George Dansker announces Harold Rome lecture on 60th anniversary of ‘I Can Get It For You Wholesale’

June 03, 2022

George Dansker, a noted lecturer and musical theatre expert, who has held a Jewish Composer Lecture series at Touro Synagogue on Broadway luminaries for the past decade, is holding a lecture-concert on Friday, June 17, to usher in summer.

Dansker,...

2022 Grammys: Zelensky’s video address and other Jewish moments

April 04, 2022

By SHIRA HANAU

(JTA) — While the Oscars had a moment of silence for Ukraine and various onscreen messages, Sunday night’s Grammy Awards went further — with a video address from Ukraine’s Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

“What is more opposite...

A new record label from this 27-year-old Brooklynite celebrates Jewish music

February 04, 2022

By JULIA GERGELY

(New York Jewish Week via JTA) – Steadfast listeners of “Borscht Beat” — a weekly FM radio show featuring Jewish music, old and new — will be thrilled to hear of host Aaron Bendich’s latest project: a...

Nissim Black and Kosha Dillz, Jewish hip-hop royalty, remix Adam Sandler’s ‘Chanukah song’ on the streets of New York

November 29, 2021

By PHILISSA CRAMER

(JTA) — Two leading Jewish hip-hop artists have adapted Adam Sandler’s 1995 breakout hit, “The Chanukah Song,” for the present moment.

Nissim Black and Kosha Dillz dropped the video for “The Hanukkah Song 2.0” just before the...

2022 Grammy Awards: The Jewish nominees, from Doja Cat to Drake to an Israeli cellist

November 24, 2021

By SHIRA HANAU

(JTA) — Some of the music industry’s most popular Jewish artists were included in the 2022 Grammy Award nominations unveiled on Tuesday.

Here’s a roundup:

Doja Cat, a Black and Jewish pop star-rapper hybrid who has become...

Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ Jewish manager, to be honored with a statue in Liverpool

November 08, 2021

By SHIRA HANAU

(JTA) — The Beatles’ Jewish manager who was credited with ushering the band to global fame and success will be memorialized with a statue in Liverpool, according to the BBC.

Brian Epstein, born on Yom Kippur to...

Jay Black of ‘Jay and The Americans’ dies at 82

October 26, 2021

By RON KAMPEAS

(JTA) — When Jay Black wanted The New York Times to understand that he was a hell-raiser, he said he was thrown out of New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn.

When he made the same point to...

Daveed Diggs, Rachel Bloom, Sue Bird and more: The Almas award 5781’s top Jewish pop culture contributors

September 10, 2021

By GABE FRIEDMAN

(JTA) — It’s not just the High Holidays, the time of year when Jews reflect on their past year and atone for their sins. For the third time now, it’s also time to appreciate the Jewish moments...

Ezra Furman has sung about God in her indie rock. Now she’s going to rabbinical school.

September 01, 2021

By ELLA ROCKART

(JTA) — “How would I describe myself?” Ezra Furman said wryly, tearing a corner off of her slice of pizza in a shop in Somerville, Mass. “I try to avoid it.” 

There’s certainly a lot to cover....

Barbra Streisand sets another record: A top 20 album in every decade since the 1960s

August 22, 2021

(JTA) — Barbra Streisand has become the only woman to record a top 20 album on the Billboard charts in every decade from the 1960s to the 2020s.

The only other person to achieve that feat is Bob Dylan.

Streisand’s...