http://www.jazzloftproject.org/blog Chaos Manor Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:02:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [caption id="attachment_2473" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="The band of the "Asylum for Colored Insane" in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Date unclear."][/caption] Folklorist Sarah Bryan shared this photograph with me this week.  She first saw it in an exhibition in Goldsboro, N.C. at Cherry Hospital which was originally named Asylum for Colored Insane.  The Asylum ... http://www.jazzloftproject.org/blog/general/the-most-haunting-band-picture-ive-seen [caption id="attachment_2463" align="aligncenter" width="442" caption="Downtown Shelby, NC. January 28, 2012. Photo by Helen Woolard."][/caption] Saturday I drove 180 miles west to Shelby, North Carolina to conduct an interview for a project that will reveal itself soon (knock on wood).  Photographer Helen Woolard went with me.  For countless many, Shelby will always ... http://www.jazzloftproject.org/blog/uncategorized/shelby-nc I've told the story about how I got into W. Eugene Smith's work a million times.  In short (here goes again, with a new nuance), I had begun research on a book about Pittsburgh when my Pittsburgh-native wife gave me a camera for Christmas 1996.  In January 1997 I was ... http://www.jazzloftproject.org/blog/general/omg-its-the-book I've been working on the Kansas parts of Gene Smith's Sink and my nephew Hank Stephenson has been working as my research assistant.  This morning, in the WPA Guide to 1930'sKansas (1939), he came across this passage in the "sports and recreation" section of the book (P. 117-118). “The jackrabbit drive ... http://www.jazzloftproject.org/blog/general/bludgeoned-bunnies [caption id="attachment_2447" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Invisible Man. Court Theater. Chicago. 2012."][/caption] Tomorrow I head to Chicago for the official opening of Invisible Man, the first-ever adaptation of Ralph Ellison's novel for stage or screen.  The play is directed by Christopher McElroen, who is also directing the ongoing theater project ... http://www.jazzloftproject.org/blog/general/ellisons-invisible-man-world-premier HERE is a spread of Smith's WWII images in the London Daily Mail yesterday.  Thanks to Russell Burrows for the tip. HERE is a piece I wrote last year for Paris Review about my trip following Smith's footsteps in the Pacific. -Sam Stephenson http://www.jazzloftproject.org/blog/gene-smith/smiths-pacific-wwii-photos-in-london-daily-mail [caption id="attachment_2441" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pianist Keiko Matsui"][/caption] This is a heads-up regarding an intriguing event in NYC next week involving jazz, Japan, and my friend the writer Roland Kelts, who I met for the first time in Tokyo last February and with whom I conducted a conversation about my trip in ... http://www.jazzloftproject.org/blog/general/the-global-salon-cities-in-japan The French magazine, Jazz, has a spread on the JLP in the January 2012 issue (see top right corner of cover above).  I think I've said this here before, but some of my friends and family say if they hear the words jazz loft project again they are going to ... http://www.jazzloftproject.org/blog/press/histoire-jlp-in-french-magazine Niece Lindsey Mockel, living in Portland, OR, tipped me on Smith show up on NPR's The Picture Show blog today. -S.S. http://www.jazzloftproject.org/blog/gene-smith/smiths-country-doctor-on-npr-blog A recent New York Times photo blog post brought attention to my former office mate, Margaret Sartor.  While Margaret was working on her Gedney book, What Was True, I was working on Dream Street.  We sat about six feet apart and helped keep each other's wits about us during those ... http://www.jazzloftproject.org/blog/general/william-gedney-in-the-window