Music The best Jewish hip hop (and hip hop by Jews) of 2018 By Daniel Bromfield Dec 18, 2018 Think of Jews in rap and your brain will most likely land on Matisyahu or the Beastie Boys. But Jews are making some of the most interesting rap right now, even if it’s not exactly at the epicenter…
Music 8 Drake songs for the uninitiated By Daniel Bromfield Oct 5, 2018 Drake is one of the biggest rap stars in the world — and one of the most eclectic. He is doing three shows at the 19,500-seat Oracle Arena in Oakland, Oct. 26-27 and 29. If you’re not familiar…
Music Rockers ready to play hard — but first, middle school By Daniel Bromfield Mar 22, 2019 After interviewing so many mangy, foul-mouthed, hard-living road warriors as a music journalist, it’s kind of a shock to interview a rock band in a room with one of their moms. The members of Cubed…
Passover Need a seder in the Bay Area this year? We’ve got you covered. By Daniel Bromfield Mar 20, 2018 Many synagogues and JCCs in the Bay Area are opening their doors for Passover seders, bringing people together to celebrate the Festival of Freedom in community. From traditional seders to gourmet…
Music Folk guitarist Nathan Salsburg makes experimental soundscapes from old Jewish phonograph records By Daniel Bromfield, JTA Mar 4, 2021 Folk musician and record archivist Nathan Salsburg lives on a 40-acre former tree farm in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, with fellow songwriter Joan Shelley. Shelley is not Jewish, but she and…
Food Have a ball — matzah, of course — at these local eateries By Daniel Bromfield Mar 30, 2017 One might expect Passover to stymie the creative chefs of the Bay Area; with nothing leavened allowed, what are our carb-loving culinary minds to do? Luckily, local restaurateurs see the restrictions…
Yom HaAtzmaut Get your blue-and-white on for celebrations across the Bay By Daniel Bromfield Apr 27, 2017 At age 69, Israel is the same age as a certain generation’s favorite rock stars — so why not party like one on the Jewish state’s birthday? From falafel bars to puppet shows, kid-friendly picnics to…
Art Direct from Israel, Kutiman’s audiovisual jazz irrupts into CJM By Daniel Bromfield Jul 12, 2017 In 1969, Miles Davis was all but exiled from the jazz world for daring to splice together recordings from two or more different sessions on his album “In A Silent Way.” Jazz was all about…