Didier Court

Painting by Barrie Hill - La Rochelle 'New Orlens' Jazz Festival 2010

Watercolor of the 2010 La Rochelle Dixie Jazz Festival by Barrie Hill, a talented artist passionate about music. Barrie's work is currently on display at Café, Chocolat, Thé near the old port in La Rochelle.

1) At educational event in La Rochelle
2) Zachary with Bernard Godon
3) With Malo Mazurié Practicing at 7am
4) Jérôme Nicolas pre-concert
5) Zachary With Philippe
6) With Didier, Jerome, and Robert in street performance.

1 - Gare de La Rochelle
2 - Backstage with Didier Court preparing set list (Photo by Michael Lardeux)
3 - Schedule for Festival

Zachary Lipton - Tenor Saxophone, Didier Court - Guitar, Philippe Guignier - Guitar, Aurélien Guyot - Violin, Jérôme Nicolas - Clarinet, Robert Mendoche - Bass

[excusez-moi! - the following post was written last night but could not be published for lack of wifi access]

Hello world! I wanted to blog sooner but my schedule has exploded. After arriving yesterday afternoon in La Rochelle, I settled for a moment in my host’s lovely home before running off to dinner at a restaurant with several fellow musicians. Today, after waking up at 9:00am, I quickly tore through a lovely breakfast before warming up and running to participate in a New Orleans style street performance. Immediately after, we departed for a sound check prior to a concert in La Rochelle’s suburbs. Though I write, I must wake up in four hours to begin a new day of learning tunes, making friends and performing.

René Bigot, the festival director, and my gracious host while in La Rochelle has a wonderful house, complete with a pool and beautiful garden. The welcome from the people of La Rochelle has been warm and I have made several friends along the way. Special shout outs (did I actually just write ‘shout outs’? – there has to be a better word but I can’t summon it) go to Robert Mendoche, a trumpeter and bassist with a sharp wit; Michael Lardeux, a web designer, graphic artist and photographer who has generously donated his time to create a beautiful website (http://larochelledixiejazz.fr); Aurélien Guyot, a violiniste skilled both in traditional and modern jazz; Phillppe Guignier, a guitarist in the mold of Django Reinhardt; Jérôme Nicolas, a clarinetist whose gorgeous sound makes me want to start playing clarinet again, and Didier Court, a talented guitarist, banjoist, bandleader and sometimes singer.

For now, maybe I can compensate for my lack of cogent writing with some video from the road. Enjoy the thoughtful commentary on American politics from a like-minded French woman with whom I road the train from Paris.