Broadway’s Only African-American Lead Producers Talk Shop

“Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey are out to change the game on Broadway. The only black lead producers in that space, the pair runs a company, Front Row Productions, which has as its explicit goal to diversify the Great White Way. Among their credits: They brought Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed to Broadway last season and are currently working to bring both The Wiz and Black Orpheus to Broadway.”

American History, Captured In GIFs

“Ernest Hemingway having a drink, astronaut John Glenn in his Mercury spacesuit, even the US Constitution are among the GIF glimpses of American history released by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on GIPHY. The collection launched last month as a shareable portal into the National Archives Catalog.”

The Rise, Fall, And Resurrection Of India’s Oldest Surviving LGBT Magazine

“For over a decade [from 1990], Bombay Dost challenged social taboo by helping readers come out and come into their own. Fulfilling that mission wasn’t easy, and the magazine briefly shut down in 2002 due to logistical difficulties. When it returned in 2009, Indian law had briefly become more hospitable to gay people. Today, however, Bombay Dost faces a new challenge: As it competes with online publications, the magazine must make the case for the print product, and its persevering power to bring the LGBT community closer together.”

The Caravaggio At The Heart Of The Wildenstein Money-Laundering Trial

The Lute Player was discussed in [a Paris] court last week in a trial in which eight defendants, including Guy Wildenstein, the president of the New York art business Wildenstein & Company, are charged with tax evasion and money laundering. The French government estimates that the estate could owe at least €550m, including fines and interest.”

Top Posts From AJBlogs 10.12.16

Monday Recommendation: Cecil Payne & Duke Jordan
Cecil Payne & Duke Jordan, Brooklyn Brothers (Elemental Music) This classic pairing is an essential repertoire item in Elemental Music’s series reissuing Xanadu albums from the 1970s. Payne (1922-2007) was among the great baritone saxophonists … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-10-12

Dr. Richard Wang, enabler of AACM experimentalists, RIP
In his first college teaching job at Wilson Junior College during the early 1960s, trumpeter Dick Wang encountered a cadre of exploratory young Chicago musicians who would soon form the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians). … read more
AJBlog: Jazz Beyond Jazz Published 2016-10-12

Snapshot: Paul Draper improvises a jazz tap dance
Paul Draper improvises a jazz dance on Rainbow Quest, a TV series hosted by Pete Seeger. This episode was taped in 1965. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-10-12

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We Celebrate Creativity (But We’re Also Suspicious Of And Hostile To It)

“The paradox of this bias against creativity lies in the fact that creativity — along with its close cousin innovation — is frequently celebrated in business as a most desired organizational trait. Reports of management excellence from McKinsey to KPMG state that creativity among the workforce is a basic requirement for long-term business success. Why then does the organizational immune system kick into high gear whenever exposed to the very thing it needs to survive?”