There could be no better timing for a performance by the Klezmatics than the day after seder night (the first night of Pesach, Saturday April 23). The New York ensemble, which specializes in Eastern European Jewish music, will be playing on Sunday evening at 8:30 P.M. and 10:30 P.M. at the Enav Cultural Center in Tel Aviv.

A few weeks ago the Klezmatics released a new CD with arrangements of songs such as "Ki Lo Naeh," "Eliyahu Hanavi" and the gospel-type title track, "Brother Moses Smote the Water," starring African-American Jewish singer Joshua Nelson. The new CD makes it clear that the Klezmatics are an excellent performance band and it is reasonable to assume that the special timing and the fact that the concert is being held in Israel will only intensify the energies of the musicians.

The Klezmatics, who have been around for almost 20 years, play merry, refreshing versions of traditional klezmer music - "music for the head, the heart and the behind," is how one critic described it. The band's members - singer and accordion player Lorin Sklamberg, trumpeter Frank London, drummer David Licht, bassist Paul Morrissett, clarinetist Matt Darriau and violinist Lisa Gutkin - have deeply researched Eastern European Jewish music. Still, they have a very non-purist approach and focus on the shared elements of that music and other music worlds, including Balkan music, African-American soul music and even American folk and country music.

The Klezmatics often collaborate with other musicians, mainly Jewish, and have played with violinist Yitzhak Perlman, Algerian pianist Maurice el Medioni and Israeli singer Hava Alberstein. Sunday's concert at the Enav Center will not feature any guest performances, but the three other concerts in Israel (two at Tel Aviv's Zappa club and one at the Dead Sea Love Festival) will host Ehud Banai and Yossi Babliki.