Category: Sights

Flow: Living in the Stream of Music – Terence Blanchard

flow dvd cover

I knew Terence Blanchard has some stuff going on, but this DVD really opened my eyes and ears to his badness. The movie follows his band through a few tour stops and a soundtrack session. It provides a great look into the vibe of the band, and what it is that makes them a real band instead of a collection of guys hired to play the leader’s music. There is also a great bonus piece that is some footage of Terence teaching at the Thelonious Monk Institute at USC. The way he presents things to the students is very inspiring.

The music in the film is very happening. So much so, that it inspired me to go buy the CD that they were supporting on the tour that is the setting for the movie. Well, I didn’t actually buy the CD, I got it on iTunes. The only other Terence CD I had was Wandering Moon, and it didn’t really light me up, but I am digging Flow.

Surviving The Hurricane: Katrina’s Impact On New Orleans Art

Contemporary Arts Center | New Orleans: Visual Arts: What’s Showing

This is a great exhibit that is currently installed at The Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans. It consists of pieces that were in storm or flood damaged studios along the Gulf Coast. Many of the paintings have been cleaned up to near pre-strom condition, but you can see the subtle effects.

I couldn’t help but draw the parallel to our city and culture. Even though it can get cleaned up and fixed, and pretty much look like it did before, it’s still not really the same.

My favotire piece in the exhibit was a small statue that had been broken into a dozen or so pieces. There was a picture of it, intact before the storm, next to the pieces laid in a pile. It was striking. The same molecules of plaster now held a different shape and a different emotional impact…yet it was the same plaster.

I know the feeling.