The band’s repertoire ranges from beautiful and evocative slow tunes to uptempo dances (perfect for the Hora!) and thus can be tailored to suit the needs of your simcha or function.
Chutzpah! is made up of four skilled musicians of diverse backgrounds united by their love of playing traditional klezmer music.
Maria Custudio leads Chutzpah’s klezmer charge from behind her clarinet. Although originally classically trained, Maria was inspired to pursue ethnic musics while completing a music degree, and has completed an honours project on Greek clarinet playing. She has studied traditional musics in Australia with Risto Todoroski, Kim Poole, Sabahattin Akdagcik and Michael Mavrakis, and has studied in Greece under Nikos Phillipithis. She has also been a member of the folk bands Continental Drift, Fasil Istanbul, Baklava, and Hide ‘n’ Cheek. In addition to clarinet, Maria also plays soprano saxophone, klarino (Greek Albert system clarinet), klarnet (Turkish Albert system clarinet in G), and the hammered dulcimer.
Alan Duri stokes Chutzpah’s rhythm section engine room on banjo, tenor guitar, and mandolin. Originally from a jazz background, Alan has been a regular member of the Michael Bird Trio, the Harbourd Diggers Big Band, and Big Dino Swing. He has also performed with the Jimmy Shore’s Big Band, the Café Society Orchestra and the Roger James Band. Whether he is belting out furious offbeats, mandolin tremolos or a banjo solo, Alan’s playing adds a distinctive edge to Chutzpah’s sound.
Philippe Wittner lends Chutzpah! his virtuosic piano-accordion playing, and occasionally even his unique vocal stylings. Having performed world music solo and in bands in Australia and overseas, Philippe has been a member of groups including Mukka, Monseuir Camembert, Kush Cabaret and Arabesk. Philippe’s playing is beautiful as well as spontaneous, adding a great elasticity to Chutzpah’s arrangements.
David Abkiewicz keeps the band grounded with his solid 5-1 tuba basslines. From a brass band and classical background, David performed with numerous concert and jazz ensembles throughout high school. He is currently a member of rock’n’roll band Regicide, A Grade band the City of Holroyd Brass, and is a regular stalwart of various Macquarie University musical and revue bands.
