Judy Frankel

Back in the early 1960s, a young Jewish vocalist stumbled upon a few unusual Spanish-language songs. Assuming they were from South America, she incorporated them into her eclectic repertoire of ethnic music. It was a nice addition, but nothing more. Judy Frankel had no idea that the songs were artifacts of an endangered culture, nor that she would one day devote herself to preserving this rich heritage.

Judy frankel, a classical musician who performed and recorded long-forgotten songs that originated with Sephardic Jews living in Spain in the 15th century, has died. She was 65. Frankel died March 20 at her San Francisco home after a long illness, said her friend Anne Treseder. Folk songs written in Ladino, a language that mixes Spanish and Hebrew, first caught Frankel's attention in the early 1960s when she heard folk singer Theodore Bikel perform one in a concert.

Judy frankel, a classical musician who performed and recorded long-forgotten songs that originated with Sephardic Jews living in Spain in the 15th century, has died. She was 65. Frankel died March 20 at her San Francisco home after a long illness, said her friend Anne Treseder. Folk songs written in Ladino, a language that mixes Spanish and Hebrew, first caught Frankel's attention in the early 1960s when she heard folk singer Theodore Bikel perform one in a concert.

Back in the early 1960s, a young Jewish vocalist stumbled upon a few unusual Spanish-language songs. Assuming they were from South America, she incorporated them into her eclectic repertoire of ethnic music. It was a nice addition, but nothing more. Judy Frankel had no idea that the songs were artifacts of an endangered culture, nor that she would one day devote herself to preserving this rich heritage.

A great success in 1995, the Valley Jewish Festival is well on its way to becoming--you should excuse the expression--a tradition! The Second Biennial Valley Jewish Festival will be held Sunday on the campus of Pierce College in Woodland Hills. According to festival spokesman Richard Macales, the local fest is "the largest outdoor gathering of its kind west of Chicago." At least 35,000 people are expected to attend.

This year's Grammy nominees in the best world music album category are a curiously diverse collection: the Chieftains, an Irish group; banjo player Bela Fleck (with V.M. Bhatt and Jie-Bing Chen); the Gipsy Kings; Indian classical sarodist Ali Akbar Khan; Pakistani qwaali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (with Michael Brook); and jazz keyboard player-composer Joe Zawinul.