Jutta & the Hi-Dukes (tm)

We offer programs that are a potpourri of styles (including Balkan, Gypsy, Klezmer and Sephardic, Greek, Scandinavian, French, German, Dixieland, and older acoustic American pop songs) as well as genre/culture-specific programs in any of the above-mentioned styles. This is possible because we have over 400 pieces in our repertoire.

Want an all-Greek program? We can do it.

All-Jewish program? Our sister band - the Ensemble M'chaiya (tm) - started the Klezmer revival in Chicagoland and plays enough songs sung in Ladino to consider itself a Sephardic band.

Long for French-Canadian? Très bien, merci!

Need a unique look at German music? We offer a program that ranges from Medieval folk to your fav Oktoberfest songs.

And for a truly fresh look at American pop music, our approach to the Golden Era of Pop is acoustic, energetic, and unique. (When is the last time you heard Dixieland played on a Bulgarian flute?)

In all styles, when the situation permits it, we love to teach/lead the audience through the traditional line and circle dances that fit the music. This is a fantastic way to break the ice at a party as well as to build a solid sense of community at a corporate team building event.

Instrumentation is as varied as the repertoire is. The core duet plays Mandolin, Violin, Bulgarian Flute, Guitar, Ocarina, and various types of percussion as well as two singing voices. Band size can be as large as six pieces upon request.

With thirty years of experience playing in almost every type of event (ranging from major festival stages to funerals and from school workshops to backing live theater performances) we understand how to be flexible and responsive.

Whether you want background music for an intimate dinner party or exciting dance music, our approach to sound is to keep it so our listeners have the impression that we are un-amplified. We would rather be asked to turn up than the converse!

So, if you are seeking something specific, give us a call! We will be delighted to explore with you the many options that we offer and make your event unique, fun, and memorable.

Founded in 1990, the band tours internationally and is a recording artist on the Earwig Music Company record label.

The same group of musicians perform under a range of band names, each depending upon the style of music presented. In addition to Jutta & the Hi-Dukes, the names include: Ensemble M'chaiya (tm) - Chicagoland's first revival Klezmer band, founded in 1983; Terran's Greek Band (tm); Nordland Band (tm) - Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish; Les Beaux Chemins (tm) - French and French Canadian; Die Chicago Stadtmusikanten - German; and Razzemetazz (tm) - Big Band Swing songs and other American styles in a small band setting.

Notable performances include: Canada - Winnipeg Folk Festival and Windsong Festival; America - Taste of Chicago, Illinois State Fair, Shawano Folk Festival, Bliss Fest, and Spirit of the Woods Festival.

Of special interest, we have been invited three times to participate in an annual week-long conference in Bucharest, Romania for folks with disabilities as well as doing workshops and mini-residencies at a school for the Roma (Gypsy) population of Roshia, a small Transylvania town in Romania.

Please note that all of the above-named bands evolved out of the award-winning Balkan Rhythm Band (tm), a Flying Fish record label recording group.

In most performance settings, the band brings its own sound system, appropriate to the size of the performance space.

The floor space we need varies upon band size and ranges roughly from eight feet wide and six feet deep to twenty feet wide and ten feet deep. Properly grounded three-prong 110 Volt power must be available on or near that space.

In almost every type of performance (obviously excluding festival stages), we prefer being on the same level as the audience whenever possible.

For festivals and other multi-band performance settings where a sound system is provided to all the acts, our tech needs will vary depending upon the number of musicians you request.

For a duet, we need at least two boom arm, tripod microphone stands, four microphones (we provide clip-on mike holders for two of the mics), and three line-level inputs as well as properly grounded three-prong 110 V power. At least one monitor speaker should be available.

For each additional requested musician, we typically need one to two microphones with stands as well as a line-level input.

A tech / stage layout sheet is available upon request.

When we bring our own sound system, we need a minimum of 60 minutes to set up / sound check and we prefer 90 to 120 minutes, especially when the band size is larger than a duet.

When a venue provides a sound system and sound engineer, with six instruments/mics to address, the duet realistically needs a minimum of ten to fifteen minutes to get set on stage and do a line-level check of each instrument.

We always prefer lighting that permits us to easily see our audience.