New Orleans trumpeter Lionel Ferbos celebrated his 100th birthday at the Palm Court Jazz Cafe last Sunday (July 17, 2011). An incredible landmark by any measure, and another proof that jazz keeps you young. Congratulations, Lionel, and thanks for all the great music you have given us over nine decades!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
HAPPY 100th LIONEL!
New Orleans trumpeter Lionel Ferbos celebrated his 100th birthday at the Palm Court Jazz Cafe last Sunday (July 17, 2011). An incredible landmark by any measure, and another proof that jazz keeps you young. Congratulations, Lionel, and thanks for all the great music you have given us over nine decades!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
STRAUSS-KAHN EXONERATED?
My Vanity Fair blog post last month on the Dominique Strauss-Kahn rape case examined the hypothesis that his accuser, a Guinean-born maid at the Sofitel in New York, may have been lying about the nature of their encounter.
My post also raised the question of whether the charges might be the result of a set-up arranged by DSK's political enemies. The post got a lot of attention, culling 724 "likes" and 38 comments. Most of the comments were favorable, but a few were scathing, accusing the author of being an anti-feminist, a racist and, worse of all, pro-French ("You have to live in France to believe such a thing is possible.")
I hate to say I told you so, but today's New York Times reports that the case is falling apart because the supposed victim has lied repeatedly to investivators, maintains relations with a network of criminals and drug dealers, and has mysteriously received deposits of $100,000 into her bank account. None of which proves a political plot, but all of which stinks. With even the prosecutor now concluding that his witness is not credible, the case is likely to be dropped in the next few days.
Friday, June 24, 2011
SUMMERING IN PARIS—GIGLIST SUSPENDED
No New Orleans gigs till August: we're in Paris for the summer. Planning to eat some great food, read the papers on my chaise longue [sic], stroll through the city, write a novel, practice the clarinet, and see a lot of films. That may be what I miss most about living in New Orleans: the absence of a decent movie house (except the Prytania) and the limited choice of good films. Here there are real cinemas all over the place and about 400 films on offer at any given time. The one we saw the other night was a winner: Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," a thoroughly entertaining fantasy about an incurable francophile romantic wandering through time in this magical city. Now that's a story I can identify with. Stay tuned for more musings from Paris.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
TOMMY SANCTON GIGLIST THROUGH NOVEMBER, 2011
Wednesday, October 5: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman.
Sunday, October 9: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Lars Edegran band.
Wednesday, October 12: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman.
Sunday, October 16: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band
Wednesday, October 19: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman.
Sunday, October 23: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Lars Edegran's New Orleans All Stars.
Wednesday, October 26: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman.
Sunday, October 30: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band.
Saturday, November 5: Norwegian Seamen's Church, Prytania Street, 2 - 6 pm. With Lars Edegran trio.
Sunday, November 6: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Lars Edegran's New Orleans All Stars.
Saturday, November 12: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street 7 - 10 pm With Lars Edegran All Stars.
Sunday, November 13: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band.
Wednesday, November 16: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman.
Sunday, November 20: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Lars Edegran's New Orleans All Stars.
Sunday, November 27: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band.
Wednesday, November 30: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
STRAUSS-KAHN'S DISGRACE: MELTDOWN OR SETUP?
How the mighty have fallen! Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, the director of the International Monetary Fund and, until this week, front-runner in France's 2012 presidential election, now sits in a jail cell on Rikers Island, accused of attempted rape, sexual aggressions and unlawful imprisonment allegedly committed against a New York hotel maid last Saturday. This incredible, improbable scenario has thrown the French political landscape into chaos, with the unpopular incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy rubbing his hands over his suddenly improved chances, far-right leader Marine Le Pen gloating over Strauss-Kahn's "pathological" behavior, and the defendant's Socialist Party colleagues scrambling to see who will replace him as their standard bearer--all the while preaching an innocent-till-proven-guilty line. It all sounds like the plot of an international thriller. And what if it is all a fiction?Read my commentary on this point on Vanity Fair's website:
Friday, May 13, 2011
SONG FOR MY FATHERS @ CHAT NOIR
For those of you who missed the "world premiere" at Tulane's Dixon Hall one year ago, Le Chat Noir theater is presenting a reprise of the stage show based on "Song For My Fathers." The multimedia show features readings and narration by yours truly; music by the Preservation Hall All-Stars; and projections of rare archival photos and videos depicting the legendary jazz players—George Lewis, Sweet Emma Barrett, Punch Miller and many others—who taught me about their music and their humanity nearly a half century ago. Show dates: May 13-15; 21, 22Check the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_si5OXylZs
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
"SONG" AT THE CHAT NOIR -- READY TO ROLL!
On Tuesday, Director Ron Rona ran us smoothly through a full rehearsal of our "Song For My Fathers" stage show at the Chat Noir. Those who saw the premiere at Tulane's Dixon Hall last spring should enjoy it even more in the intimate setting of this well-known cabaret theater in downtown New Orleans. The front tables practically touch the edge of the compact stage. At one point, the band weaves through the tables in a second-line parade that brings the audience right into the action. As in the original show, I am seated on a stool stage right, narrating the story of a young boy's magical apprenticeship with clarinetist George Lewis the other jazz greats at Preservation Hall. The Preservation Hall All-Stars band occupies center stage and delivers musical interludes that bring my memories to life. On a screen mounted at right of the stage, vintage videos and still pictures from the 1950s and 60s present dramatic images of the unforgettable people and places described in the narrative. One touch that I find particularly
intriguing is the young man who plays me circa 1963: journalist and clarinetist Zach Young. Watching "myself" sit in with George Lewis at the Hall for the first time is, for me, an eerie and strangely moving experience. But you have to see it for yourself. Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., May 13, 14, 15, 21, 22; 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 6 pm on Sundays. Check Offbeat's preview: http://offbeat.com/2011/05/01/tom-sancton-meet-tom-sancton/
The Gambit's blurb: http://m.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/song-for-my-fathers/Content?oid=1726761
My interview with Susan Larson on WWNO: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wwno/news.newsmain/article/8008/0/1800984/The.Reading.Life/The.Reading.Life..5311
For tickets and reservations: http://www.cabaretlechatnoir.com/index.php?id=298
Friday, April 22, 2011
"SONG FOR MY FATHERS" SHOW AT LE CHAT NOIR!
For those of you who missed the "world premiere" at Tulane's Dixon Hall one year ago, Le Chat Noir theater is presenting a reprise of the stage show based on "Song For My Fathers." The multimedia show features readings and narration by yours truly; music by the Preservation Hall All-Stars; and projections of rare archival photos and videos depicting the legendary jazz players—George Lewis, Sweet Emma Barrett, Punch Miller and many others—who taught me about their music and their humanity nearly a half century ago. Show dates: May 13-15; 21, 22
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
EVAN RACHEL WOOD...AND MY SON JULIAN
She's hot. She has tatoos. She's sexually ambivalent. And she's interviewed in Esquire by my son Julian. (Damn! When I was in the news business, I only got to interview people like Jacques Chirac.)
Sunday, April 17, 2011
NEW SYLVAINE SANCTON WEBSITE
After a total remake by graphic artist Hamish Robertson, Sylvaine's new website is now online. The elegantly sober design features some three dozen pieces of her sculpture (bronze, wood, glass, stone and mixed) and will soon include her photography. Check it out: http://sylvainesancton.com
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