You won’t want to miss this one – it’s going to be interesting, eye-opening and….fun!

The Temple Israel Brotherhood Breakfast is very pleased to usher in 2026 with an exciting focus on the world of music and sports as we welcome one of America’s greatest biographers, James Kaplan.

James has been a prolific writer for over four decades, with 100 major profiles of figures including Helen Gurley Brown,  Calvin Klein, John Updike, Meryl Streep, Arthur Miller and Larry David appearing in The New Yorker, NY Times Magazine, Vanity Fair,  Esquire and New York Magazine.

But it is his fascinating books that are the focus of our Brotherhood Breakfast. He co-wrote John McEnroe’s autobiography You Cannot Be Serious (2002) as well as Jerry Lewis’s memoir about his relationship with Dean Martin, Dean and Me: A Love Story (2005). His two-volume biography of Frank Sinatra Frank: The Voice (2010) and Sinatra: The Chairman (2015) are widely hailed as the definitive works on this great artist. His biography of Irving Berlin, Irving Berlin: New York Genius (2019) helped whole new generations to appreciate this musical giant. James’ newest book, 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and the Lost Empire of Cool (2023) is an extraordinary work of jazz history and biography.

James looks forward to joining us, discussing his career, his collaborations with John McEnroe and Jerry Lewis, his years of working to chronicle the lives of these musical greats and, of course, answering all your questions.  If you own any of his books, or purchase and bring them on January 11th, he will be very pleased to sign them for you.

Please register below. We look forward to seeing you on January 11th and welcoming award-winning biographer James Kaplan to our Temple Israel Brotherhood Breakfast.