Bob Cohen
(violin, mandolin, koboz, cumbus, flutes, Carpathian drum, vocals). Born in New York City into a Yiddish-speaking family, Bob came to Hungary in 1988 to research the traditional Jewish musical repertoire of the Carpathian region. Bob formed Di Naye Kapelye to present Carpathian klezmer music in its most authentic form. A member of the Jewish Music Research Center at Budapest's ELTE University, Bob has done extensive field research in klezmer and Yiddish music in Eastern Europe, the United States, and Israel. A founding member of the Budapester Klezmer Band, Bob has also performed and toured with Budowitz. He has served as musical consultant for numerous productions and has arranged music for theater and film, most notably the work of Miklos Jancso and the film "Jacob the Liar". (Photo: Andrzej Kramarz)

Yankl Falk
(clarinet, vocals) performs with Di Naye Kapelye on most European tours. A traditional Jewish cantor and clarinetist from Portland, Oregon, Yankl first came to Budapest as music director for a production of the classic Yiddish play "Dybbuk." Yankl is recognized for his soulful interpretations of Yiddish song and Hasidic chant. Yankl "belts out Hasidic liturgical melodies with the gravely punch of a Big Jay McShann" (Lev Liberman, The Jewish Review). His singing "returns us to a time when the power of the voice could tell a story and move an audience" (Ari Davidow, Klezmer Shack). Yankl has toured extensively throughout Europe and North America, working with such groups as Oomph! and Don Byron's Music of Mickey Katz. For over 30 years, Yankl has produced the Sunday morning Yiddish Hour on KBOO-FM in Portland. (Photo: Andrzej Kramarz)

Ferenc Pribojszki
(cimbalom, Carpathian drum). Former cimbalomist of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, and member of the Bekes Band, Feri is a well-known musician in the Budapest “tanchaz” scene. He also plays Moldavian flutes and harmonica. (Photo: Andrzej Kramarz)

Gyula Kozma
(bass and koboz). Former member of the Okros band and the Csiky Band, “Kosztya” has played three-string Hungarian folk bass for decades in the “tanchaz” movement in Hungary. Kosztya's other musical interests include American blues and koboz - an archaic Romanian fretless lute. (Photo: Andrzej Kramarz)

Antal Fekete
(kontra), also known as “Puma”, was born in Gyula, Bekes County, in the “stormy corner” of the southern Hungarian Plains. Originally a dancer, he began playing the three-stringed Transylvanian “kontra” viola in the 1970s, and soon became one of the instrument’s undisputed masters. While a member of the Hungarian traditional band “Ujstilus”, Puma also carried out extensive field research and recording of older master musicians in Transylvania. He is also the most sought-after maker of kontras – if you're interested in purchasing one, email us. (Photo: Fumie Suzuki)