My Klezmer Story     In 1990 I discovered the Jewish instrumental music tradition of Eastern Europe--Klezmer. For the next 15 years, I devoted the lion's share of my creative musical exploration and output to this ancient tradition. When I began, clarinets and violins led the Klezmer revival, leaving me with few examples on my chosen instrument, the flute. To produce the essential Klezmer expressional vocabulary, I created, and recreated, new techniques of breathing, dynamics, tonal variety, and articulation that led me to a more expansive mastery of my instrument. Under the guidance of Hankus Netsky, Abby Rabinovitz, and Brian Bender--as well as countless hours of listening to the old Masters' recordings--I began to develop my own personal Klezmer style and compose new Klezmer music.    My years with The Alaska Klezmer Band brought me closer and closer with the Jewish Community. I found myself becoming a visible exponent of a culture and religion that I had once rejected. At first, I was fascinated by the culture of my ancestors, but as my associations and my desires to understand the depths of the music grew deeper, I found myself reaching for the profound spirituality of Hasidic Judaism--in my music, and in my life.    My second Klezmer CD with Alexander Zlatkovski reflects these spiritual yearnings, with many liturgical influences and mystical allusions in the original compositions and arrangements of traditional tunes. Throughout the recording of Freylakhs for Two, I was developing my commitment to put the spiritual first in my life. At first, this meant choosing Hasidic Judaism, until my quest for truth led me to another path.    A quick glance at this website will show that I have since opened my heart to other musical and spiritual endeavors, yet choosing Klezmer music and Hasidic Judaism is what returned me to my spiritual path.            These songs without words are our discourses, our debates, our dances; our loves, jokes, brawls, laughter and tears; our manna and our madness. They are the matter of our friendship... Through these revitalized Klezmer melodies, reinvented Jewish standards, and original compositions, the piano and flute strive, splash, weave, wind, dance and cry and laugh, circling each other with voices ancient and ever new. CLICK HERE To listen to a selection Please check this page for upcoming releases of books, sheet music, instructional books, and videos. “A passionate spiritual dialogue of two musical rabbis” – that’s how audience have described The Alaska Klezmer Duo. No longer on the fringes of the old Klezmer band! Together Messrs. Bishko and Zlatkovski center-stage their instruments through fresh Jewish music at once intensely personal and profoundly traditional. BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH TANTS-A-FREYLAKHS