Forward.com

‘Rabbi’ of RumbaBefore the Hip Hop Hoodios or the long-defunct Tijuana Brass added Latin rhythms to Yiddishe melodies, there was Irving Fields. The pianist who composed the 1946 hit “Miami Beach Rhumba” created the Latin-Jewish genre with the 1959 LP “Bagels and Bongos.”…Read more

Pioneers in the Black HillsIt’s doubtful that Calamity Jane loved Wild Bill Hickock as much as local lore alleges, but there’s no disputing that the tomboy gunslinger bought groceries from Jacob Goldberg on Main Street.…Read more

The Demise of a Small-town BusinessShlepping armloads of trousers to an empty rack, his face set with determination and a hint of joy, Steve Felix was working till the bittersweet end of Felix’s, his 101-year-old clothing store in this town of 4,500.…Read more

Jazzman Strikes a Chord at Community ProgramsHe has hung out with Dizzy Gillespie, played piano with the Rolling Stones, written three books, hosted national radio and television shows, co-run a jazz record label, produced albums by top jazz and pop performers and composed a Grammy-nominated film score. But what’s tickling Ben Sidran’s ivories these days…Read more

Campy Record: Reform Youth Group Compiles Five CDs of SingalongsBack when the times they were a changin’, Reform Judaism stood at society’s political and social vanguard. Yet the movement’s religious framework remained 19th-century classical Reform — an attempt to achieve a more rational, modern Judaism by emphasizing decorum over fervor and eschewing many traditional rituals and customs.The approach…Read more