Entries from August 2005 ↓

One of the jazz world’s greatest living legends was bestowed one of his country’s highest honors this week, when the postal service of Canada unveiled a new 50 cent stamp commemorating the life of pianist Oscar Peterson. The event marking the occasion occurred in Toronto on August 15, Peterson’s 80th birthday, and is the first time that a Canadian stamp pays tribute to a living citizen.

With a more than 50 year career in music, 300 albums, numerous awards including seven Grammys, performances with such greats as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington, Peterson is regarded as one of the world’s greatest jazz pianists. He has also received several honorary doctorates from educational institutions in the United States and Canada and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1984.

He first learned music from his self-taught father, a West Indian immigrant to Canada who worked as a railway porter. Peterson studied both classical and jazz piano and got his big break when he won a contest on the Canadian Broadcasting Company, which led to appearances on a weekly Montreal radio show. He played Carnegie Hall in 1949 and soon after formed the Oscar Peterson Trio.

“I have always considered myself a person proud to be a Canadian,” a soft-spoken Peterson told assembled guests at the stamp unveiling ceremony. “But to have the honor of this stamp issued in my likeness goes beyond my wildest dreams.” Peterson then surprised everyone by playing a number he wrote entitled “Requiem” which he called a tribute to the many jazz artists who have died in recent years.

Four million of the stamps and 500,000 souvenir sheets have been printed and went on sale immediately. Collectors interested in the Oscar Peterson 50 cent stamp can order them online by following the links at the Canada Post website or by calling 1-800-565-4362 from the U.S. and Canada.

In recent years, commemorative stamps in the United States have been issued in honor of James Baldwin, Alvin Ailey and Paul Robeson, among others.

There was sweltering heat and humidity in New York Saturday, with temperatures in the 90’s. While I own an air conditioner and it has been going practically nonstop all season, I didn’t want to stay cooped up in the apartment all day. So where can you find something fun to do and stay cool at the same time? The movies! I treated myself to a double feature.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A comedian and a magician set out to make a documentary about a dirty old joke but wind up creating a controversial, extremely raunchy yet wildly amusing commentary on the ever-changing standards of public decency.

That’s the back story behind The Aristocrats, directed by comedian Paul Provenza and produced by comedian-magician Penn Jillette (Penn & Teller).

When comedians get together they try to amuse one another. Like jazz musicians holding their own after hours jam session, comics can go all night swapping stories, telling jokes and trying to one-up each other. They often save some of their funniest, if not in fact, dirtiest material for these private performances.

“The Aristocrats” is the punch line to an ages-old joke comedians have all learned and passed down over generations. Much like a secret handshake or an initiation ritual, the successful telling of this joke signifies that one is a member of the fraternity.

How the joke is told, is what makes this tradition so special, and what also makes this film one of the most vulgar 90 minutes in cinematic history. A joke consists of a setup (what the joke is about), and a punch line, the payoff that usually turns the setup in an offbeat direction.

The setup to this joke begins innocently enough. “A man goes into a talent agent’s office and says, ‘Have I got a show for you. You’re gonna love it; it’s a family act.’ The agent says, ‘Alright, tell me about the act’.” What follows is left to the interpretation of the joke teller, with an infinite number of variations and riffs on the description of the act, almost always scatological or sexual in nature, sometimes going on literally for 30 minutes or more, incorporating any manner of acts of bestiality or incest too vivid to repeat even on the Internet.

Provenza interviews 100 comics, comedy writers and show business executives including Phyllis Diller, Robin Williams, Paul Reiser, Whoopi Goldberg, George Carlin, Chris Rock, Shelly Berman and the editorial staff of The Onion. In addition to sharing their own versions of the joke, which reportedly dates back to Vaudeville, the interviews highlight how the direction it takes often depends on the comedic style of the teller.

Male comics almost always take the joke down a sexual path, while some of the women, like Rita Rudner and Cathy Ladman found more restrained ways of getting a laugh. Older comedians, like Diller, used to working in clean material were able to find less offensive ways of telling the same joke. But everyone stretched the boundaries of good taste.

And that is the interesting sidebar to this very simple film. What is offensive? What is considered vulgar or in bad taste? Those answers are left to individual listeners. Humor that made us uncomfortable 30 or 40 years ago can now be found every evening on network television. These are just words, and it is a joke, so what is it about blue material that causes some to laugh while others get up and leave (and several people did walk out on the screening I attended)?

This film does not attempt to answer any of those questions, it merely raises them. It is interesting to note that the 3,500 screen AMC Theatres chain has refused to show this picture and that the producers deliberately did not seek a rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). It would have undoubtedly received an NC-17. Knowing the subject matter, movie-goers are advised to see it at their own risk.

Four Brothers also failed to address deeper questions, but it never failed to entertain. The latest film from director John Singleton–who since his debut Boyz n the Hood, seems to be having an up and down career–is weak on story and plausibility, but strong on action, male bonding, gun play and chase scenes. For this particular subject, that seems to be enough to hold audience attention.

The brothers are Bobby, Angel, Jeremiah and Jack Mercer, (Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, and Garrett Hedlund respectively), the adopted sons of Evelyn Mercer (Fionnula Flanagan), a salt of the earth who took many an at-risk foster child off the tough streets of inner city Detroit, but raised these four herself because they were so far beyond hope no one would permanently adopt them.

When Evelyn is senselessly murdered in a grocery store robbery, her boys come home to bury her. But when they find the Detroit PD indifferent, inept and corrupt, they decide to track down the killers themselves. Tossing all believability to the bitter Michigan winter wind, Singleton gets us to follow along as the boys play vigilante, engaging in shootouts and snowy car chases with suspected hit men, following up leads that trained detectives somehow can’t piece together, and getting away with murder, literally. It’s all good clean fun.

This movie doesn’t pretend to be anything more than what it is, escapist entertainment. If you sit back and just watch, it actually has some touching moments. The interaction and good natured razzing the guys give each other makes them believable as brothers. Scenes showing how they miss their mother are also effective.

Chiwetel Ejiofor (Dirty Pretty Things), Josh Charles (tv’s Sports Night) and Terrance Dashon Howard (Hustle & Flow), give fine supporting roles as cops and bad guys, involved in the investigation of the murder.

While some people walked out of The Aristocrats, I wish some at Four Brothers would have shut up so the rest of us could hear the movie. Yes, it attracts that audience. But I stayed cool anyway.

A thank you to everyone who posted comments on my last entry “Aging Out.” It generated numerous responses, but most significantly, many lengthy, well-thought-out comments. I sense the topic resonated with many people and perhaps there needs to be more of a dialogue on some of the challenges we all face moving from young people to middle age to senior citizens. I admit to having more questions than answers, so I’ll try to pose some of them in the weeks to come. I invite fellow bloggers to also raise the topic on your sites.

Speaking of fellow bloggers, a quick look over at my list of “Fellow Travelers” and you will note a few additions, or re-additions in some cases. Welcome Andres to the blogosphere with his new blog Blabbeando . He is one of the most active community activists in New York City and a long time correspondent on listservs I belong to. New to my list but certainly not new to others out there are Tim’m and Nalo. At Front Porch Storytellin, Tim’m shares deeply personal and deeply emotional insights into his life in ways I am far too afraid. Nalo Hopkinson is a Caribbean Canadian science fiction and fantasy author. Finally, returning from hiatuses that were far too long are Elle and Nova, both of whom seem to have had some changes in their lives since last I read them. Welcome back.

I know that who bloggers link to can often be a touchy subject or political statement, but none is intended here. For the most part these are people whose lives or work or style of writing I just find interesting, and who keep their sites fairly current (although some more current than others). Some are longtime friends. Nothing should be inferred by the absence of anyone else.

For the third time in a row, filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris will have a film making its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela (a son’s tribute to unsung heroes), will make its debut as part of the Reel to Reel documentary category. This follows screenings of two previous installments of what is intended as a trilogy, Vintage: Families of Value (1995) and E Minha Cara/That’s My Face (2001).

“This is such a unique honor,” he said, “Twelve Disciples completes the chronicle of my family’s history over the last forty years as an African and American family at the epicenter of major social, political and cultural changes in America and the world.”

Singer Lizz Wright has released her second CD, Dreaming Wide Awake and is now out on an international tour to promote it. I have not as yet picked it up, and missed her shows here in NYC, but hope others won’t miss out on the opportunity. Her debut album, Salt, just stirs the soul. She’s got a marvelous voice.

I asked a friend if he had participated in any of this weekend’s Pride in the City activities over in Brooklyn.

Not only had he not, he told me, but he had no intention. “I’m all fagged out!” He suggested he would however be attending another event in Brooklyn, aimed at the general population, where he felt more of a genuine community atmosphere, free of the “tension that exists at most ‘gay-identified’ activities.”

He is a contemporary of mine, age-wise, and I value the path he’s traveled to arrive at his thinking. His comments are not unlike those I have heard expressed by others around our age–the 30, 35, 40 and older crowd–and not unlike feelings I have expressed myself. Activities we might have once flocked to with great urgency, now no longer hold an appeal. We want something more that isn’t currently offered within the Black gay community, and in the absence of such events, feel no great connection. We have, in a term, “aged out” of most of the social activities associated with our community.

But what does it mean to age out? Is it the same experience for everyone? Is it really about age or more about values, interests, personal goals, etc.? Is this a real or a perceieved problem? Is there a genuine disconnect between younger and older members of our community, and if so, is this a bridge that needs repairing? What are the long-range implications for younger and older members if the matter isn’t addressed?

If you look at the artwork used to promote Pride in the City, you see young, hard bodies. Not unlike countless other products, sex is being used to sell this event. I don’t look like any of those bodies. Even 20 years ago I didn’t look like that. It is sending a message we get all too often in our community; show up looking fabulous and you might snag a hottie.

That message appeals to a certain group: those preoccupied with such frivolities. The “tension” my friend spoke of is sexual tension. If you fall into the right category, you arrive with a set of heightened expectations. If you are not in that category, you find yourself in the midst of those who may be making quick, snap judgements about your worth. “He looks like someone I want to talk to” or “He doesn’t look like anyone I want to talk to.” Because many of us have never learned how to interact with one another in non-sexual ways, this puts up barriers between us and, for some, destroys that sense of community we seek. It is a humbling experience that can happen to anyone at any age, but which is particularly acute for those past the magical age of 30, when gay men first begin to disappear.

Aging out then may be the time when we not only tire of certain activities but outgrow the need to associate with people based solely on our common sexual orientation. Segregating our lives within such narrow boundaries can be limiting and not allow us to be exposed to a broader range of views, opinions and interests, or to be valued as the complete human beings we are.

I have never considered myself to be the typical Black gay man. You aren’t likely to find me where everyone else hangs out (where ever that may be), but off enjoying the kinds of things I write about here. As a result, that often pulls me out of exclusively Black gay circles, into spaces with straight folks, a predominance of women, other ethnic groups, other age groups (at 45, I’m sometimes the youngster), even non-urban settings. Over time I have come to realize that my affinity group has wider parameters than ones I traveled in previously.

I’d like to hear from other people on this subject, particularly if you believe you have aged out. What does that mean to you? What are you no longer doing and why? What activities are you doing now and with whom?

Although previews are not until October and the scheduled opening is set for December 1, signs are already up outside The Broadway Theatre for the musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple.

Scott Sanders, Creative Battery, Roy Furman and Quincy Jones are the producers behind this show. Previously adapted into an Academy Award nominated motion picture, this stage version had its world premiere production at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. The Color Purple stars Broadway veteran La Chanze (Once On This Island, Dessa Rose). Book is by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, based on the book by Alice Walker, choreography by Donald Byrd, directed by Gary Griffin.

The Broadway Theatre is located at 1681 Broadway (at 53rd Street), New York, NY.

In other theater news, Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad will reprise her role as Aunt Ester in the upcoming production of Gem of the Ocean at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ.

Rashad received a Tony nomination for her work in the August Wilson play, which played Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre Nov. 23, 2004-Feb. 6, 2005. In the McCarter engagement Rashad will be joined by John Amos, best known for his work on such TV programs as “Good Times” and “The West Wing” as well as the award-winning miniseries “Roots.”

Gem of the Ocean will play the McCarter Oct. 11-30. The production will mark the directorial debut of Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago Hudson.

Gem of the Ocean is the ninth play in Wilson’s ten-play cycle chronicling the African-American experience through each decade of the 1900s. The story, set in 1904, “begins on the eve of the 285th birthday of Aunt Ester (a recurring character in Wilson’s play cycle). Citizen Barlow, a man who is in spiritual turmoil, arrives at Aunt Ester’s house in Pittsburgh’s Hill District and is soon set off on a spiritual journey to find the mythic City of Bones, leading him to startling discoveries and setting him on a course of duty and redemption.”

Finally, it’s Restaurant Week in New York!

The “week” actually runs now until September 5 and takes place only on weekdays. Many of New York’s best restaurants (of which there are thousands) will serve three-course lunches for $20.12 and three-course dinners for $35.00 (beverage, tax and gratuity additional). Check online for a list of participating establishments and experience the quality, variety, and hospitality that makes New York the best restaurant city in the world.