“The Jewish Musician Who Toured With Tito Puente”

I took a jazz class with a girl who invited me to stay and practice with The Sin City Salseros over a decade ago in Las Vegas and have been a part of the salsa dance community ever since. I’ve been part of the salsa community in Vegas, Reno, and now…New York.

I used to feel out of place in the salsa dance community—wondering what this little Jewish girl was doing here. 😂 Learning more about New York's Palladium era, and finding articles like this make me feel right at home.

Some historical context.

Jews are also part of diaspora communities whether we’re Mizrahi (Middle Eastern) Sephardi (Spain/Iberian Peninsula) or Eastern Europe (Ashkenazi).

Eastern European Jews who fled the pogroms (like my family in the late 1800s) immigrated from New York and brought with them their cultural traditions, vaudeville, comedy, and Klezmer music—a lively style with complex time signatures emphasizes improvisation. While I haven't studied it extensively, this musical tradition influenced Jews' significant role in the jazz scene and some like Mitch Frohman wound up crossing over and and getting the honor of playing with Tito Puente.

I hope this article and this photo of my Gramps doing what he loved right here in NYC makes others smile today. If anyone wants to do a deep dive together on culture and art and tradition, I’d love to learn more together!

Let’s celebrate culture and learn from each other’s. Here’s a follow up question for anyone who wants to join in!

What cultural, spiritual, or artistic practice makes you feel at home?