Yosl Kurland, vocalist for the Wholesale Klezmer Band, delivers his songs in an expansive current of emotional depth and mellifluous tones. He is a latecomer to the language he usually sings in, Yiddish, but he is a big fan of it: "A single Yiddish word in a story or song can paint a whole picture within a picture because of the layers of meanings attached to it."
With his band, he's performed at Carnegie Hall and for the inauguration of Bill Clinton. This week, he shares songs and stories at the Pioneer Valley Folklore Society Song and Story Swap.
Feb. 7, 7 p.m., The Nacul Center, 592 Main St., Amherst, (413) 256-8025, www.filbert.com/pvfs or www.nacul.com.
