Recorded at New Orleans’ Happyland Theater in November 2023, without isolation booths or overdubs, Tipishfeatures a stunningly wide range of music, all of it as evocative and passionate as it is irreverent and playful. From the woozy, blues-laced title track to the grunge-metal rocker that plays out like a symphonic suite (“Conference of the Jews”) to the circle dance-inspired tunes that flip the script on Romanian horas in search of hard-swinging post-bop, this gorgeously wrought program documents the top of this ensemble’s 30-year game. And whether they’re taking on a Holocaust-era lullabye (the haunting “Dos Einte Kind/ The Lonely Child”) or paying tribute to Fela Kuti (“King Fela’s Chicken Soup”), that game is filtered through the unique New Orleans aesthetic these musicians live and breathe.

Nick Ellman – clarinet

Aurora Nealand – alto sax

Ben Ellman – tenor sax

Dan Oestreicher – baritone sax

Jonathan Freilich – guitar

Glenn Hartman – accordion

Joe Cabral – electric bass

Doug Garrison – drums