At recent Paris concerts Benny Golson, Geri Allen and Chico Freeman all identified the composer of numbers they’d just performed as “the great Wayne Shorter.” Given his historic role in contemporary music, the adjective is fully deserved. A longtime member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis’ extraordinary second quintet, saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter also took part in the classic Blue Note recording sessions and co-founded the rock-fusion band Weather Report with Joe Zawinul. Shorter was in Paris last month to promote an exceptional two-concert gig, November 8 at New Morning and his first CD with Verve. I caught up with him in his suite at the Ritz, an appropriate setting since his new record’s entitled “High Life.” Continue reading “Wayne Shorter’s High Life”
The Best of Enemies
France Books, The Best of Enemies: Anglo-French Relations Since the Norman Conquest, by Robert Gibson
For over nine centuries now, the English and the French have maintained one of the greatest love-hate relationships of all time. They have fought countless bloody wars against one another and joined forces to wage war against others. As Robert Gibson points out, more Englishmen are buried on French soil than in any other land. However, “The Best of Enemies” is not, strictly speaking, a history book; nor yet another compendium of kings, queens, princes and battles, but rather a lucid study of nationalism and the emergence of two very distinct national identities. Continue reading “The Best of Enemies”
Korean Designers Riding New Wave
Ten years ago, the thunder of Japanese fashion, with its great big black silhouettes, roared down Parisian runways, provoking a thirst for exotic aesthetics that has never quite been quenched. Though trends have evolved far from those rebellious looks of the mid-1980s, rag trade professionals continue to be titillated by designers who translate their cultural heritage into modern forms of western gear. Today the fashion world is witnessing another invasion, this time from Korea. Instead of rumbling down the catwalk with aggressive, anti-fashion modes of expression, three designers (all women of a certain age) are creating a quiet sensation with softer looks that for a young woman who’s worldly, yet fragile and vulnerable.
Interview: Billy Crystal on “Forget Paris”
The first year Billy Crystal struck out to make it in show business, he earned $2,000 and supplemented his income by working as a substitute teacher. He’s done better since. Continue reading “Interview: Billy Crystal on “Forget Paris””
les vacances…an unalienable legal right
France commentary, September 1995
Vacationing in France…sounds like a wonderful thing, right? Idyllic, like “a year in Provence” or winning the lottery. Well, almost. The concept could stand a reality check. Continue reading “les vacances…an unalienable legal right”
Lille, “Flanning” in Flanders
In an hour, you can be in another country. Lille, capital of French Flanders, has a distinctive Flemish feel that makes a visit “dépaysant” in the good sense of getting away from your everyday surroundings. And now that it is on the northern TGV route, it is closer to Paris by train than many Paris suburbs are by car. Continue reading “Lille, “Flanning” in Flanders”
Latin Quarter Walking Tour
Walking tour guidebooks are common currency in the tourism industry, but Thirza Vallois’ recent publication, “Around and About in Paris,” could qualify as an entertaining textbook. Vallois has lived in Paris for over 30 years and has a post-graduate degree from the Sorbonne. She claims to know Paris stone by stone and has read every book of note about its history and development. The following is taken from Volume One, which covers the first seven arrondissements. Continue reading “Latin Quarter Walking Tour”
Biking the Bois de Vincennes
It’s that time of year again, when 10-o’clock sunsets transform the capital into a peddler’s playground and cyclists from all around town make the pilgrimage to the Bois de Vincennes. Slightly larger than its counterpart to the west, it has all the trappings of a Parisian park – manufactured lakes, glitzy restaurants, racetracks, etc., minus the highbrow attitude that so unpleasantly reigns in Boulogne. In addition, there’s a 14th-century château, France’s largest zoo (also, alas, the most poorly maintained), a velodrome, stables, a floral park and much more. The single greatest drawback for a dirt rider is the topography. Although there are scores of intertwining dirt trails, the entire 2,300-acre park is flat – not a single steep descent.
Mary Holden, Paris to Black Mountain
Don’t you recognize Mary Holden? An American. Age 36. Twelve years in Paris. Three years back in North Carolina during which she has come back four times. Long-distance marriage to French animation artist, Jean-Luc. Two bi-cultural daughters. A half dozen odd jobs of varying levels of interest and pay. A succession of apartments and little pavillons. Enough frequent flyer miles to get to Hong Kong and back, Business Class. A deep love for daily Paris life and yet a gnawing alienation from both her indigenous and adoptive countries. “I don’t feel good over there and I don’t feel comfortable here. It’s confusing; there’s so much I miss wherever I am,” she admits.
Paris Fashion Homage to Givenchy
Next month French haute couture will lose one of its few remaining giants. The towering (6 foot, 6 inch) Hubert de Givenchy will take a final bow after his couture collection, then retire from a world he has gracefully dominated for more than 40 years. A perfectionist in cut and silhouette with impeccable taste impervious to radical changes in style, Givenchy is part of the old school of fashion, which believes first and foremost that clothes should beautify the woman. Having dressed many of the world’s most elegant women, including Jacqueline Kennedy, the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Grace and Audrey Hepburn, Givenchy is recognized by industry professionals, including his colleagues, as one of the world’s greatest designers.
Kids Stuff – Conquering the Louvre
For many parents, the Louvre is the final frontier. Its size, the crowds and the fear that children will be bored can be discouraging. But an outing to the Louvre can be great fun for child and parent. The key is diligent planning.