Formed: 1988

Band Members:
Bert Stratton: clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax, harmonica

Irwin Weinberger: lead vocals, guitar, mandolin, flute, alto sax

Steve Ostrow: trombone, trumpet, violin, tsimbl, classical guitar

Alan Douglass: keyboards, backup vocals, string bass, theremin,                              cello

Don Friedman: drums, percussion

Daniel Ducoff: shtickmeister

According to Phil Fink of "Shalom America," Yiddishe Cup is one of the top 10 klezmer bands in America. Klezmer means "village musician" in Yiddish. But, it has come to mean so much more. Blending Eastern European Jewish folk music, American swing, Yiddish theater tunes and Israeli horas, Yiddishe Cup creates "a delicious concoction that sounds like jazz but with 11 secret herbs and spices added."

Music editors at the "Cleveland Free Times" named Yiddishe Cup the best "ethnic/world" band in 2000. Yiddishe Cup's music can be heard in the movie "Harley Son of David" (Avner Levona, director; Canada/ USA, 2006; UK Jewish Film Festival, 2006) and The Jewish Museum's exhibit "Chagall and the Artists of the Russian Jewish Theater, 1919-1949" (New York City, 2008-09).

Yiddishe Cup has played throughout the United States at festivals, colleges and numerous Jewish gatherings. Their appearances have included the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts (New York), the Chamizal National Memorial (El Paso, Texas), Chautauqua Institution (New York),  Beloit College (Wisconsin), Boca Raton JCC (Florida), and the Kent State Folk Festival (Ohio).

Yiddishe Cup blends masterful musicianship with raucous fun. At live events their shtickmeister (klezmer dancer) gets audience members to dance along. The result is high-spirited and engaging, lighting up the stage with an eccentric mix of Yiddish music ranging from traditional to swing to conga.