rubin museum

4 Kasım 2012 Pazar

Lionel Boccara Trio @ Comptoir Bouchant, Paris 9/29/12

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It was a free trio at a bistro. Free as in no cover. I just had a glass of wine and enjoyed the sax, bass and guitar playing standards. As far as level of playing, this was the best it got for this stay in Paris. I have more to say about the Paris music scene in a later post, 2 or 3 away from this one. I was starting to have some restored faith in the Paris music scene.

http://www.lionelboccara.com/pages%20GB/pagebioGB.htm

Cheb Aissa Et Les Gypsies @ New Morning, Paris 9/29/12

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I was told this is the best jazz club in town. It was reinforced seeing some of the listings. Randy Weston is coming in a week or 2, Fred Wesley played there the previous night, etc.

I love how they have a dance floor. It's right up front and a couple of steps down from the seats. There are only a few tables and lots of chairs facing the stage. You are allowed to dance wherever you want. And there were plenty of dancers as well as sitters all commingling and enjoying themselves. It's not really that nice a space, compared to our nice NYC jazz clubs. The music was good, but not at the level I've grown accustomed to. It was still fun and enjoyable. There were 3 guitars, a bass, drums and doubek and keyboard. I liked it, but would have liked it more if there was a horn or violin or something instead of the keyboard making those sounds. I really liked the crowd and how into it they were.

http://www.newmorning.com/20120929-2589-Cheb-Aissa-Featuring-Chico-The-Gypsies.html

http://www.rfimusic.com/news-music/world-music/album/20120821-cheb-aissa-gipsy-rai-baraka

Paris Music

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I wanted to sample more of Paris so I left for some Funk at Le Petit Journal. When I got there the band was on and it sucked. It wasn't just the singing (atrocious), but the music itself wasn't very good. It was a tourist spot and they wanted 25 Euro for that. I kept noticing a lot of good music was outside of Paris: Denis Colin, Kris Davis, Larry Corryell. I feel like I haven't quite figured it out yet. There's got to be more. Everyone comes through Paris, so last time I lucked out that Warren Haynes Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Secret Chiefs 3 were all in town when I was. All American bands that I already know and love. There's got to be more to it. Also, I realize how lucky I am to live in a place where there are usually multiple stellar options on any given night.

I'm still in love with Paris regardless of whether I ever figure out how to get great music more often than not. I also suspect it's better to go for the lesser known places. I'm looking forward to checking out the Barbes area and the 11th more and planning out before hitting the suburbs on a future trip.

Matthias De Weale Trio @ Cafe Hopper, Antwerp, Belgium 10/1/12

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It was a nice little cafe with no food and no cover. I had delicious fresh mint tea. This site I found said they feature musicians from the local jazz academy. It was nice to get out to some music, but nothing to write home about. I do have to write up all live music experiences for posterity, especially those in foreign countries. I stayed, so it wasn't awful by any means, I'm just spoiled. The piano was OK, there was an enjoyable bass solo. It was a nice space that felt good.

Musical Instrument Museum, Brussels

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It's a wonderful museum. They give you an audio headset that you can listen to with or without headphones. I got the English version, which was music and no words describing the instruments. It was "smart" and played the instruments I was standing in front of in the museum.

http://www.mim.be/museum
"In a beautifully restored complex in Brussels, of which one part is Art Nouveau and the other, neoclassical in design, the 1200 most interesting instruments are assembled in 4 galleries, enhanced by images, text panels and sounds. In addition the mim has a concert hall, a space for workshops (for groups and by reservation only), a museum shop, a library and a rooftop restaurant, from where the breathtaking view over the city gives a unique flavour to the menu. No wonder that, since its opening in 2000, the mim has become a first class cultural attraction on the Mont des Arts, with an average of 125,000 visitors per year (not including restaurant guests)."

I went through my favorite room with the tribal instruments 3 times. From the website, it seems to be a favorite of other visitors as well: "A favourite for many visitors is the room dedicated to traditional musical instruments. The tour starts in Belgium and passes through a whole series of European traditions to cultures from around the world. Besides the well-known Scottish version, many more countries appear to have their own type of bagpipes, Tibetan monks make musical instruments out of the bones of their deceased colleagues, and African slit drums are the local form of Twitter."

The descriptions were in French and Flemish. I was so inspired by all of the instruments from all over the world, I kept thinking I wanted a book that described them all. When I got to the museum shop and I asked about it, I was directed to the awesome Visitor's Guide that's in English. I am still reading the awesome 200 page book and I'm reliving my Museum experience.

When I got home, I googled the "best musical instrument museum in the world" and it turns out there's a great one in Pheonix, AZ. I see a trip in my future.

13 Ekim 2012 Cumartesi

The Travel Photographer's "Hilltribes In The Mist"

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Following my Vietnam: North of the 16th Parallel Photo-Expedition/Workshop, here's a short audio-slideshow documenting some of the hill tribes of North Western Vietnam in Sa Pa and Bac Ha. Mostly Hmong and Dzao, and a handful from over 10 other tribes, they attend Bac Ha's famous Sunday market to buy, sell, barter and eat.

There are 10 Montagnard groups that live around Bac Ha: the Flower H’mong are the most visible (and seen in the slideshow), but other groups include Dzao, Giay (Nhang), Han (Hoa), Xa Fang, Lachi, Nung, Phula, Thai and Thula.

The still photographs were made with a Leica M9, Canon 5D Mark II and the Fuji X Pro-1. When using the latter, I mostly shot from the hip. The audio was recorded on a Tascam DR-40. The images were post-processed using Alien Skin Software.

The audio-slideshow can also be viewed on my Vimeo site.

POV: Highlights Of Vietnam's Photo-Expedition/Workshop

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Looking back at my recently completed my Vietnam: North of the 16th Parallel Photo Expedition/Workshop, here are my main favorite photographic experiences.

But before listing them, let me make the point that it's the people one meets on such trips that make them memorable. In my case, it was spending a few hours listening to Mr Dao's life story in Hoi An, with Mr Nguyen Bao in Hanoi and with Mamei near Sapa.

1. Street Photography in Hanoi:

Hanoi is a dream come true for street photographers. Its residents virtually live their lives in the streets...conducting their daily routine in the open, eating and interacting with each other in the open. This obviously gives rise in innumerable opportunities for amusing and ironic life vignettes. I could easily spend days upon days wandering Hanoi's streets and alleys; especially those of the Old Quarter.

Actually, street shooting in all the cities and towns on the itinerary was the highlight of the trip. Whether it was Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An...walking in the streets with a camera in hand is just a sublime experience for those who like this style of candid photography like I do. The only problem? Too many scooters parked on the sidewalks!

2. Cao Ä�Ã i in Hue:

Driving into Hue from Da Nang, I had noticed an unusually looking structure and saw a sign that proclaimed it to be a Cao Ä�Ã i temple. I just could not let this opportunity go by, especially as I thought the only temple was in Vietnam's delta. Following telephone calls and my visit with Maika Elan, we secured the approval of the head priest to photograph its daily prayers. I can't emphasize enough how gracious and welcoming the congregation was...despite our many faux-pas during their prayer ritual.

This was a big deal for me as I always wanted to witness the rituals of this new indigenous religious tradition.

3. Model Photo Shoot in Hoi An:

Many of the walls of Hoi An are painted yellow-ochre, which symbolizes wealth. The town is a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, and is a delight to walk through. With Maika, I set up a photo shoot with one of her acquaintances who posed for us along one of its photogenic streets.

I'm not a fan of frozen and posed portraits, but the exercise in itself is both fun and educational. The best for me was to capture unposed moments such as this one when a child looked out of a window while the model adjusted her ao dai.

4. The Hilltribes of Sapa & Bac Ha:

I greatly enjoyed wandering in the markets of Sa Pa and Bac Ha...especially the latter where the Hmong and Dzao, and a handful from over 10 other tribes, attend Bac Ha's famous Sunday market to buy, sell, barter and eat. I'm still scratching my head as to the genetic mystery behind this Hmong child's blond hair.

I wandered in these markets for hours...occasionally using my Canon 5D Mark II, but relying more on my Fuji X Pro-1 in my street photography style...shooting from the hip to capture as much candor in my photographs as possible.

An audio-slideshow was born from these wanderings, and can be viewed on my Vimeo page.

5. Halong Bay:

Being cooped up on a boat...even for 24 hours...and even if it's a luxury cruise...is not my kind of thing. However, I must agree that Halong Bay is visually gorgeous, and amply deserves its World Heritage listing. I only include it as a highlight because its land-seascape is beautiful.

As I wrote elsewhere, I included this 24 hours cruise on our itinerary in the hope that the group participants would use the time to complete their audio slideshow projects. Some did and others didn't.

6. Vietnamese Buddhist Funeral:

On the way back to Hanoi from Halong Bay, we encountered a funeral. Both Maika and I went ahead to seek permission from the family to attend it and to photograph the rituals. I wasn't optimistic, but the head of the family readily agreed provided I lit an incense stick and presented my respects to the memory of the deceased. This I did, and planted the stick at the shrine. The deceased was born in 1925, and his name was Cu Pham Van Bao.

I was invited to drink green tea, and sat amongst the head table along with our host. The funeral rite is called le dua tang, and some of the mourners (presumably close relatives and families) wore coarse veils of gauze.

Being allowed into their midst at a time of sorrow by these Vietnamese mourners is a testament to their graciousness and kindness.

7. Catru: Vietnamese Religious Music:

We attended a Catru concert held at an old building in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter. High-brow and very traditional, this musical genre was already played during the 15th century during ceremonies at the Vietnamese court, but during the 1950s fell in disrepute due to its association with opium and similar nefarious activities.

The musician/singer in the above photograph is Ms Pham Thi Hue, a famous practitioner of this art form, who performed beautiful musical pieces during the hour-long session.

8. The Vee Sign:

Perhaps it's moving from the high brow (above) to a low brow topic, but many people hate the V-sign that Asians seem to do when being photographed. The V-sign was flashed as soon as young Vietnamese women asked me to take their pictures while celebrating the pre-Lunar festivities in Hanoi streets. They also did it when they posed for photographs with me. Not only are the Vietnamese youths camera-friendly (very friendly!) but they also know cameras. I was frequently stopped and asked about the X Pro-1 and the M9...but not once about the 5D II which many of them already have.

But I got used to the V-sign, and always expected it...I won't go so far as to say it's charming, but it certainly was part of the scene all around me when photographing the celebratory activities where I call the "street of the gaudy decorations". I got different interpretations for it. Some said it was a way to say "Hi"...and others said it was the peace sign.

9. Meeting A Vietnamese Star:

Ms NgÃ´ Thanh VÃ¢n is a top Vietnamese actress, and was filming a movie in Hoi An. It's by total serendipity that we saw her. Very approachable, she was charming and we exchanged a few words. NTV (as she's known in Vietnam) asked me where I was from, and what was I doing in Hoi An.

I naturally took as many photographs as I could of her on the set without interfering with the going-ons.

If this brief encounter is not a highlight, I don't know what is.