ALBUM EPK:
MAZEL TOV COCKTAIL PARTY
The album and touring project Mazel Tov Cocktail Party were conceived and created by David Krakauer and producer Kathleen Tagg as a “good vibes explosion” in response to the current climate of incredible polarization and negativity that pervades our daily lives.
Along with Krakauer and Tagg, the album showcases a brand new line-up consisting of an incredibly high-octane group of world class musicians: Clarinet wizard Krakauer is the Godfather to Tagg’s quirky keys and production, Iranian dynamo and multi-talent Martin Shamanpoor’s drumming, jazz guru Jerome Harris’ virtuosic bass, sultry soul singer/rapper Sarah MK’s voice and words & oud/guitar-meister Yoshie Fruchter’s lines.
Polka, Square Dance and the Hora never sounded this way before, with electro beats, acoustic middle Eastern hand drums, deep grooves and lyrics that call for space for all. Krakauer’s waili
Artist Statement from David Krakauer & producer Kathleen Tagg:
Looking at the crushing negativity in the world today, we felt compelled at this point to put forward a musical celebration of our shared humanity. This project riffs off a slip of the tongue by a conservative pundit who called Molotov Cocktails “Mazel Tov” Cocktails. We were tickled by the imagery of a “Mazel Tov Cocktail” lighting up the world with hope and joy- instead of being a destructive force. This is summed up by the lyrics of the title track of the album: “Get unplugged, Stop being Afraid. Look Your neighbor in the eye, and wish ‘em well. And raise a glass of a sizzling brew. To light up the world and make things new”
As we thought more about it, we imagined that a musical project could be a fun party that would have the potential to be used as a catalyst to encourage and support people to do good things in the world. We wanted to take traditional, old dance forms and completely recast them to bring an overt message of tolerance and celebration of our shared humanity.