Archive for the ‘music’ Category

Tom Reeves Named Official Blogger for the 4-14 Festival in Dijon: Celebrating Franco-American Friendship, Food, Music, and Fun!

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
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I am pleased to announce that I have been named the official blogger for the second annual 4-14 Festival, to be held in Dijon on July 9-11, 2010. The festival brings together American and French musicians and chefs to celebrate friendship, food, music…and fun! Last year, 15,000 people turned out for the festivities!

Twenty-five chefs from both sides of the Atlantic will work their culinary magic for the festival. This year, American chefs from New Orleans and other Louisiana towns (and one from Washington, D.C.) will be participating in the event. They include Louisiana native Dooky Chase IV of the legendary Dooky Chase restaurant. The restaurant was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but has risen from the flood waters to continue its 60+-year tradition of service. Among the French chefs, Michelin-starred Marc Meneau of the inimitable l’Esperance, and Daniel Ginsberg of the Nouvelle Cuisine de la Ville de Dijon will participate alongside nine additional Burgundian masters of cuisine.

I have been writing about food for Discover Paris! since October 2006, when I launched my “Quest for Smoke-Free Dining” review for the Paris Insights monthly newsletter. After smoking was banned in restaurants in France in January 2008, I launched “Le Bon Goût,” a monthly restaurant review for which I interview the chef. The review is found in my Paris Insights newsletter, available by paid subscription. I now publish a free weekly restaurant review for the Paris Insights Web site as well. I share my passion for coffee and chocolate by frequently posting anecdotes to my Paris Insights blog and Facebook page about the fresh-roasted coffee beans and hand-crafted chocolates that I find at the many coffee-roasting facilities and artisanal chocolate shops in the French capital.

Click here to access my blog about the 4-14 Festival. Click here to access my free weekly restaurant review.

Mra Oma & Brotherhood

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
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Good news for jazz fans! Mra Oma & Brotherhood will be performing at the Centre Tchèque this Friday at 8:30 p.m. The Czech center is located at 18, rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement. Entry is only 5€ for some great music!

Le Lapin Agile: A Cabaret for Traditional French Songs

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
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Our feature article for this month’s Paris Insights newsletter is about Le Lapin Agile. Nestled on the northern slope of Montmartre, just downhill from a vineyard and uphill from a cemetery, the cabaret has existed since at least the early 19th century. Read about this historic place and learn why it evokes so much nostalgia.

Just down the north slope from the cabaret lies a restaurant called Bistrot Poulbot. Operated by Chef Véronique Melloul, it is a great place to dine before taking in the show! Read our review in this month’s Le Bon Goût.

We interviewed Federico Santalla, one of the singers who used to perform at Le Lapin Agile. Read our account of his experience there in this month’s Paris, Past and Present.

All three of these articles can be found in the June issue of the Paris Insights newsletter. To subscribe, please click here.

Jazz Festival at Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Thursday, May 20th, 2010
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Jazz Festival at Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Jazz lovers will not want to miss the 10th annual “Festival Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-Prés” this year. The festival offers two full weeks of entertainment from May 16th through 30th, with concerts scheduled every day and free photo expositions that highlight several aspects of this musical genre in Paris and New York.

Sunday’s opening schedule consisted of a free concert at the Eglise Saint-Germain that featured new female talent. In fact, most of the concerts offered during the two week period are free of charge. Venues for these concerts include FNAC Montparnasse, Starbucks Coffee at various locations in central Paris, and the Sunset and Sunside jazz club (one drink minimum here), while ticket purchase is required for concerts being held at the Théâtre de l’Odéon, the Hôtel Meridien Montparnasse, and other grander sites. (Note that the venues are not restricted to Saint-Germain-des-Prés.)

Photo expositions are hung at the Hôtel Bel Ami (which is also celebrating its 10th anniversary this year), the Bibliothèque André Malraux, and the Hôtel Lutetia (which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year). The show at the Bel Ami, and one of the expos at the Bibliothèque, trace the history of the Festival. But the most spectacular exhibit will undoubtedly be the display of a collection of Philippe Levy-Stab’s photos entitled “Jazz, Spirit of New York” at the Brasserie and the Salon Saint-Germain of the Hôtel Lutetia. This expo will is scheduled to end on 31July 2010, long after the festival is over.

To see the entire schedule for the festival, click here.

Evening of Jazz at the American Church

Sunday, March 14th, 2010
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Rasul Sikkik, trumpet; Wand Dockery, bass; Suliman Hakim, alto saxophone
(c) Discover Paris!

A fabulous jazz event was held last night at the American Church in Paris. Entitled the “First Independent Festival of Black American Musicians in Paris,” the program featured three groups: Steve McCraven & Black Studies Band, Mra Oma & New Brotherhood, and the Kirk Lightsey Quartet. The audience, consisting largely of American expatriates and French fans of jazz, responded enthusiastically to the performance.

Jazz was first introduced in France in 1917 by James Reese Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry “Hell Fighters” band. Last night’s event was a tribute to his creative spirit.