The Jewish Monkeys are masters of identity play, knights of the absurd, musicians and comedians, who deliver an exhilarating show. They love breaking ethnic and religious taboos, combined with liberating salvos of satire. Their neo-Yiddish sound fusion swings between cirque-like chanson and energetically punk-driven pop, while the language alternates between English and Yiddish. They rarely fail to get people on their feet, dancing: from Syrian refugees in a Dresden transit camp to anti-Pegida protesters the next day. Or from culturally savvy music lovers in German, Czech or French clubs and concert halls, as well as to to hipsters in London or Tel Aviv. And now they’re touring with their latest album.
They don’t make jokes at the expense of others. Instead, they follow in the great tradition of Jewish comedians who mastered the fine art of self-effacing humour. As such, they are reminiscent of the Marx Brothers and their brand of wacky, illogical subversiveness and in-your-face absurdity. German radio station Deutschlandfunk presented them as “A Sense of Nonsense: Anarcho-Klezmer Band Jewish Monkeys!” They follow the path of American-Jewish entertainers like Mel Brooks, Jerry Lewis or Woody Allen, or in the next generation Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, who are role-models for the Jewish Monkeys.