Famed jazz pianist Oscar Peterson says that he and his family are being subjected to regular racial taunts and slurs near their home in a Toronto suburb. “Mr. Peterson, who was born in Montreal, has spent more than 50 years as an international jazz star, and has been honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, an International Jazz Hall of Fame Award and entry into several halls of fame. In addition to being put on a stamp, Canada made him a companion of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian achievement. After living here for most of his life, Mr. Peterson said the past month’s experience has left him seriously considering moving to the West Indies.”
Tag: 07.31.06
Getting Current
“Just before Al Gore launched Current TV a year ago, there were more than a few guffaws heard throughout the industry. The idea of a young adult cable channel consisting of viewer-created video ‘pods’ and interactive ads seemed like a joke. Nobody’s laughing anymore… In the year since the 24-hour network premiered on Aug. 1, 2005, Current TV is seeing its model readily duplicated by such major cable players as MTV and VH1, and soon, the newly formed CW broadcast network.”
Legendary Chicago Jazz Club Back In Business
The Velvet Lounge, a Chicago jazz club that closed last year to make way for a condo building, has reopened in a new location around the corner, and jazz fans in the Second City couldn’t be happier. “the new Velvet conveys a mood and sensibility of its own and, as such, instantly emerges as one of the most appealing jazz rooms in the city.”
Do DVRs Really Make You Watch More TV?
The introduction of digital video recorders (DVRs) into the American television landscape may have advertisers running scared, but those who produce actual programs have long assumed that the ability to automatically record dozens of programs and watch them later would lead to Americans spending more time in front of their sets. But at least one new survey suggests that viewers with DVRs actually watch less TV than those without.
Wagner’s House
Great performances of Wagner’s music can be found all over the world these days. Furthermore, the famed Wagner Festival at Bayreuth, Germany, has been frequently marred by familial strife and controversy in recent years. And yet, still, Bayreuth is arguably the toughest ticket in classical music, with a waiting list of seven years to buy a seat. So what is it about Bayreuth? The performance space certainly has something to do with it: “Wagner’s opera house, the Theater on the Green Hill, as it has long been called, is truly one of the glories of the opera world.”
Beirut Arts Scene A Casualty Of Israeli Offensive
Lost in the controversy over the latest flare-up in the Middle East is the destruction that is being rained down on Lebanon’s burgeoning cultural scene. “What was supposed to be Beirut’s first break after last year’s traumas — including the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister — has been shattered… Beyond the ruins and the rowdy image, Lebanon’s artistic expression, after years of neglect, was also blooming.”