Hard-Hitting Klezmer & Klezmer-Fusion

Tantz deliver a powerful concoction of hard hitting Klezmer and manic beats. Formed in the summer of 2010, Tantz began as 4 Leeds-based musicians all with a shared love of Klezmer music. The aim was to explore this centuries old music in an up to date and fresh way, not treating it as a shelved artefact from times gone by but as a genre that was current and new. Klezmer is both madly raucous and a hugely impassioned genre of music, and for centuries it was played in shtetls (little Jewish villages) across Eastern Europe by travelling musicians who would bring their raw musical skills and wayward ways to any village that needed music for an occasion. As a band Tantz aim to carry on this tradition, playing Klezmer music with the power and raw emotion that it deserves.

Klezmer musicians in Eastern Europe often lived a nomadic existence, learning their craft by ear from older generations and musicians around them, so Klezmer music was a constantly evolving genre. You can hear local folk, classical and romani-gypsy music in Klezmer. Tantz mix modern genres with Klezmer, treating the music as an ever growing style. Over the past three years Tantz have grown into a 6 piece band, now comprising of violin, clarinet, guitar, bass, drums/percussion and Dwayne who plays percussion/sampler and melodica.

Tantz are now one of the most prominent up and coming Klezmer bands in the UK, playing festival main stages and club nights nationwide. They have numerous tours booked for 2014, upcoming highlights including playing 'Klezmer in The Park' in Regent's Park, London, and playing gigs with Orkestra Del Sol, Sheelanagig and The John Langan Band. Past highlights include playing the main stage at Knockengorroch festival, playing packed out gigs at Bestival and being featured on BBC radio.

THE MUSICIANS

Ben Danzig (guitar) Hailing from Edinburgh, Ben left school when he was 17 and spent the next few years travelling and bumming around the world. His guitar was always by his side and at the age of 20 he decided to further his musical knowledge and went to study on the Jazz degree at Leeds College of Music. There he reinforced his love of old swing music and began playing in numerous Leeds jazz swing bands. At some point his Eastern European Jewish roots caught up with him, and memories of his grandad playing Klezmer clarinet around the house when Ben was a kid gave him the impetus to start playing the music himself.

Matt Holborn (Violin) Matt was born in Hull and moved to Scotland when he was 12. With all the distractions life has to offer a teenager, Matt didn’t take the violin seriously until his late teens when he heard Stéphane Grappelli for the first time. From then on Matt has used the violin as a means to improvise jazz and other forms of music. Learning from teachers such as Omar Puente, Jesse Bannister, Ken Mitchel, Tori Freestone at Leeds College of Music, Matt really honed his trade, showing strong musical leanings towards Gypsy Jazz, Indian and Balkan music.

Matt plays regularly up and down the country and is a fixed member of many different ensembles including Giuliano Modarelli’s ‘Kefaya’,Tantz, The Remi Harris Quartet, The Samois Film Orchestra, to name just a few. Matt has played in hundreds of different capacities, situations and venues all over the world. Some of the most notable include Festival Django Reinhardt de Samois, Edinburgh Jazz Festival and Buckingham Palace for the Royal Family. In the past Matt has performed and toured in Holland, Germany, France, Hungary, Belgium and the UK. Matt's soaring melody lines sit perfectly on Tantz's powerhouse rhythm section and are at the forefront of Tantz's sound.

Arran Kent (Clarinet) Arran grew up near Manchester and got into playing music at a young age.In the September of 2008, Arran started his studies at Leeds College of Music on the BA Jazz course under such tutors as Jim Corry, Jesse Bannister, Simon Kaylor, Jamil Sheriff and Jez Franks. Whilst studying at LCM Arran always wanted to play on a cruise ship and see the world. Securing a deal on Royal Carribean Cruises, he found himself playing along such artists as X Factors Austin Drage, the worlds greatest Xylophonist - Ian Finkel and the amazing Soul Satisfaction.Arran now spends his time gigging around the UK playing a mixture of swing, hiphop and klezmer. When not gigging he can be found meditating in his room to a healthy mixture of Gioria Feidman and German Goldenshteyn.

Pete Gavin (Bass) Pete graduated from Leeds College of Music with a BA (Hons) in Jazz Studies, majoring in performance and composition. Since completing his studies Pete has maintained an active role in the UK music scene whilst also touring countries such as The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Italy, Croatia and Greece. His interests lie in '80 funk and jazz, and since joining Tantz in 2012 he is delving deep into the world of Klezmer. His driving basslines are the fuel that power the band.

Dwayne Kilvington (percussion/melodica/sampler) Dwayne started playing keyboard when he was 9 and was self taught from the start. He started playing percussion when he was 18 but was always beatboxing and creating beats using anything he could lay his hands on. This interest in rhythm has got Dwayne playing and performing many different musical genres including Klezmer, Hip Hop and Flamenco. In his spare time Dwayne produces hip hop and electronic music under the pseudonym Wonky Logic, producing music internationally with Boom Better records and featuring on the MTV website. Dwayne's multi-instrumental talents are taken full advantage of in Tantz!

Matt Davies (drums and percussion) Matt Davies hails from the musical hub of Cheadle Hulme, South Manchester. It was in this thriving musical scene that Matt found the inspiration to start learning the drums. In 2009 he moved to Leeds to wreak havoc on the local music scene and really hone his craft. Over three years of a Jazz degree Matt realised his musical interests lay in Hip Hop, Electronic music, Balkan music and Klezmer music. When not playing in Tantz he plays regularly around the UK for bands such as Paper Tiger and the Matthew Hallsal trio.

TANTZ

Hard-Hitting Klezmer & Klezmer-Fusion

TANTZ VIDEOS