David Licht

David Licht (born 20th century in Detroit, Michigan) is a drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning American Klezmer band The Klezmatics.

David Licht
David Licht playing in a Klezmer concert in Philadelphia 2025
Background information
Born	20th century Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres	Klezmer, jazz, rock, blues, folk[1]
Occupation	Drummer
Years active	1977–present
Formerly of	In-Time, The Chadbournes, Shockabilly, Bongwater, B.A.L.L., When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water, The Klezmatics

Biography

Licht grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina and played in a local jazz group In-Time starting around 1977.^[2] In the early 1980's, he played with The Chadbournes.^[3][4] He also worked as a house painter as well as a musician.^[3][5]

In 1985, Licht moved to New York City to help manage a recording studio and joined the band Bongwater.^[1] In New York he was able to find other musicians who shared his love of klezmer music,^[6] and he helped found The Klezmatics along with Frank London, Paul Morrissett, Lorin Sklamberg, and Alicia Svigals in 1986.^[7] He also played with Shockabilly^[8] and When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water.^[9]