Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish music, including klezmer and other traditions.
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Food Improvising on Tradition, With a Vegan Backbeat
Philip Gelb learned to cook at the elbow of his Aunt Rose. The Oakland, California-based chef just came out with his first cookbook, While Gelb doesn’t like to stress this fact, the book is vegan, as is he. But that shouldn’t matter, he said. “Every culture has food that happens to be vegan, which is…
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Culture Bulletproof Stockings, World’s First All-Female Hasidic Rock Band, Gets Debut Album
They’re labeled as the world’s first all female Hasidic rock band, challenging conventions while still keeping the faith, yet alternative-rock band Bulletproof Stockings is taking more than just the Hasidic world by storm. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign and several gigs at secular venues, the group is gearing up to release their debut full length…
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Culture Can Hip Hop Heal the Holy Land?
The first episode of Vice Media’s new web series, opens with a warning: “Never make a documentary about the Arab-Israeli conflict.” The show’s host, Mike Skinner of British hip hop group The Streets, makes a fair point — however cloying. The ongoing conflict, which technically began with the creation of the State of Israel in…
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Culture Welcome to Fire Island, Fantasy of Jewish Paradise
(JTA) — It was Friday evening and the cantor, wearing a leopard-print top and gladiator sandals — including one with a with a tambourine affixed to it — greeted the congregants at Shabbat services with a smile. She encouraged them to pick up the percussion instruments left on the chairs, along with the prayer books. The…
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Opinion I’m Here To Perform Yiddish Music — Not Cater to Your Idea of Blackness
In case I’ve ever given you occasion to think otherwise, I’m black. My parents are black, and their parents (may they live to 120 years) are black as well, though they were not always so; they were previously “colored.” My three brothers happen to be black, as is basically mayn gantse mishpokhe, my whole family….
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Culture Meet the Top 11 Jewish Sellout Artists
It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock ’n’ roll, as some wise man once said; and even once you get there, you may be waiting awhile for the promised rewards to start rolling in. While there’s a long tradition of criticizing musicians for “selling out” when they release music with…
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Life The Tax Lawyer Who is Reinventing Jewish Music as Brazilian Song
“Raizes” is not exactly “My Yiddishe Samaba Mama” — but it is close. “Raizes” — Portuguese for roots — is the newest album from Nicole Borger, a woman whose background is as unique as her music: Jewish songs such as “Abi Gezunt” and “Shlof Mayn Feigele” sung to a Brazilian beat. Borger — she records…
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Opinion Help Us Find The Best New Voices in Jewish Music
I came of age with a guitar in hand. As anyone who has heard me play knows, I have scarcely progressed beyond the fundamental G-C-F notes that I taught myself in high school, as my friends and I happily wasted many hours pretending to be Carole King and Joni Mitchell, when in fact we sounded…
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News Texas schools want to add Queen Esther to the curriculum. Here’s why Jews (and many Christians) are opposed.
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