Julie and The Red Hot Chachkas, a Klezmer band, blend jazz, classical and klezmer to sing and swing audiences all over the Bay Area.
Julie Egger has played the violin since the age of seven. She received a BA in Music Education from Crane School of Music where she studied with the Carnegie String Quartet and Ruth Iogha. Julie lived in Boston for nine years where she performed classical, jazz and liturgical music. She currently performs with The Red Hot Chachkas and Finif, both Klezmer and Jewish music bands; an Improvisation group the Fogbow Trio; and freelances as a recording artist. She resides in West Marin.
Michael Arrow has played and taught drums and percussion in Marin County for many diverse groups and organizations. He has performed with the late jazz great Larry Vanuchi, Marin Symphony, Sausalito Jazz Trio, the jazz group “As Is,” and the College of Marin Orchestra. He has recorded with Christopher Smith, Frankie Madrid and Sam Andrew from Big Brother and the Holding Company. He also freelances with jazz and blues groups.
Laurie Lippin has been playing accordion since the age of 12. She is based in Sonoma and currently plays with Limonim, a Santa Rosa band, and the Red Hot Chachkas, both Klezmer bands. She also played with The Westwind International Folk Ensemble on several recordings. “Klezmer music,” she says, “is bringing me home to my Eastern European oneness.”
Tony Phillips has been playing mandolin since receiving one as a gift to hang on his wall in 1983. He has performed with numerous Bay Area bluegrass bands, including Country Line, Gold Coast, and Hayfever, and has taught bluegrass mandolin at the Fifth String Music Store in Berkeley for several years. He also plays music from diverse international origins as part of a mandolin and guitar trio called “The Mandorian Candidates.” He is currently a beginning fiddler.
Paul Alexander began playing clarinet at the age of 10. He studied with Leon Russianoff Roger Hiller of the New York Metropolitan Opera Company and Dave Newman of the San Francisco Symphony. He played bass clarinet with the Santa Rosa Symphony, was a member of the Carnelian Woodwind Quintet and the Quintessential Winds. He began playing Klezmer music about 15 years ago when he was invited to join Limonim by their clarinetist Dick Gunderfinger. Paul is delighted to have recently joined The Red Hot Chachkas.
