You might say the Honorable Mentshn are today’s premiere high-energy aesthetically mid-century tinged, clarinet fronted, nostalgically-leaning, foundationally neo-traditional contemporary repertoire Klezmer ensemble based in the Southern half of Brooklyn with members scattered throughout the US. It would be hard to argue that.

Founded and fronted by clarinetist Michael Winograd, the Mentshn have been dazzling audiences near and far for years. With a sound equally at home in a 1950s wedding hall and trashy Willamsburg dive bar in 2026, their music has listeners pondering if they’ve fortuitously travelled back in time. Fear not, you are now. It’s we who are then.

Michael Winograd is one of today’s most celebrated Klezmorim. He has shared the stage with many of today’s leading performers in Jewish music including Itzhak Perlman, Frank London, Budowitz, Socalled, the Klezmer Conservatory Band and quite a few more. He was a founder of the Yiddish New York festival, and artistic director of KlezKanada from 2017-2021. He is a frequent collaborator with Vulfpeck, having shared the stage with them at Madison Square Garden and the Bonorroo Festival. Recently he was a featured soloist with the 8-bit big band, finally giving classic video-game music the klezmer treatment it always deserved. He is a member of Klez Hall and Yiddishe Pirat. He spent much of the last two years in the cast of Cabaret at the KitKat Club on Broadway.

Along with his honorable colleagues, Michael recently released his long awaited album “TANZ! Live in NYC,” a magical live performance of the classic 1956 album TANZ!, bringing the sounds of Sam Musiker and Dave Tarras to life in a concert setting. (Many thanks to Ashkenaz Festival and Eric Stein for supporting this project!) In 2026 Michael accomplished what many said was impossible and unnecessary … releasing “101 Nice Klezmer Melodies,” a 5 ½ hour album of new original Klezmer music composed in less than three months. The motivation for this has yet to be ascertained.

The Honorable Mentshn are thrilled to be returning to Toronto for the Ashkenaz festival. Winograd is joined by Dan Blacksberg (trombone,) Ira Temple (accordion,) Shoko Nagai (piano,) Zoe Guigueno (bass,) and the pride of New Jersey, David Licht (drums,) along with top-secret special guests for what’s sure to be a very enjoyable evening. Such a Mekhaye, you don’t want to miss!