Hassidic nigunim(melodies) have grown out of the mystical movement created two centuries ago in the Carpathian Mountains by the great Baal Shem Tov. They range from spirited dance tunes to meditative tunes of mystical union, and are one of the most powerful and original bodies of Jewish music.

Klezmer music is the laughing, crying, wailing, heartfelt instrumental music of Eastern European Jewish life. Sometimes erroneously described as "Jewish Jazz," it is essentially ethnic functional music, each musical form being connected to one part or another of the traditional Jewish wedding. Having developed over many centuries, it incorporates influences from synagogue chant and from Romanian, Hungarian, Slavic and Middle Eastern music. All of the elements were slowly absorbed, changed and worked into a mix which expressed the rhythms and emotions of Jewish life (quite distinct from the lifestyles around it.)

Naturally the influencing went both ways, as Jewish musicians (klezmorim) frequently played at non-Jewish events. In America, Jewish immigrants picked up some of the rhythms and harmonies of American pop music of the teens and twenties as well. At the heart of this rich musical stew is the spiritual yearning of the Jewish soul, in its many moods.

Fishel Bresler and Shelley Katsh, with or without a larger ensemble, have become known over nearly two decades for their passionate yet sensitive playing. As Fishel says, "This is inspirational music - you have to play it from your kishkes (innards) and from your heart." The duo nonetheless makes humor and high spirits an integral part of every presentation, and draws in audiences of all types and ages. Fishel (clarinet, flute, mandolin) has studied Klezmer clarinet and mandolin with the contemporary master, Andy Statman, over the course of more than a decade. This study was partially supported by grants from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and the New England Foundation for the Arts. Mr. Bresler was also a Master Artist in a Klezmer apprenticeship supported by NEFA. In 1997 he replaced an ailing Andy Statman on the first half of a national tour with noted mandolinist David Grisman. He has also played bluegrass, classical and country-rock music, as well as performing as a vaudevillian and storyteller. Currently he also works doing therapeutic music with multiply-handicapped children, and teaches both children & adults in several area schools and programs.