The All-African-American Classical Orchestra That’s Now Appearing In Rap Videos

The idea for Orchestra Noir came about at date night for founder Jason Ikeem Rodgers. “The group’s website emphasizes they aren’t striving to be a traditional orchestra. Instead Orchestra Noir strives to raise ‘the invisible curtain and [bring] classical music to diverse, younger audiences that is relevant and respectful of their community.'”

The ‘Born Burglar’ Who Stole Van Goghs Tells All

But the Van Gogh Museum is not OK with his sudden fame. “‘The last 14 years have been a roller coaster of hope, disappointment and agony,’ the museum’s director, Axel Rüger, said in an interview. ‘All the time this man is sitting on this information. He knew exactly what he had done and he never breathed a word. To us it feels as if he is seeking the limelight.'”

Top AJBlogs Posts From The Weekend Of 03.19.17

Poetry of the Absurd
This is a tape cut-up I made with Carl Weissner way back in 1971. We used a recording of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley speaking to members of the city council. We “cut” the tape … read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2017-03-19

 

For The Weekend: A Beach Boys Song A La Charles Lloyd
At the Jazz At Porquerolles Festival on the French Riviera in 2011, Charles Lloyd and his remarkable quartet of the period turned their attention to one of Brian Wilson’s songs. Wilson first … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2017-03-17

 

What Went Wrong
Spineless Democrats and Republican thugs: A 30-minute rap on why we are where we are. Click to listen to … read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2017-03-17

 

The Art of Empathy; or the Neurology of What the World Needs Now
Guinea Baboon Brain by J. Sayuri, part of the “Animal Brains” series. Prints available on Etsy. The way we live our lives is based on memories and stories that we tell each other as partread more
AJBlog: New BeansPublished 2017-03-17

Jimmy Breslin, Legendary Newspaper Columnist, Has Died At 88

“Love or loathe him, none could deny Mr. Breslin’s enduring impact on the craft of narrative nonfiction. He often explained that he merely applied a sportswriter’s visual sensibility to news columns. Avoid the media scrum gathered around the winner, he would advise, and go directly to the loser’s locker.” (You can read some of his writing, older and more recent, at The Daily Beast.)