back on the block

I am back on my block -- President Street, in Brooklyn. But just for a few days. Then it's back to New Orleans, where I spent most of the past three months, to pack up and give up the sublet. And the rush of images, quotes, and information, I've been gathering -- some of which has filtered into reporting in the Wall Street Journal, Village Voice, Jazziz, and elsewhere, and all of which I thought I'd be blogging about with regularity -- will now begin to spill out, both reflectively as I unfurl my notes, and in real-time as I continue tracking the people, places, and things that have occupied my time: I am back on the blogging block.

The first, which follows, is a reflection on clarinetist and educator Alvin Batiste, who died on the eve of his jazz-fest concert.

But I'm wishing myself back to NOLA today, where the annual Downtown Super Sunday parade provides one of the best windows into the splendor of Mardi Gras Indian masking tradition. To see what you, and I, are missing, and to get some truly insightful background, check out Katy Reckdahl's piece in today Times-Picayune.