Musically inclined
Illana Zauderer Parker, who leads Kol Nidre services at Tiburon’s Congregation Kol Shofar, won the annual “Best Music You’ve Never Heard” competition on KGO’s Ronn Owens show with the title track from her CD “Hot in Here.” Some 35 tracks, culled out of hundreds of entries, were introduced as music by local musicians “who ought to be famous but aren’t,” Parker says. Listeners voted for their favorite. The album is a “sophisticated and sensual mixture of Broadway and jazz,” she writes. Parker grew up in Cupertino and now lives in San Francisco, but calls Kol Shofar her “spiritual home.”
If you prefer country, classically trained musician Ray Taylor of San Rafael just released “Country Birthday Song Album.” Taylor grew up singing in the choir at the old Temple Beth Israel on Geary Street under Cantor Roman Cycowski. He says his music has always been “skewed to Jewish-sounding music,” but he recently turned to country, which he believes is a lot like klezmer because “you basically sing your story.”
Authors, authors
A lot of locals are publishing. Here are a few: Rabbi Daniel Kohn, who is rabbi-in-residence at Contra Costa Jewish Day School and guest rabbi at the Jewish Congregation of the San Geronimo Valley, is doing a book reading 4 p.m. March 21 at Book Passage in Corte Madera for his book, “Jewish FAQs: An Internet Rabbi’s Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Judaism” … L.A.-based married writers and comedians Jeff Kahn and Annabelle Gurwitch — she’s the sister of Lisa Gurwitch of Belvedere — also have a Book Passage gig. At 7 p.m. March 20 they’ll read from their book, “You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up: A Love Story” … Deborah Kaufman of Berkeley writes that her mom, Shirley Kaufman, has released “Ezekiel’s Wheel.” An award-winning Israeli American poet, she has written nine books of poetry and has translated many of Israel’s major poets into English, notes Deborah … Mill Valley’s Jeff Saperstein’s newest book is “Bust the Silos,” which, according to the press material, provides a “new concept for business growth in today’s global economy.” This is his third book with co-writer Hunter Hastings … And finally (for today), Jason Turbow of Albany, a former j. freelance writer, has published “The Baseball Codes,” which he says is about a “subject that has fascinated our people since, well, long before Sandy Koufax.”
Short shorts …
J.’s Diane Spagnoli reports that j. “volunteer extraordinaire” John Levin of San Francisco is being honored by B’nai B’rith’s Greater San Francisco Lodge No. 21 for his many years of service to the group and the Jewish community. Levin has volunteered for the j. twice a week for 20-plus years, and, notes Diane, “is not deterred by inclement weather, Muni delays or extraneous circumstances.”
Eli Raber has been named the new national director of community initiatives for Birthright Israel Next. He will oversee local programming in the group’s seven cities of operation from his San Francisco office … Lynn Bunim, Jewish community leader and executive director of external affairs for AT&T, was honored by the League of Women Voters of San Francisco as one of five “Women Who Could be President” at the group’s 90th anniversary event last month … The Contra Costa JCC will honor children’s theater director Barrett Lindsay Steiner at its Lights on Broadway Gala on March 20. The CCJCC’s Shelley Wilson writes that in 20 years, Steiner has worked with more than “10,000 blossoming young performers.” For information and tickets, visit www.ccjcc.org/gala.
This columnist can be reached at [email protected].