Jon Batiste’s Call and Response at NYC’s Beacon
In Winging It, I quote New Orleans Jon Batiste’s reflections on the central role of “call and response” in the arts (and in comic improv’s “Yes, and…”). In speaking with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air, Jon remarked of a Bach Two-Part Invention:
Trickster Trump
Winging It makes the case that Trickster, that charming, charismatic troublemaker, is the engine and voice of improvisation.
One of Trickster’s incarnations is the African / African-American figure named Compère Lapin / Br’er (brother) Rabbit, a West African tale first recorded by Alcee Fortier at Laura Plantation in St. James Parish upriver from New Orleans.
Trickster is the original Energizer bunny. All the cartoon tricksters, from Bugs to Tom to the Roadrunner's Coyote, are relentless. They keep on coming. They operate on an endless supply of desire. Ever wonder at Trump's energy? Sleepy Don is now slipping out of character.
An Interview With Lolis Eric Elie, New Orleans’ Ombudsman, Documentarian, And Storyteller
Lolis Eric Elie writer, journalist, documentarian, screenwriter, and man-about-town is a native New Orleanian and a resident of his beloved Treme, the oldest African American neighborhood in America
An Interview with Davia Nelson of NPR’S Kitchen Sisters
Davia Nelson is one half of NPR’s Kitchen Sisters (with Nikki Silva). The Kitchen Sisters have produced over 300 stories for public broadcast. They chronicle hidden bits of history and subjects who have shaped our diverse cultural landscape. Their current series, The Hidden World of Girls, is hosted by Tina Fey, and airing nationwide on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Their other NPR series include: Hidden Kitchens and Hidden Kitchens Texas, narrated by Willie Nelson and Robin Wright Penn; Lost & Found Sound, narrated by Francis Ford Coppola; The Sonic Memorial Project, narrated by Paul Auster; Waiting for Joe DiMaggio; WHER: 1000 Beautiful Watts; and The Nights of Edith Piaf.
An Interview with Ham Fish, American Publisher, Social Entrepreneur and Academy Award Winning Film Producer
Co-founder with yours truly of the Ridenhour Prizes for Courageous Truth Telling, Hamilton Fish (“Ham” to friends and associates) is an American publisher, social entrepreneur and film producer. He broke the ranks of a long line of Republican ancestors when in the seventies he teamed up with Victor Navasky to revitalize the venerable Nation magazine, and later ran as a Democrat for Congress in New York’s Hudson Valley. Ham produced two of the epic films of Marcel Ophuls, including Hotel Terminus, winner of the Academy Award in 1989. I worked with him for a decade at The Nation Institute on whistleblower protection and recognition issues, a project we developed under the name of my friend the New Orleanian journalist Ron Ridenhour. Today Ham is publisher of The Washington Spectator.
An Interview with Alon Shaya, Chef/Owner of Domenica Restaurant in The Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans
As a little boy in Philadelphia, Alon Shaya spent most of his time in the kitchen with his mother and grandmother, which instilled in him a passion for cooking. After training at the Culinary Institute of America, Alon interned at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, too young to gamble, but ready to take on the casino kitchens. In 2001, he opened Antonio’s Ristorante at Harrah’s Casino, St. Louis. There he met Octavio Mantilla, general manager and co-owner of Besh Restaurant Group, who lured him to New Orleans. As chef de cuisine at Besh Steak in Harrah’s Casino, New Orleans, Alon worked closely with Chef John Besh. In 2007, Louisiana Cookin’ showcased him on its cover and in a corresponding feature about five young “Chefs to Watch.” Alon and Chef Besh forged a partnership in 2008 and decided to open Domenica, a family-oriented, authentic Italian restaurant in New Orleans’ historic Roosevelt Hotel. Alon also played a line chef in a recurring role in HBO’s Treme.