Jack Stratton, musician and Cleveland Heights native, comes home with a new klezmer band

If you're a rock star who's played all across the country on some of the biggest festival stages, and sold out concerts at venues as big as Madison Square Garden -  the logical next move would be playing traditional Jewish folk music, right?

Well that's just what Cleveland Heights native Jack Stratton is doing at this moment in his career.

Stratton is a multi-instrumentalist and founder of the band Vulfpeck - a collective that melds funk, soul, fusion, and disco - and has gained a rabid following in the past decade.

The band garnered national attention after taking Spotify for a ride with an album of silence that earned them $20,000, they have crowd funded album releases through viral social media postings, and collaborated with world renowned musicians from many genres.

But now Stratton is going back to his roots, revisiting the klezmer music he grew up playing with his father Bert Stratton across Northeast Ohio. He'll be appearing at Cain Park this Sunday, for a free performance with his new klezmer group Yiddish Pirate with Josh Dolgin, and Michael Winograd.

Sound of Ideas Producer Drew Maziasz caught up with Stratton last week to discuss his appreciation for klezmer, his time with Vulfpeck, and coming back to Northeast Ohio.

- Jack Stratton, musician, Vulfpeck and Yiddishe Pirat

- Drew Maziasz, Producer, Ideastream Public Media