Author Archive
Growing up in Liverpool, England, in the 1980s, Roger Bennett was not a traditional Jew. In his adolescence he was as likely to be found on Saturday mornings at soccer games as at synagogue, and had a bar mitzvah immediately followed by a punk-rock theme party.
But while he was being introduced to A Flock …
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A new book documents American Jewish history in an unusual way — through vinyl album covers.
Authors Roger Bennett and Josh Kun wrote And You Shall Know Us By The Trail Of Our Vinyl, which details Jewish vinyl album covers they have collected over the years. Jewish, in these terms, includes everything from the prolific …
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Fresh Air’s jazz critic reviews a new reissue of Folk Songs for Far Out Folk, an obscure but iconic 1958 album created by jazz cellist Fred Katz — a student of classical giant Pablo Casals and a player in Chico Hamilton’s legendary ’50s quintet.
Click here to read the entire article.…
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Sacha Baron Cohen, meet Irving Berlin.
Jokes that compare Jews to cockroaches have left some viewers of Mr. Cohen’s farcical new film, ”Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
But probably few of those shocked by the movie realize that long before Mr. Cohen shed …
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In 1973, Gershon Kingsley was invited to perform at a convention of cantors at Grossinger’s, the Catskills retreat for midcentury Jews of a certain station. Mr. Kingsley, a pioneer of the Moog synthesizer, listened as the cantors lamented the increasing commercialization of Jewish music and the creeping influence of rock ‘n’ roll. And then, with …
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