Wynton Marsalis at the Paramount

My Pops, who has taken to calling himself, "cool papa bell" of late, is a member of the board of directors of the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill, NY. This historic theatre, built in 1930 as a 1500-seat movie house, today provides live performances, arts-in-education programs, films, and visual art exhibitions to the mid-Hudson region.

On Saturday, 27 January Wynton Marsalis headlined an incredible although too-short benefit performance at the Paramount. Marsalis' quintet, included Walter Blanding on tenor sax, Ali Jackson on drums, Dan Nimmer on piano and Carlos Henriquez on bass. They were accompanied by Joe Lovano and a delightful 21-year old woman, alto singer Jennifer Sanon. Playing before a sold-out house.

One of my favorite pieces was composed by Marsalis, titled "The Magic Hour," in reference to the time in which parents prepare their children for sleep. The composition, in four parts, followed the child's frenetic energy, to bath and brushing of teeth, to reading of bedtime stories, and finally to lights-out and falling asleep. The decrescendo over the four pieces echoed the (hoped for!) descending energy of children at bedtime. Casting a wide grin, Marsalis intoned that after hearing this section, we would be treated to the "adult's magic hour," leaving us to our own imagination of what the four parts (with an apex and denouement) would entail. What a treat.
If you're not familiar with Marsalis' work, or history as an artist, composer and organizer, check out Jazz at Lincoln Center, an organization and performance space for which Marsalis continues to be the driving force.

Blood Diamond: Kadir van Lohuizen Photography

As a graduate student at the International Center of Photography (ICP), I often benefit from access to an impressive network of photographers, educators, editors and intellectuals in the media world (and what world is not the media world, these days?)

This past Tuesday, at our weekly photojournalism studies seminar, Kadir van Lohuizen and Stanley Greene, who were members of Agence VU in Paris, visited our class and shared their work, their thoughts and their experiences. If you are not familiar with them as photographers, you should check out their work (click on their names below).

Kadir van Lohuizen is most recognized for his work following the trail of diamonds from Sierra Leone to Saks Fifth Avenue. Working with NGOs (non-governmental organizations), which were the only source of funding he was able to procure in advance of embarking upon his journey, he was able to spend the better part of a year traveling the world in an attempt to stay on the trail of diamonds.

One of the NGOs with whom he has worked closely is Global Witness. You can read their UN reports and more about the situation by going to their "combating conflict diamonds" page.

If you haven't already seen the movie, Blood Diamond, (read and listen to a discussion on NPR) with Leonardo DiCaprio, you might check that out, as well. I haven't seen the film, but van Lohuizen indicated that, putting the Hollywood-isms aside, it's a pretty accurate portrayal of how bloody the diamond industry is.

You can learn more about van Lohuizen's experience, and background on the terms "blood diamond" and "conflict diamond" by reading his exhibition artist statement on the Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute website. Here is an excerpt:

"In the 1990s, I covered the fighting in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), Sierra Leone, and Angola, conflicts that were often dismissed as tribal wars, the final convulsions of the Cold War. By degrees, however, these conflicts turned into struggles over diamonds.

The diamond deposits, for the most part, were controlled by the Angolan and Sierra Leonean rebels, who used the gems as a means to buy weapons. Governments got in on the act, and the terms "blood diamond" and "conflict diamond" were born."

Stanley Greene was also on hand to talk about his work, offering the students gathered at ICP a moving and vulnerable testimony. Greene and van Louhizen have been colleagues while they worked with Agence VU, and more recently as co-grantees with the support of the Soros Foundation to document both the damage in Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as post-Katrina responses by the government. You'll find this online about Greene:

Stanley Greene (US. B. 1949) was born in Harlem, and as a teenager was a member of the Black Panthers and an anti-Vietnam War activist. An encounter with W. Eugene Smith turned his energies to photography. By chance he was on hand to record the fall of the Berlin Wall, which made him a much-sought-after photojournalist. He has photographed wars and poverty in Sudan, Croatia and India, and made a great impression with the photo book Open Wound: Chechnya 1994-2000. Greene is represented by Agence Vu, and won the W. Eugene Smith Award in 2004.

Stanley's most recent work, at least that was shared with us, is with regard to a new website he is finalizing. I don't have the URL at this time, but will update in a future post so that you can read his words and hear his voice, personally. Meanwhile, check out images he took in Chad and in Katrina (an excerpt of images from Louisiana, An Unnatural Disaster,
can be seen online).

The Future of the News Media

Check out this report on National Public Radio's website:

Investigative reporter Lowell Bergman is the producer of the new documentary, News War: Secrets, Spin and the Future of the News. The series is about the mainstream news media and the political, legal and economic forces at play. Aired on Fresh Air, WHYY. 12 February 2007.

Discipline and Hard Work at the Armory

The New Balance Collegiate Invitational is being held today and tomorrow, 2-3 February 2007. If you've never been, as I had not prior to today, you're missing out. I was overwhelmed by the amount of talent and energy in the arena. In fact, just walking up to the building (it's one block west of the 168th Street subway station), there were more runners than taxis; more team colors than I could keep track of. I had goose bumps before walking in the door.
Here are some photos of the event...the collegiate athletes as well as of the Westchester Track Club.

Devers, Dibaba, Lagat, Isinbayeva Shine at the Garden

100th Running of the Milrose Games at Madison Square Garden: Event Highlights

Gail Devers, at age 40, won the women's 60M hurdles by a step in 7.86. She beat her friend and student, Danielle Carruthers, whom Devers has been coaching for the past year. Devers first ran at Millrose when she was 15 and has been a world-class athlete and olympian since. Millrose was her first race after having taken some time off to give birth to her first child, daughter Karsen, who was on hand to celebrate after the win Friday night. “I don’t care how old I am, my goal is to win the race,” Devers said at a press conference on Wednesday. “I say 40 is the new 20. I honestly believe that. My body responds that way.”

Tonight Bernard Lagat, a Kenyan (who runs for the US), took his fifth win at the Millrose Game's signature event, the Wanamaker Mile in a time of 3:54:26.

8-time champion Eamonn Coghlan set off the starter gun and after the race congratulated Lagat. “Eamonn gave it to me today; he said, ‘You have three more to go,’ ” Lagat said. “I love New York and I love running in this competition. So why not come again and try for a sixth one?" Allen Webb, a track-star phenom who broke the national high school record at the 1500, has been struggling over the past few years. Always a crowd favorite, Webb received huge applause from the crowd which only seemed to fire him up more, given that he was already jumping and howling and cheering during the warm up. He fell back with five laps to go and never recovered, coming in fourth. Read more about the Wanamaker Mile in coverage by The New York Times.

Having set a new world indoor record only a week before in Boston, 21-year old Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia ran a stunning, but not record-breaking Women's 3,000 tonight. The 3,000 encompases no less than 20 laps of the Garden’s 145-meter oval. A valiant effort to keep up by American Sarah Hall left Hall teetering on the edge as she was assisted off the track once the race ended, while Dibaba, smiling, celebrated with the large Ethiopian crowd and ran a lap with her nation's flag.
In her American debut, Women's Pole Vault reigning World Champion and Olympic gold medalist, 23 year old Yelena Isinbayeva, cleared cleared 15-9¾ on her first attempt to set a Millrose, Garden and United States all-comers record. She raised the bar a 1/2 inch beyond her current world indoor record, but was unsuccessful at all three attempts to set a new world record.

Legends at the Millrose Games

Just a few images taken at the 100th Milrose Games Legends press conference held at Madison Square Gardens earlier today. These runners are a few of the heroes I grew up with and still look up to. What an honor!

Diane Dixon was the most approachable and pleasant of the bunch, which is saying a lot given how amiable all were. Dixon, a retired 400-meter sprinter and an Olympic gold medalist in 1984, won Millrose a record eight times during her career. Her first title came at the age of 16 when she ran as a "provisional" athelete. Today, Dixon runs an integrated fitness/health/math/writing/balance/agility - you name it - program of her own design within the PE department of her son's school.

Eamonn Coghlan was on hand, which was only fitting given his title of "Chairman of the Boards" while a competitor at Milrose, a name given to him in honor of his dominance at the famed Wanamaker Mile.

Mary Decker Slaney still hasn't officially retired but is out with multiple injuries. As she said, "I am my happiest when running." According to the USATF website, Slaney continues to own the U.S. women's records in the 1500 (3:57.12), mile (4:16.71) and 3000 (8:25.83)

Howard Schmertz, who served as Meet Director of the Millrose Games from 1975 to 2004, will be inducted into the Millrose Games Hall of Fame tonight. He participated in the press conference at the urging of Eamonn, Mary and Diane. Their banter and great stories evidenced the collegiality and good memories shared by staff and runners in during and after their careers.

Yelena Isinbayeva, the reigning Olympic Gold Medalist in the women's pole vault spoke of her desire to break the world record when she competes tomorrow night.