About us
The Musicians
of the Jewish Wedding Band:
The Matzoh Boys
The Matzoh Boys are a Jewish Wedding band based in London. We are a band of passionate musicians who love performing live at weddings and other Jewish events but also releasing our own music and performing at festivals and arts centers across the world. We bring this artistic flair to every event we play, often performing spontaneous mashups between contemporary and Jewish music.
We have been playing together for many years, traveling and sharing musical adventures on stages and Jewish Weddings and events in London, the UK and throughout the world. We keep the same line up for almost all our gigs, forging a genuine bond that gives us the energy, drive and love for the music you would see at a festival, club or concert venue. Above all, when we get in front of an audience at a Jewish wedding or event and our drummer counts us in, we all know what we are doing and can just focus on creating a great party!
We’ve put together a short ‘About Us’ video with all you need to know about what we do in one handy 90 second video.
MEET THE BAND
Jonny
Singer, Chazan and Band Leader
Chazan Jonny hails from Aden in Yemen, a port town on the ancient spice route where Eastern influences merge with North African Music. Whether Jonny is leading prayers in Shul or performing a pumping Israeli dance set in front of hundreds of people, Jonny’s close spiritual bond with the music he sings mixed with his world class Jazz timbre make him truly one of the leading Jewish Singers in Europe.
Favourite Jewish food: Anything with the Yemeni spice Bisbas!
Peter
Guitarist, Arranger and Band Leader
Anglo-Jewish culture runs deep within Peter. His great-grandfather was a Yiddish impresario who brought Sophie Tucker, the original “Yiddishe Mama” to the music halls of London. From these roots Peter has developed a unique voice and is in charge of producing and arranging The Matzoh Boys famous mashups, merging traditional with modern techniques.
Favourite Jewish food: Challah French Toast.
Jake
Trumpet, Backing Vocals
Jake started playing the violin aged four, learning together with his twin brother, but he quickly switched to trumpet aged six in order to play the louder instrument! He recently discovered that he is descended from a French Jewish clockmaker named Moses Solomon, which is why we think he loves Klezmer and is always on time!
Favourite Jewish food: Potato Latkes
Charlie
Piano and Tour Manager
Charlie’s family were Ashkenazi immigrants from the Polish city of Lodz who worked in the rag trade on moving to London. The old metal tailoring scissors first used by his great grandparents is a prized family possession! Charlie is also the band’s tour manager getting us all over the world with all our equipment (and us!) in one piece.
Favourite Jewish food: Salt Beef Bagel
Matheus
Bass
Matheus come from Bahia in Brazil and is the son of a pianist, he began learning music when he was only 6 years old and has played with Brazilian music stars such as Samba Divas Elza Soares and Alcione. Matheus’s specialty is adding Brazilian grooves to Israeli dance classics, which really gets the crowd on the dance floor
Favourite Jewish food: Matzoh Ball Soup
Adeola
Singer
Adeola’s family come from a very long line of Yoruba people from the South West of Nigeria, and she has a Soul and Gospel musical background. Her huge and amazing voice is matched only by her enormous smile. She’s also incredible with the crowd (which we reckon comes from being Mum to 3 small boys!)
Favourite Jewish Food: All of the desserts and a bagel to takeaway.
Lorena
Singer
Lorena grew up in Queensland before returning to London where here family were originally from to follow her dreams of becoming a singer. Lorena is not only an incredible vocalist but loves to dance, not least with the audience on the dance floor!
Favourite Jewish Food: Borekas dipped in Shakshuka
Bogdan
Violin
Born in Bucharest, and a true virtuoso, Bogdan’s family were all musicians, and he was pretty much raised backstage at the state opera house. Bogdan is one of the only fiddlers on the continent that can play Issac Perlman’s Fiddler on the Roof solo, and so fast are his fingers that one reviewer at a concert said it sounded like 2 violins playing at once!
Favourite Jewish Food: Babka
Raphael
Drums and Backing Vocals
Some bands have to use drum machines and backing tracks to get a fat sound, we simply don’t need them because we have Raphael. Born in Minas Gerais in Brazil, Raphael, or ‘The Brazilian Drum Machine’ as he is known, is one of the greatest drummers in the UK and we are very lucky to have him.
Favourite Jewish Food: Moroccan Shabbat Stew
Daniel
Singer
Daniel is quite simply the best soul singer in London. e know that’s a bold claim but it’s true!
Favourite Jewish Food: Chicken Soup
