I’m a creative soul, I have this energy that I have to release. Photography allows me to do that and, hopefully, the moments that I caption with a lens and a fast shutter make people smile. I think that they do. I have a muse that helps me, leads my heart by a pretty string, tells my mind how to frame a photo, the angle to capture, that moment to make it expressive so that you feel something. Smile, giggle, cry crocodile tears, but you feel something. And what would my muse be?? La musique. La musica. Music. I love music. I suck at making music (lol) but, oh, to hear a violin, the hands that morph tangible strings into intangible allure, omgosh, I’m addicted. I had the divine delight of visiting Dos Jefes, a small, dimly lit, smokey New Orleans cigar bar on Tchoupitoulas to listen to the Hanna Mignano Trio. How can you make a violin be melancholy and joyful at the same time? I haven’t a clue, but Hanna knows how to pull it off with charisma, and she does it. I’m writing this while I listen to Persephone’s Waltz, one of my favorite songs that the Trio plays. I hear the bass and the guitar; my heart is back in that room, and my smile is just as big now as it was that night. I know that my photos don’t do justice and I could go on and on about it all, but I’ll stop here. I’ll post a few photos with this sincere advice…whether you be a native New Orleanian, a first time visitor or a repeat traveler making New Orleans your “second home”, find the Hanna Mignano Trio and treat yourself to an hour or two of the wonderful music that is gypsy jazz. You won’t regret it.
