Michel Legrand (1932 – 2019) is one of the most respected composers in the history of modern music, alongside Igor Stravinsky, Frank Zappa and Quincy Jones.
After having benefited from the tutelage of the famously severe Nadia Boulanger, Michel Legrand composed thousands of pieces and songs for various industries.
His legacy is still influencing the whole world, from the cinema studios of California to Paris to New York’s most whisky-fueled jazz clubs.
Almost thirty years after his death in a helicopter accident, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s legacy seems untouched. SRV’s music keeps on inspiring and motivating young and advanced guitar players on their journey to soulful music playing and mastery. But that’s not all.
As John Mayer rightfully expressed while introducing the Dallas-born music prodigy at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Stevie’s music is “a rage without the anger, it’s devotional”. How could a blues player have such an impact in roughly eight years of fame?
Here are our answers !
« Aurélie? That’s odd for a name. That’s cute. » These are Eggleston’s words, thrown at me with a mischievous look on the occasion of a Spring afternoon of 2006, the day of a press conference held in Dunkirk for his « Spirit of Dunkerque » exhibition. Truth is, there are thousands reasons to like this photographer and his remarkable work.
« Aurélie ? C’est un drôle de prénom. C’est joli. » C’est précisément ce que m’a lancé, l’air malicieux, William Eggleston lors de notre rencontre en 2006, par un bel après-midi de printemps. C’était à l’occasion de la conférence de presse pour son exposition « Spirit of Dunkerque » au LAAC (Lieu d’art et action contemporaine). S’il existe bel et bien mille raisons d’aimer ce fabuleux photographe et son remarquable travail, en voici trois.
Before fashion influencers became (too?) important in this world was Bill Cunningham (1929 – 2016). For almost a whole century, he’s been photographing the who’s who and the everyday man and woman on the street. Five quotes that shaped his life, and should shape yours too, brought to you by Slow Culture.
“The Priestess of Polka Dots”, a.k.a. Yayoï Kusama, is an avant-garde artist and writer of Japanese descent. After moving to New York in 1957, (with an extra push from Georgia O’Keefe), her artwork went from 2D to… infinity. While painting still remains one of Kusama’s daily artistic mediums, her forte lies in installation and sculpture. Melding aspects of her psychological past and present, with attributes of feminine, minimal, surreal, and abstract expressionist art, it is anirrefutable understatement to call Yayoï Kusama a pioneer of conceptual artistic expression – but I’ll let you decide. Today, we’re going to explore Yayoï Kusama’s obsessions with repetition and infinity – and why these obsessions have become mine, too.
Brian Wilson is the band leader of The Beach Boys, the renowned surf music band who peaked in the mid-sixties. We focus today on Brian’s genius (even though he several times made clear that this affirmation made no sense) during his psychedelic period, judged by numerous to be one of the most interesting in modern music history.
Continue reading “Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) – TUESDAY MUSEDAY”…