds of thousands of years. London and company met back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s when each one performed in the local clubs that sprinkle the Lower East Side of New York City. They have made an album fraught with history and knowledge of emotions that resonate intensely in humans.