What/Who is a Kugelplex?
Kugelplex is the West Coast's rockin'-est purveyor of klezmer and old-world party music. Formed in 2001, the group plays wild, soulful dance music at weddings, concerts and festivals throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Recent highlights from 2008 include leading the Oakland Symphony and the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir in an epic 150-musician niggun at the Paramount Theater and our shtetl-blasting 15-piece collaboration with Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Frank London (founder of the Klezmatics) at Cafe Du Nord.

For weddings, Kugelplex can act as expert ritual facilitators, helping plan your event every step of the way. From tish to toasts, the group plays in a variety of configurations and styles -- chamber music, cocktail jazz, wild dancing, beautiful horas, dance instruction, DJing...


Jason Ditzian (clarinet/business manager) is a wind instrumentalist who performs on single reeds, double reeds, flutes, and jews harps. He has composed and performed numerous works for dance, movie and theater. Recent highlights include performing in Moscow with Jewlia Eisenberg's Charming Hostess; recording with Dan Cantrell for the Misadventures of Flapjack, on Cartoon Network; playing bari sax at the Jewish Music festival with his soul band Lord Loves a Working Man, helping to found and produce two new festivals in 2008: Hornucopia and the International Body Music Festival; receiving many grants in 2008 (CWF, SFAC OPG, CEC Artslink). Jason runs the business/booking side of Kugelplex.

Dan Cantrell (accordion/saw) has been focused on the study of folk and popular music from Eastern Europe, as well as composing for film dance, and theatre. He has composed music for over thirty films, several plays, a variety of dance pieces and other eclectic performance events, winning an Emmy for his work on 2002's KQED documentary Home Front. Dan's extensive group of collaborators includes recording with Tom Waits and touring with Joanna Newsom. His current work includes composing and recording (with Jason Ditzian) the soundtrack for Cartoon Network's Misadventures of Flapjack

David Rosenfeld (mandolin/violin/badchan) is a multi-instrumentalist, ethnomusicologist, poet, dancer, visual artist, composer and creator of performance. Having completed a BA in studio art at UC Davis and an MA in music composition at Mills College, David is now following a carefully planned-out career as a spontaneous improviser. He has accompanied hundreds of dance classes on guitar, piano, and percussion, and is an experienced leader of klezmer dancing.

Marguerite Ostro (violin/vocals) is a free-lance recording artist, performer, and music teacher in the Bay Area, Marguerite has recorded for Zion-I, MC Rai, Stewart Copland's Groove Addicts Studios, Pete Sears, and the PickPocket Ensemble, toured in France, Holland, Egypt, and the States, and performs regularly for Alice Waters and the Chez Panisse Foundation. She also holds a bachelor's in music and french from UC Berkeley.

Eugene Warren (bass) is the busiest man in Bay Area jazz, playing with countless groups and top musicians. He has studied both Jazz and Classical Bass at UCSF.

Michael Pinkham (percussion) is our new drummer!

Jewlia Eisenberg (vocals/lay cantor) read more about her here.


Kugelplexus Emeritus:

Aaron Kierbel (percussion) currently tours mostly full time with Rupa and the April Fishes and plays with a lots of other bands too like theremin lounge group Project Pimento, Charming Hostess, and The Gonifs.

Aharon Weels Bholsta (percussion) Whether playing Klezmer, Indian music, jazz, funk, West African poly-rhythm, Balkan meters, or various Middle Eastern rhythmic traditions, Aharon’s drumming contributes spice and melody to the role of time-keeper.

Isabel Douglass (accordion) performs in a variety of styles including tango, French musette, Balkan dance styles, klezmer, early jazz, and experimental music. She is currently touring the world with Rupa and Eric McFadden.

Rob Reich (accordion) Since receiving his composition degree from the Oberlin Conservatory, Rob’s main squeeze has been the accordion. He also plays accordion with Gaucho, electric organ for Lord Loves a Working Man, and guitar for punk outfit, the Trifles.