Seth began his career as a full-time professional
musician in 1996, when he moved to the Washington/Baltimore area following his
graduation from Cornell University with a double major in Music and American
Studies. Since that time, he has
been in demand as a sideman and as a bandleader performing in such diverse
genres as jazz, rock, blues, swing, klezmer, dixieland, and classical music.
Seth began his professional klezmer career in 1993
with Cayuga
Klezmer Revival, upstate New York’s premier klezmer band. Their CD, Klezmology,
is still sold nationally. Seth is
currently the leader, clarinetist, and composer for The
Alexandria Kleztet, an “alternative” klezmer band he founded in the
Baltimore/Washington area. The
band’s three albums, Y2Klezmer
(1999), Delusions
of Klezmer (2002), and Close
Enough for Klezmer (2005) are all available internationally.
All three albums received the Washington Area Music
Association’s (WAMA) award for Best World Music Recording following their release.
In addition to his activities with the Kleztet,
Seth has fronted a variety of swing and jazz groups, including Corner Pocket,
Air Mail
Special, The Bay Jazz Project, and Seth Kibel’s Dixieland
All-Stars. In 2002, he was
commissioned to write, perform, and record an original score for Dreams
in the Golden Country, an original theatrical production at the Kennedy
Center in Washington, DC.
Seth has performed with such notables as
Sam Moore (Sam & Dave), Percy Sledge, The Coasters, and
Johnnie Johnson. Additionally, he
has appeared with many notable groups in the Baltimore/Washington area,
including The
Daryl Davis Band, Project Natale, Christian
Josi, The Tom Cunningham
Orchestra, The VanDangos,
and
The Hot Kugel Klezmer Band, just to name a few.
He has performed at the
Kennedy Center, the Carter Barron Amphitheatre,
the Lowell Folk Festival in Lowell, Massachusetts, as well as on several
European tours.
Seth can be heard on recent CD releases by the Skyla Burrell Blues Band, the Swing States Road Show, folksinger John Simon, The Civil Air Patrol Band, American Song, The Hot Kugel Klezmer Band, guitarist David Kitchen, boogie-woogie pianist Daryl Davis, blues guitarist Eugene “Hideaway” Bridges, jazz vocalist Esther Haynes, and flamenco guitarist Gerard Moreno.
Since 2002, he has been on the faculty of the ElderHostel program at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. He has also lectured extensively on klezmer, jazz, swing, the big band era, and other related musical topics at Peabody, Goucher College, and elsewhere.
Seth's
primary instruments are the clarinet, saxophone (alto, tenor, and baritone), and
flute. He has, however, been known to make some noise on harmonica,
recorder, guitar, piano, and accordion.
In his eight years as a professional
musician, Seth has performed for numerous private affairs, such as receptions,
weddings, and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, all across the country. Whatever
your affair, Seth will work with you to put together the right ensemble.
References available upon request.