“Julien really wanted to connect with something else. He really wanted to connect with nature, but not only with nature, but with the scientists and the people that actually are studying the world today.” – CBC
Category: people
Battle Over Aretha Franklin’s Estate Is About To Get Even Messier (And She Is Probably To Blame For That)
“When Franklin died, at age 76, her family believed she had no will. Under Michigan law, that meant her estate would be divided equally among her sons. … But Franklin’s case is especially complex because determining how she wanted her assets distributed involves deciphering whether any of the three hand-scrawled documents found in her home three months ago — one of them under the couch cushions — should be embraced as her will.” – The New York Times
Michael Feinstein On Championing Music
Feinstein has been unique in advocating for this music not only onstage and via albums but also through his books, PBS specials and NPR broadcasts, plus his Great American Songbook Foundation and eponymous cabarets and, of late, his work as principal pops conductor for the Pasadena Symphony. – Chicago Tribune
Richard Williams, Animator Of ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ And The ‘Pink Panther’ Films, Dead At 86
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), a film-noirish comedy, was the first Hollywood film to show live actors and animated characters interacting in ways that looked seamlessly real. … Mr. Williams received a special Oscar for animation direction and for creating new characters for the film, which featured many well-established cartoon characters, and shared a visual effects Oscar.” – The New York Times
Herbie Hancock In Words (It’s A Bit Disappointing)
He’s led the sort of life that generates fascinating stories, which is perhaps what makes his much-anticipated memoir, “Possibilities,” such an occasionally frustrating read. – Los Angeles Times
Leonard Bernstein’s Long-Lost Late-Life Love Letters
Kunihiko Hashimoto, then a 26-year-old insurance worker, attended a New York Philharmonic concert in Tokyo in 1979, and he went backstage afterward to meet Bernstein, soon to turn 61. They fell in love, and though Lenny was never one for monogamy, letters in Library of Congress archives show that they remained involved for the rest of Bernstein’s life. And the relationship became professional as well as personal. – The Observer (UK)
How Kristi Edmunds Disrupts The Arts World
“In my late twenties (living in Portland, Oregon as an artist and emerging curator), I recognized that the art institutions at the time had settled on mission-priorities that would follow the conventions of art-historical successes which were long proven and regionally familiar. This left a rather large gulf between the ideas and work of living artists, and the towering significance of the established canon.” – Authority Magazine
500 Years Later, We’re Still Fascinated By Leonardo (With Good Reason)
“His inventions and scientific theories, as well as his painstaking painting technique, were all of a piece: science and art were not separate modes of thinking. His investigations into geology and botany were not digressions but crucial to understand universal principles that he incorporated in his paintings. Multidisciplinary and boundlessly inquisitive, Leonardo used all that he learned to create sublime art that still captivates.” – Clyde Fitch Report
Paule Marshall, Influential Author Of ‘Brown Girl, Brownstones,’ Has Died At 90
Marshall, the child of immigrants from Barbados, wrote novels and short stories that connected the US African American community and the communities of the Caribbean – and influenced many writers who came after her, including Angela Flouroy, author of The Turner House. – The New York Times
Katreese Barnes, Musical Force Behind The Scenes Of Careers And ‘Saturday Night Live,’ Has Died At 56
Barnes served as a studio musician and producer for some of the most popular acts of the 1990s, including Roberta Flack, Sting, and Chaka Khan – and she propelled SNL to early viral fame on YouTube with her music for the song (whose title The New York Times will not print) “Dick in a Box.” – The New York Times