KlezCalendar

Naftule’s Dream, whose seminal recordings in the early 1990’s helped create the Radical Jewish Culture movement and jumpstart John Zorn’s Tzadik label, has not performed since 2008. They perform for the first time since then on Dec. 2, 6-8pm, at the Lily Pad (1553 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge, MA.

Naftule’s Dream has performed at major jazz festivals and venues in Europe, Canada and other major music centers in the U.S for over a decade., including the Berlin Jazz Festival, Ashkenaz in Toronto, and the Chicago World Music Festival. But they call Boston home and honed their sound in the clubs in Cambridge and Boston in the 1990s, where they attracted a loyal following.

When John Zorn started his “Radical Jewish Culture” label, Tzadik, one of the first bands he signed was Naftule’s Dream, who’s three Tzadik CDs set the standard for what new Jewish music could be. Incorporating klezmer, new jazz and rock, the band has explored the most visceral and sophisticated edges of the music, through their composition and improvisations. Because of their eclectic approach and influences, critics have compared them to Zorn’s “Naked City,” Frank Zappa, Ivo Papasov and King Crimson.

The band has strong Jewish ties, originally starting as a side project of members of Shirim Klezmer Orchestra, which has been performing in the Boston area and internationally for over twenty years. Naftule’s Dream is Glenn Dickson, clarinet; Gary Bohan, trumpet; Michael McLaughlin, accordion; Eric Rosenthal, drums; James Gray, tuba with Andrew Stern on electric guitar.