Elliott Barnes at the Musée Carnavalet

You may remember architect and interior designer Elliott Barnes from the Black Paris Profile that I published on him a few months ago.

Elliott Barnes at AD Interiors 2013 Metamorphose
© Discover Paris!
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the creation of elliott barnes interiors, the Musée Carnavalet invited Elliott to display several of his best designs in a show called Transpositions. His works are being shown in the Louis XVI wing, juxtaposed with the period pieces of the museum's permanent collection. They can be seen at the museum through Sunday, May 25th as part of the D'Days Design Festival of 2014.

Musée Carnavalet courtyard
© Discover Paris!

Entrance to the exposition
© Discover Paris!
We attended the cocktail party held in Elliott's honor on Thursday, May 22nd and had the opportunity to view the 26 pieces that he provided for the exposition.

On the first floor, we were greeted by a duo that played in front of Apparition, an LCD light panel covered by a textile made of horsehair and copper. This is one of Elliott's designs.

Musicians and Apparition
© Discover Paris!
The entire ebi collection on display consists of furniture, lamps, room divider screens, floor coverings, and a mirror. Following are several photos that show additional pieces in various rooms of the Louis XVI wing.

AimAi (screen) and Paresse (sofa)
© Discover Paris!

Arc (lamp)
© Discover Paris!

Canapé Toi & Moi (sofa)
© Discover Paris!

Sigma (table)
© Discover Paris!

Réverie (rug)
© Discover Paris!
A sumptuous reception awaited visitors in the Galerie des Enseignes at the end of the exposition. We caught up with Elliott there.

Reception in the Galerie des Enseignes
© Discover Paris!

Elliott and Monique at Transpositions reception
© Discover Paris!
For more information about elliott barnes interiors, visit elliott barnes interiors.

elliott barnes interiors
28, rue d'Aboukir
75002 PARIS - France
T + 33 (0) 1 45 08 16 96
F + 33 (0) 1 40 28 91 58

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My Tropical Adventure at the Foire de Paris

By Tom Reeves

This year, the Foire de Paris featured 3,500 exhibitors and trade names from fifty nations. More than 575 000 visitors attended over a period of twelve days.

The annual fair was so vast and covered so many themes that I decided to limit my visit to a single area – the Terre des Tropiques. Even then, it required visits on two different mornings and another in the evening to see everything that I wanted to see.

I was fortunate to arrive on Wednesday morning, the day when Miss Martinique was presiding at the Martinique Tourism stand. She graciously posed for a picture. Martinique is a French department in the Caribbean.

Miss Martinique
© Discover Paris!
I stopped by a stand where Denis Duvigneau of Patawa Production in French Guiana was selling CD compilations of music from his country. French Guiana is a French department located just above the equator on the North Atlantic side of South America. Their music can be soft and sweet like a tropical breeze or rock hard with pulse-pounding rhythms.

Denis Duvigneau of Patawa Production
© Discover Paris!
I had lunch at a food stand that specialized in Haitian cuisine. Three young women who worked at the stand that day, Kerenne, Jemuma, and Iné, posed for a picture. Follow this link to read about the great lunch that I had!

Kerenne, Jemuma, and Iné
© Discover Paris!
Following lunch, I stopped by a stand where a woman named Aurelia poured me a coconut-milk punch. It was a powerful drink! Aurelia hails from French Guiana and lives in Paris.

Aurelia
© Discover Paris!
The next day I returned, determined to explore the Terre des Tropiques more thoroughly. I met Cécilia from New Caledonia who was working at her country’s agricultural stand. New Caledonia is a French collectivity located in the southwest Pacific Ocean. I purchased a half-kilo of Café de la Saoul, a coffee that is grown and roasted there.

Cécilia at the New Caledonia agricultural stand
© Discover Paris!
At another stand I met Fabrice, assistant director, and Lucien, DJ, of the Outremer Radio Web. Both of them are from Guadeloupe and live in Paris. They took me over to another stand to meet Ruddy (top photo) who is director of the station. Ruddy hails from the city of Saint-Laurent du Maroni in French Guiana.

Ruddy (top), Fabrice, and Lucien (bottom)
© Discover Paris!
It was time for lunch, so I went over to Envies Créoles, a restaurant that serves food from La Réunion, a French department located in the Indian Ocean, just east of Madagascar. There, Nathalie showed me the types of dishes that she was serving that day. Before I sat down to a tasty meal, she took me over to the bar to meet her husband, Olivier, who hails from La Réunion. Both of them run the restaurant.

Nathalie (left) and Olivier (right)
© Discover Paris!
After lunch it was time for dessert, so I purchased a cup of coconut milk sorbet from Grégory of La Grillade Piquante Créole who came all the way from Guadeloupe to sell his delicious sorbets, made on the premises!

Grégory
© Discover Paris!
The following day I returned in the evening to hear a great concert given by top stars of the French Caribbean. The concert was held outdoors in front of an audience of 6,000.

Top singers of the French Caribbean
© Discover Paris!
Of all the stars that performed that evening, my favorite was the VBJ Soul Men, who sang a knockout version of "I’m a Soul Man." Powerful stuff!

VBJ Soul Men
© Discover Paris!
The Foire de Paris was a great success! I look forward to returning next year.


Tom Reeves is the co-founder and president of Discover Paris!
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An Evening of Celebration with CAPDiv

By Tom Reeves

A decade ago, an association called Circle of Action for the Promotion of Diversity (CAPDiv) was founded to promote awareness of the diversity of cultures in France. Last Saturday, it celebrated its 10th year of existence with a fashion show and a fantastic concert featuring three different bands. The celebration took place at the Centre Musical Barbara in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Discover Paris! was there!

The party kicked off with a performance by King Carl (aka Charles Kingué), whose band pumped out Afro-beat rhythms that set the tone for the evening. Charles, who hails from Cameroon, told me that he sang in Duala, one of the languages of the Bantu people.

King Carl
© Discover Paris!
Next on stage came Les Relaxes, a band that was anything but relaxed. Their music stirred audience passions to new heights! The band also performs under the name Daystreet of Paris.

Les Relaxes
© Discover Paris!
During the intermission, we repaired to a lounge upstairs where we enjoyed a fashion show presented by Cameroonian designer Imane Ayissi. The gowns that his stunning models wore elicited more than one “wow!” from the audience.

Gowns by Imane Ayissi
© Discover Paris!
Returning downstairs to the concert hall, we enjoyed dancing and listening to salsa, merengue, and timba-cubana performed by Grupo K-Fé. The band is composed of thirteen musicians, all of whom hail from the Caribbean. Listen to their music here!

Grupo K-Fé
© Discover Paris!
During the evening, I had the pleasure of meeting Stella Triché, an artist who hails from Cameroon. Click here to view other paintings by her, including the one in the photograph below, called Les Musiciens.

Stella Triché and Les Musiciens
© Discover Paris!
Happy Birthday, CAPDiv!

Tom Reeves is the co-founder and president of Discover Paris!

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Duke Ellington Honored at 14th Annual Saint-Germain-des-Prés Jazz Festival

Duke Ellington
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Duke Ellington’s passing in May 1974, the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Jazz Festival has organized three events:

Exhibition
Duke Ellington: A Giant among Giants

The André Malraux library will host a free exhibition of twenty-five album covers for the Duke's recordings. It takes place from May 15 through June 19.

Bibliothèque André Malraux
78, boulevard Raspail
75006 Paris
Metro: Rennes (Line 12)
Entry: free

Jazz Chat
Duke Ellington: Gospel and Sacred Music

Composer and conductor Laurent Mignard, founder of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, will share his passion for Ellington's work during a discussion to be held at Café Les Editeurs on Friday, May 16th. Supported by the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts when it was founded in 2003, the orchestra has reincarnated Ellington's music on stages across the globe.

Les Editeurs
4, carrefour de l'Odéon
75006 Paris
Metro: Odéon (Lines 4, 10)
Entry: free

Concert
Duke Ellington: Gospel and Sacred Music

Nave of Saint-Sulpice Church
© Cezary Piwowarski
This event has been conceived as an invitation to discover and share the spirit of the Duke. The Duke Quintet:

•• Laurent Mignard
trumpet and group leader

•• Philippe Chagne
saxophone

•• Philippe Milanta
piano

•• Bruno Rousselet
bass

•• Julie Saury
drums

will regale the audience with Ellington's tunes.

Attendees will also enjoy several traditional and contemporary gospel songs. Singer-composer Emmanuel Djob of "The Voice" will perform with his choir "By the Gospel River," which is described as a figurehead in modern gospel. Also singing will be Madagascan jazz and gospel singer Myra Maud and American soprano Nicolle Rochelle, who brought Josephine Baker to life in the play by Jérôme Savary.

The concert will take place at 9 PM on May 20th at Saint-Sulpice church, where Ellington performed a concert of sacred music in 1969.

Eglise Saint-Sulpice
Place Saint-Sulpice
75006 Paris
Metro: Saint-Sulpice (Line 4), Mabillon (Line 10)
For ticket information, click here.

Duke Ellington in stencil art
© Discover Paris!
For more information about the festival (in English), click here.

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Renovations at Josephine Baker's Villa Le Beau Chêne

For those of you in France, Happy Labor Day!

On Monday, I met Philippe Baudry, owner of Le Beau Chêne, to get an update on the renovations being undertaken on the former home of Josephine Baker. While waiting for him to arrive, I was allowed to roam the mansion and the grounds at my leisure.

Work is being performed on the property seven days a week.

Inside, the electricity and plumbing have been completely replaced. Walls are freshly painted white, new radiators are in place, and the woodwork on the interior doors and balustrade has been stripped.

The foyer - front door (right) and door to office
© Discover Paris!

The foyer - staircase
© Discover Paris!

Alcove with fountain
© Discover Paris!

Fireplace © Discover Paris!

View from the 1st floor above the foyer
© Discover Paris!
On the first floor (second floor by U.S. standards), Josephine's marble bathroom remains largely intact.

Josephine's marble and silver-plated tub
© Discover Paris!

Marble face basin
© Discover Paris!


Much progress has been made on the lawn.

View of the grounds from the marble bathroom
© Discover Paris!

Rivulet and the rear of the house
© Discover Paris!

However, the area where Josephine had her vegetable gardens and greenhouses is still overgrown.

Gardens
© Discover Paris!

Large greenhouse
© Discover Paris!

Small greenhouse
© Discover Paris!
Baudry anticipates that the landscape work will be complete by year's end.

The guardian's house next to the front gate is being restored...

Guardian's house
© Discover Paris!
...but there are no signs that work is being done on the stable or the garage.

Stable
© Discover Paris!

Stable
© Discover Paris!
Baudry's intent is to have the villa and grounds inscribed on the list of historic monuments in France. The process will take a minimum of 18 months. When this is accomplished, the grounds will be open to the public at least 40 days a year.

Happily, Discover Paris! clients will not need to wait this long to visit the property! For information on arranging a private visit, contact us at .

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