Queens Tribune - August 1995

Renewed interest in ragtime was sparked by the Broadway hit "Jelly's Last Jam". According to Birnbaum, "I'm into ragtime bigtime. I love it." Known as "Dr. Jazz" the staff pianist for the Joe Franklin Show Birnbaum has played everywhere from Birdland to Tavern on the Green.

He has received awards from the Helena Rubinstein foundation, New York State council on the Arts and the National Council of Jewish Women among others. This classically trained musician became a convert to ragtime after meeting Blake many years ago. Birnbaum boasts that he "can turn anything into ragtime," from the fifties doo-wop hit "Sh-Boom" to gospel favorite "Amazing Grace".