The Underscore Orkestra

The Underscore Orkestra brings a stageful of surprises for its Ashkenaz debut. Blending klezmer, Balkan, gypsy jazz, and swing, the Portland-based band features guitars, violins, accordion, banjo, bass, and percussion. The Orkestra came together during long, rainy winter months in a radical self-sustaining arts collective, where the members combined music with various circus artists (juggling clowns, acrobatics, trapeze artistry, even bicycle jousting). In other words, while respecting the roots and history of the music it plays, the Underscore Orkestra is unafraid to venture into unexplored territory onstage.