Entertainment
Jazz pianist Kirk Lightsey found respect in Paris that was missing in the United States — Andscape
Black Americans in France is a series of reports specializing in African Americans living abroad during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Pianist Kirk Lightsey moved to Paris permanently in 1994. After moving there, Lightsey, then 87, joined one other wave of African Americans to maneuver to the City of Light.
Since the early twentieth century, Paris has been a magnet for African Americans who saw the country and city as a refuge from the brutal reality of racism in the United States. For generations of black Americans, Paris has offered opportunity, recent beginnings, and an escape from the constant hum of racism.
As a highly regarded jazz musician, Lightsey was a part of a wealthy jazz tradition that had delighted Parisians since the early twentieth century, when jazz was introduced by the regimental bands of black American soldiers who spread the exciting recent music throughout France.
While Paris was under no circumstances a paradise for people of various races, for a lot of African writers, musicians, and artists the city was a protected space where their humanity was not only recognized but valued.
“Paris was welcoming,” Lightsey said from his home in Paris during a recent interview. “I felt more at ease. I felt appreciated. I felt like people were people, and I was just a human being to all people, and I was very appreciated. It was wonderful to be here. It was great.”
Brian O’Connor/Images of Jazz/Heritage Images via Getty Images
Born and raised in Detroit, Lightsey began playing piano at age 5 and spent his teens and early maturity becoming a part of the city’s vibrant jazz scene. Eventually, Lightsey was prompted to maneuver to Paris when the burden of racism became an excessive amount of to bear.
The first incident occurred while he was serving in the army.
Lightsey was drafted in 1960 and was a member of the Fort Knox Army Band. During one visit, Lightsey and his then-wife decided to go off base for dinner.
“She was visiting me at Fort Knox. We were hungry. We just drove down the hill about 15 minutes from Fort Knox,” he recalled. “I said, ‘I’ve never been to this place, but it looks pretty good, so let’s go in and get something to eat.’ We went in, I was in my uniform, and they immediately said, ‘Excuse me, we don’t serve blacks here.’ I didn’t know what to do. All I could do was take Shirley’s hand and walk out. It was the most outrageous thing that had ever happened to me, as far as race was concerned. And they still expect me to fight for my country.”
In addition to soldiers, black musicians weren’t spared the humiliation of racism during their tours.
“The whole Count Basie band had to do it, a lot of people who were on the road, all these black musicians at the time had to go through it,” Lightsey said. “That’s why so many black individuals who were playing music at the time decided to come back to Europe, decided to come back to Paris, and most of them stayed. They stayed because they knew after they got back to the States they were going to get their asses kicked by white toes.
“There was no racial issue here (France). The French were really happy to accept us as artists and had great respect for us.”
After his discharge, Lightsey became a staff pianist at Motown Records and continued to achieve fame by fiddling with a few of Detroit’s finest musicians. In the mid-’60s, Lightsey joined trombonist Melba Liston’s all-female band and made a pilgrimage to New York.
After his time with Liston, Lightsey moved to California in 1969 to work with vocalist OC Smith, during which era he made his first trip to Paris. He then joined saxophonist Dexter Gordon’s band, returned to New York, and have become a fixture on the New York jazz scene.
One night, Lightsey was riding a crowded subway back from a concert when he was arrested by the New York City Transit Police on a vague charge of hit-and-run. He later learned that he and other black passengers had been racially profiled by the Transit Police in a scheme that was uncovered when the Transit Police targeted an off-duty black police officer. Lightsey sued the city and won a positive settlement seven years later.
“I was working all over New York at the time and had been to Europe a few times,” he recalled. “I was playing in Paris, and Paris seemed like a good place to live.”
Lightsey decided to make use of the settlement money to maneuver to Paris along with his recent wife, who was French. At 57, he had had enough.
The subway incident was the final straw.
“What was happening politically was a big part of why I left the States and came to Europe,” he said. “The club owners were dying and things were changing in New York in the business and it just didn’t feel the same. It’s worse now than it was then, but it was bad enough then. It was at a time when a lot of American musicians were moving to Paris and Europe because life in the States was just so ugly for black Americans, and especially black American musicians. A lot of people moved here. And I came here and found a lot of people who were my friends.”
Samuel Dietz/Redferns
There was no shortage of labor for Lightsey, who enjoyed widespread recognition at this point in his profession. He worked repeatedly at several clubs in Paris, the surrounding countryside, and taught at an academic program outside of Paris. Lightsey believes his profession in Paris has reached one other level.
“Yes, that happened. I was at a different level because now not only was I from New York and playing from New York, but it was a great level,” he said. “And I was one in every of the best pianists in Paris and other parts of Europe that I had been to. So I was on a ladder going up.
“Life in Paris was very easy. I just had to learn the language. But it wasn’t that hard because people in Paris at that time were trying to learn English, so they practiced their English with me back and forth. I don’t have to speak French as much as I did when I came here.”
Because of the historical origins of black jazz musicians in France, Lightsey said, he and other jazz musicians enjoy a level of respect that is usually lacking in the United States.
“My French wasn’t bad. It was beginner’s French, but when people talked to me, they knew I wasn’t French, I wasn’t African, I was from the United States. And that earned them respect,” he said. “Being here and being an American musician, and also being a musician from the States and living in Paris, was a great honor for them. So I was very respected for being a musician and being from the States. I worked all the time. So it was a great feeling.”
After we finished talking, I asked Lightsey what he had gained from moving to Paris. “You gain freedom,” he said. “You gain the language. You gain proximity to very interesting places, like Germany. You’re close to Vienna, you’re close to other worlds. And that’s great, because you can hop on a train and go anywhere.”
How does he see himself? As a black Frenchman? As a black man living in Paris? “As an American living in Paris with a French family, my French wife and my French daughter,” he said.
Would Lightsey ever consider returning to the United States?
“Never, not even in the next life,” he said. “What’s going on there politically is crazy. It’s just crazy.”
Entertainment
The second Kehlani concert in New York was canceled, this time due to “security and safety problems”
Another upcoming Kehlani concert, which is to happen in Summersage at Central Park in the Pride month, has been dismissed.
On Monday, May 5, just just a few weeks after her concert was canceled on the University of Cornell, Summerstage announced that they cancel the upcoming Kehlani concert after receiving security and safety problems from the office of the mayor of New York Eric Adams.
“We were notified by the mayor’s office that they have concerns about security and safety problems in connection with the Kehlani concert of June 26,” said the organizers Statement published in social media–Sums that the fears result directly from the “controversy regarding the decision of the University of Cornell” to cancel its program.
“We strongly and definitely believe in all kinds of artistic expression. However, the safety of our guests and artists is of great importance,” the organizers continued. “In the light of these fears, the concert was dismissed.”
The 30-year-old R&B singer responded to the news by publishing “Lol” and noticed that their post was the primary to hear about news, together with fans, AP News Reported.
In posts about news concerning the threads, the singer “After Hours” wrote: “The second program canceled by the state of New York! Reminder: We were played Barclays. :)”
On Tuesday, Adams said that officials wondered if the Kehlani concert in Central Park would affect public safety before making a call CBS messages.
“We wanted to conduct an analysis and make sure that it is not so, and on the basis, without the need to review this full analysis (City Parks Foundation) made this determination,” said Adams.
This cancellation occurs after the Cornell University decision concerning the cancellation of the Kehlani program in April for its constant and loud support of Palestine in the course of the ongoing conflict in gas. Michael Kotlikoff, Michael Kotlikoff, was to perform in the course of the annual “Slopa Day”, when the president of the University of Cornell said that she would now not perform after she allegedly “was in favor of anti -Semitic, anti -Israeli sentiments in performances, films and social media.”
After dismissal, Kehlani began to social media to clean the air round her position.
“I am not anti-Semitic or anti-war. I am an anti-denominant, counteracting the Israeli government, anti-excist to whole people, antibulating innocent children, men and women. This is what I am anti-anti-“-said the singer Instagram video. “The first living at the beginning of this genocide was a really beautiful Jewish organization called Jewish voices (sic) for peace, and I still learn and work with really influential Jewish organizers against this Ludobom.”
In the signature, she continued to write that in addition to Cornell University, other attempts to cancel her programs were made.
“If you want to cancel me on your occasion or because of your Zionism. Do not do it anti-Żyko,” Kehlani wrote in the signature.
(Tagstotransate) Israel Palestine Conflict (T) Cornell University
Killer Action Role on television, science fiction Odyssey Outlaws and Hyper Dystopian Stories are stuffed with the film Hanna John-Kamen as a performer with strength in her emotional performance on the screen. A 35-yr-old English actress known for her roles in movies reminiscent of Andas, just like the television program, Likeand is ready to bring her to her because she had large roles supporting in lots of successful franchises. He represents his role Ghost (Ava Starr) in Marvel. Directed by Jake Schreier, The Asterisk within the title of the film is a real show Way Marvel, and the filmmaker intended to be this story to be the departure of Disney franchise and resign how very different it’s from the more shiny repertoire of Marvel’s movies.
“Jake’s lens of this film was very, tonally specific”, he describes John-Kamen through the conversation. “It was like creating an independent film in the Marvel universe – Jake had a level of sensitivity and nurturing this story.” Re-reembodiment John-Kamena Ava Starr as a spirit, a killer for employment, is a key paria of the newly formed group, which was later recognized within the film as Thunderbolts, the name developed by the character of David Harbor, Aleksiej Andreovitch (Red Guardian).
The family roots of John-Kamen reach her Nigerian father and Norwegian mother, who performed significantly different works as a criminal psychologist and fashion model. With her established experience in Performance’s art, she was in a position to introduce her history of upbringing in a house stuffed with beauty and brains in her roles on the screen. The English contractor doesn’t stop his roles on television and film and cooperated with the maestros cinema, reminiscent of Steven Spielberg (), and now Jake Schreier. “It’s quite difficult, because when you filter abroad, you revolve with a time difference that is easier to say than to do,” says John-Kamen. “In this world it can be a lonely lifestyle that concerns the spirit, and I grounded, taking breath and seeing my loved ones, friends and hugging my dog.”
Florence Pugh leads as Yelena Belova, a self -sighted super agent who suffers from disturbing episodes that recreate memories of the past that persecute her. The unusual childhood injury Belova led her to becoming a one who acts essentially the most alone. Belova and Starr are a fortress behind Anti Hero Alliance of the Thunderbolts. They are the one women in a six -person organization who meets with controversial forces. “He, very, controls himself, his body and making decisions very much,” the John-Kamen explores. “She is Fort Knox and is a lonely wolf.”
The unusual moments of the comedy from the forged, which incorporates Sebastian Stan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lewis Pullman and many others, does so related and feel more human than OR. Without having shiny superpowers, which make up lightning, they’re forced to face their reality without pursuing fandoms and public support. In the film Arch Nemesis Thunderbolt is the vengeful figure of Louis-Dreyfus, Valentina Allegra de Fountaine-infiltrating director who tries to control and remove the Marvel Hero team.
During the 2 -hour journey, which makes up the history of Thunderbolt’s origin, the audience experiences the best way these qualified warriors are still fighting for the worst problems. Ava Starr stays under the radar for many of the film because he has more sequences than words. “Her guard is very elevated,” says John-Kamen. Ava Starr appears when Yelena Belova needs her most to avoid wasting the world overtaken by darkness. The character of Lewis Pullman, Robert “Bob” Reynolds, is armed against Thunderbolts, and his arch symbolizes how our minds could be as powerful because the uncomfortable villain.
Schreier’s approach to this film within the Marvel series was to enlarge greater than outside, removes all glamorous aesthetics that makes the heroes so aspirative. Even in Thunderbolts marketing, a wheat box standing in the midst of the box is caught to satirize the trail of superheroes created within the Marvel cinema. Each anti -hero character stands in front of its own internal battles created by the trauma and wounded within the script by Eric Pearson. “We really laughed between shots,” Hanna warns me, talking concerning the heavier facets of the film. “I really created this beautiful family in this cast.”
In general, that is a story that follows wounded individuals who learn to treat. Along the best way, they establish a family bond and support system. In 2025, when people can feel more disconnected, the narrative of Thunderbolts hits the home harder, watching the characters construct sufficient confidence and mental Harta to face in themselves and their newly discovered friends. “I think that at the end of this movie I want you to hug a loved one or make sure someone feels safe and informed him that they do not have to boldly smile,” John-Kamen says.
Entertainment
The shocking commitment of Larsa Pippen towards a new younger man lights a furious warning a year after parting from his son Michael Jordan
Lars Pippen knows find out how to make boys from basketball in love.
The star “The Real Housewives of Miami” is in a relationship with the previous international basketball player Jeff Cobym, and he already has several necessary intentions after only 4 months of dates. On Sunday, May 4, Coby, a graduate of the University of Columbia, who played in Pro Ball mainly in Spain and Latin America after graduation, and happily shared the plans to marry Pippen within the near future, and even revealed their alleged wedding date.
They each walked through the noisy part of Miami TMZ paparazzi. Initially, they ignored the crew and walked on – so long as Cobby suddenly shouted over his shoulder: “We got married in November 2025!” Then he quickly improved the year to 2026.
Cameramnik was falling back to ask the previous Ivy League player to repeat himself and met with the reply “Let’s get married”. Lars, who remained mute during interaction, suddenly checked out Coby, after which raised her hand to her face and closed her eyes with seemingly embarrassment.
Larsa Pippen and Jeff who get married
️
Coby-31-year-old were a skilled basketball player-the paparazzi before the elegant event in Miami on Sunday evening, he and Lars Pippen are married in November.
Thinks?
TMZ loan #RHorm #bravotv pic.twitter.com/9jo5fdihjf
– Gworls are fighting (@baddietvv) May 5, 2025
But he continued: “Let’s get married. It will be a beautiful marriage. November 2025.”
Another person paparazzi asked Coby: “Are you proposing now?” He replied: “I can’t tell you when I’m going to propose.”
The new couple met in January through the tenth anniversary of Bash to the DBC Fitness gym David Alexander. According to TMZIt was Alexander who played in Matchmaker between them, and so they quickly became exclusive.
Fans commented In the news under the Baller Alert post.
One person asked: “He can get them, why can’t he stop them?”
The second person wrote: “Good, so he will give up the name Scottie, please.”
This wouldn’t be Larsa for the primary time, when she was a lady, she was married to Chicago Bulls Scottie Pippen for 19 years and together she welcomed 4 children: Scotty Pippen Jr., 24, Preston Pippen, 21, Justin Pippen, 18 and 16-year-old Sophia Pippen. Larsa submitted a divorce application with Scottie in 2016, reconciled, but again submitted the applying in 2017 and finalized in December 2021.
Someone else in TMZ comments She criticized Larsa for her dating men who’re much younger than her because she is 31 years old and she or he is 50 years old.
“He will meet with people Scottie Jr.
Larsa was about 45 years old when she began to fulfill with 23-year-old Beasley.
The player Detroit Pistons had an affair with Larsa in 2020, when he was already married to a woman named Montana Yao. There were disputes in social media, and Yao calls him to cheat, and Lars claimed that Beasley was separated from Yao. Yao even submitted an application for separation. When Lars and Beasley finished all the things 4 months, he publicly apologized to Yao and returned together.
But from March 2025, Yao has filed for separation for the second time. Just a few weeks later – still in March – Beasley submitted a divorce application, and later confirmed that he saw the model on Instagram named Natalia Garibotto.
After this defeat with Beasley, Lars began to fulfill with Marcus Jordan, the second son of the NBA player Michael Jordan, who was a former colleague from Scotti’s team.
Her and Jordan’s relationship began in 2022 and were together in July 2024. It was one other relationship during which Lars was condemned for the age difference. She was 48 years old and he was 32 years old. As for Cober, there have been conversations about wedding Between her and the previous basketball player of the university, but they never reached the engagement point before their relationship broke up.
Time will tell if Lars and what they really jump from the brooms.
(Tagstranslate) Larsa Pippen
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The second Kehlani concert in New York was canceled, this time due to “security and safety problems”
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