John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History

A Night in Zurich, A Morning in Paris: Sathima Benjamin and Duke Ellington, 1963

In 1963, Duke Ellington changed the lives of two young South Africans forever. One of them was the composer/pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, then known as Dollar Brand. The story of Duke’s discovery of this great talent in a Zurich, Switzerland, nightclub, the recording session that he produced in Paris, and the... Read more →

Things Historians Like: Old Stuff -- Like Paper & Ink

Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby. --Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson * * * Analogue is better. Paper, ink, typewriters, LPs. Film. I've been rediscovering this simple truth as I look through the 18 September 1950 issue of Life magazine. Digital may be more convenient, but it's almost never... Read more →

Funky Friday with Nadine Hutton

When I met Nadine Hutton last October, my first thought was this: She's what I would have been, if I were South African, a woman, had far, far fewer hangups, and more talent. Of course, that's a complete fantasy. I know -- heck, you know -- that no matter how... Read more →

Belgian Congo Pale Ale: Yes, the Horror

[Updated, 18 May 2012.] Belgian Congo Pale Ale? Or perhaps you'd like some Nazi Dachau Brandy? Or some Soviet Gulag Vodka? I've been alternating between anger and despair every since I found this ad on the back page of C-ville, my home town's "alternative" weekly. As absurd -- as impossible... Read more →