Moishe's Bagel, Pleasance

Where else can you listen to Jewish wedding tunes one minute and Argentinian Tango songs the next?  Moishe's Bagel play an infectious mix of musical styles with strong influences from Eastern Europe, the Jewish tradition and a side helping of North Africa, India and South America.  Throw in the jazzman's willingness to experiment and you have a five piece band that generates excitement and unpredictability.

Keyboard and accordion player Phil Alexander does most of the talking, explaining the origins of the tunes being played, whether traditional or penned by the band.  He's a joy to watch at work, full of passion and energy in his playing.  On double bass is Mario Caribe, originally from Brazil, underpinning the rhythms with his own complex melodies.  Sat cross legged on the floor, Guy Nicholson plays an eclectic mix of percussive devices with stick, brush and hand.  His his eccentric style often looks completely unrelated to the melodies, but his musical judgement is impeccable and continually enhances the overall sound.  Pete Garnett is an understated presence on piano accordion, although at first glance you do wonder when Donald Sutherland took up the instrument.  Completing the line up should have been regular fiddler Greg Lawson, but he had damaged his hand only three days before the gig.  In his stead appeared Jani Lang, from the wonderful Dallahan.

Joining the band on stage for a few South American numbers was Chilean folk singer, Valentina Montoya Martínez, a strongly sensual voice with a dramatic way of phrasing lyrics.

The band delivers a delightful mix of tempos and styles, from emotionally charged slow melodies through to wild dance music.  There is considerable complexity to the arrangements, each band member bringing a huge variety of knowledge from their respective backgrounds, which has given them their own distinctive sound.  A Moishe's Bagel gig could never be boring and the audience were enthusiastic in showing their appreciation.

A special mention is due, as Alexander and co emphasised, to Jani Lang for a truly amazing performance.  Totally unfamiliar with any of the tunes, he had only two days in which to learn enough of the band's music for a full length gig.  Lang played from the page, aided by timely visual cues from Phil and Mario, and looked mightily relieved after each number.  When the quintet returned to the stage for their encore they replayed the tunes they had played to end their first set - because they'd run out of pieces Jani had had time to learn!  And he was visibly more confident for the chance to do so.

Talking to him afterwards he said he was happy to have got through without too many mistakes, and at least they all started and finished together.  Which greatly understates what he achieved.  Fiddle frequently plays a leading role in the band's repertoire, and he fitted in brilliantly.

To round off the night, in what is the Tradfest club for the coming week, after a bit of a wait there was a set from Scottish folk fusion band Shooglenifty.  That's some double bill.