Black Ox Orkestar

Black Ox Orkestar began playing in a Montreal living room in the summer of 2000, the project of four musicians exploring their Jewish roots through music. Thierry Amar, Scott Gilmore, Gabriel Levine, and Jessica Moss came from years of playing out-jazz and avant-folk in the vibrant Montreal post-punk scene.

Black Ox Orkestar enjoyed seven years of intense activity, working with many collaborators and performing regularly. The band released two albums on Montreal indie label Constellation: Ver Tanzt? (2004) and Nisht Azoy (2006). They played their final show in late 2006, before separating geographically to pursue other paths.

Following a 15-year hiatus, the four musicians reunited in the pandemic summer of 2020, impelled by an invitation by a journalist from left-leaning magazine Jewish Currents to be the subject of a feature article introducing this groundbreaking band to a new generation of listeners. The band reconvened at first in friendship and conversation, which soon evolved into a desire to tap back into the musical chemistry they’d each dearly missed.

The new album Everything Returns, which picks up right where they left off a decade-and-a-half ago: an entrancing collection of roiling interpretations of Jewish diasporic instrumentals combined with brooding vocal-driven originals (sung primarily in Yiddish) showcasing their unique sound and sensibility—offering a distinctive take and timbre within the contemporary landscape of Jewish, Yiddish and klezmer music.