Jazz Pianist, Composer. A prolific artist said to have recorded upwards of 100 albums, he shall be remembered for his unique fusion of Jewish and Latin music. Born Yitzhak Schwartz, he was raised in Brooklyn, took to music early, studied piano from age eight, sang in a back-up choir for the legendary Cantor Yoselle Rosenblatt, played the 'Jewish Alps' resorts of the Catskills, and for a number of years toured the country on the Jewish Vaudeville circuit. Mr. Fields played piano on the cruise ships that traveled to Havana and San Juan and from that experience began to mix Jewish and Caribbean melodies; he had a hit with the 1946 "Miami Beach Rhumba" which dealt with a tourist headed for Havana who ends up on Miami's 'Jewish Riviera' instead. He played such top drawer night spots as New York's Stork Club, Copacabana, Mermaid Room, and El Morocco, the Fontainebleau of Miami Beach, and Las Vegas' Flamingo, became a regular on television shows hosted by Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, and Kate Smith, and continued writing, composing "Managua, Nicaragua" for Guy Lombardo and "Chantez, Chantez" for Dinah Shore. During the 1950 he was offered his own show but declined, the spot going instead to a then-unknown Liberace. In 1959, he released his best known album entitled "Bagels and Bongos", a two million selling reworking of Jewish standards into Latin rhythm, the disk leading to several more variations on the same theme. During the mid 1960s, Mr. Fields more-or-less retired, though he kept on cutting records and appearing on New York's Cabaret circuit for the remainder of his long life. At his death from the effects of advanced age much of his recorded legacy remained available.
Jazz Pianist, Composer. A prolific artist said to have recorded upwards of 100 albums, he shall be remembered for his unique fusion of Jewish and Latin music. Born Yitzhak Schwartz, he was raised in Brooklyn, took to music early, studied piano from age eight, sang in a back-up choir for the legendary Cantor Yoselle Rosenblatt, played the 'Jewish Alps' resorts of the Catskills, and for a number of years toured the country on the Jewish Vaudeville circuit. Mr. Fields played piano on the cruise ships that traveled to Havana and San Juan and from that experience began to mix Jewish and Caribbean melodies; he had a hit with the 1946 "Miami Beach Rhumba" which dealt with a tourist headed for Havana who ends up on Miami's 'Jewish Riviera' instead. He played such top drawer night spots as New York's Stork Club, Copacabana, Mermaid Room, and El Morocco, the Fontainebleau of Miami Beach, and Las Vegas' Flamingo, became a regular on television shows hosted by Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, and Kate Smith, and continued writing, composing "Managua, Nicaragua" for Guy Lombardo and "Chantez, Chantez" for Dinah Shore. During the 1950 he was offered his own show but declined, the spot going instead to a then-unknown Liberace. In 1959, he released his best known album entitled "Bagels and Bongos", a two million selling reworking of Jewish standards into Latin rhythm, the disk leading to several more variations on the same theme. During the mid 1960s, Mr. Fields more-or-less retired, though he kept on cutting records and appearing on New York's Cabaret circuit for the remainder of his long life. At his death from the effects of advanced age much of his recorded legacy remained available.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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