September 29, 2004

Arts Briefing

IGHLIGHTS

250,000 NOTES FOR COLEMAN Ornette Coleman (left), the saxophonist, composer and free jazz innovator, has been chosen to receive the 2004 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize of approximately $250,000 and a silver medallion. With Wynton Marsalis, the artistic director of jazz at Lincoln Center, delivering a tribute, the awards ceremony is to be held on Oct. 14 at the Hudson Theater. The Gish Prize, now in its 11th year of recognizing trailblazing talents in the arts, has gone previously to the dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones, Arthur Miller, the author Isabel Allende, Bob Dylan, Ingmar Bergman and Frank Gehry, among others.

LOST AND FOUND Disaster struck the Lost Bayou Ramblers, an up-and-coming zydeco group, before a performance in Denver this month. On the morning of Sept. 12 the Ramblers emerged from their lodgings to find that their van had been stolen. Inside were their instruments, sheet music and sound system, as well as compact disks and cases of hot sauce, which they sell at concerts. The only thing the Ramblers had left was their accordion, which they had taken inside. For Louis Michot, 25, the group's leader and a third-generation musician, the loss was particularly devastating. Among the stolen instruments was his fiddle, a 1925 Stradivarius copy given to him by his grandfather. Friends and fans in Denver found them instruments and took up a collection so the Ramblers, who include Mr. Michot's brother, Andre, 28, could rent a minivan for the drive home to Lafayette, La. Upon arriving, the Ramblers, whose members are all 30 or younger, were stunned to find that news of the theft, aided by the Internet, had spread throughout the Cajun music community. As a result, the group was flooded with offers of "fiddles, basses, guitars, standup basses, drums, amplifiers" and a complete sound system, Mr. Michot said. A local merchant invited him to pick out any violin in his shop. "It's really mind-blowing," Mr. Michot said by telephone from Lafayette. "First you're destroyed and devastated, then you have all this help, and you wonder how it's happening." The loans will allow the Ramblers to keep their dates on Saturday and Sunday at the Chile Pepper Fiesta, running from noon to 5:30 pm. at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. MICHELINE MAYNARD

ADIEU, SAGAN Françoise Sagan, who achieved international renown at 19 with the publication of her novel "Bonjour Tristesse,'' was buried yesterday at in a cemetery in the village of Seuzac, near Carjac, her birthplace in southwestern France, Agence France-Presse reported. Attending the ceremony were the French culture minister, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, and figures from the Parisian arts community, among them the singer Juliette Gréco. Sagan died on Friday at 69.

BARENAKED VARIETY A pilot presentation for a Barenaked Ladies comedy-variety show has been ordered by Fox Broadcasting, according to a Reuters-Hollywood Reporter report. The proposed program, "The Barenaked Ladies Variety Show,'' would build on the comedy sketches that have become staples of the popular Canadian pop band's concerts. Joined by guest actors, the five band members - Steven Page, Kevin Hearn, Tyler Stewart, Jim Creeggan and Ed Robertson - would star in skits, and the show would also include performances by the band and musical guests.

WORD OF MOUTH Oprah Winfrey (below) has done it again. "He's Just Not That Into You,'' a relationship-advice book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, has flown out of bookstores since Ms. Winfrey interviewed the authors on her show a week ago. The book's title is taken from a chilling riposte dreamed up by Mr. Behrendt and featured in the final season of "Sex and the City,'' the HBO television series where they worked as writers. Since their Oprah appearance, the book has occupied the No. 1 spot on both the Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com best-seller lists, and both online retailers are in need of books, warning of one-to-three-week shipping schedules. Simon Spotlight Entertainment, the new imprint from Simon & Schuster that features books for readers from 18 to 35, just raised the book's expected printing to 410,000, up from a first printing of 30,000, said Tracy van Straaten, executive director of publicity for the imprint. "We have books arriving from the printer every day this week,'' she said, "and they are going back out the door immediately." EDWARD WYATT

BUYING TIME Brigitte Bardot, the pouty symbol of steamy sexuality in French films of the 1950's, turned 70 yesterday while fans of all ages flocked to an auction of her memorabilia at the house of Drouot in Paris, Reuters reported. On sale were posters of her breakthrough hit "And God Created Woman'' as well as Bardot baseball caps, clocks and stamps. "She represents France and all France stands for,'' said Richard Bruno, 38, who bought a Bardot chess set and magazines with her picture on their covers. Ms. Bardot, who has made headlines in recent years for her defense of animal rights and her criticism ofMuslims, gays, immigrants and the jobless, did not attend. She had already told OH LA! magazine in a recent interview: "I will drink a glass of Champagne, have one or two friends over. I will be 70. I thank God for making it this far. But at the same time, I would prefer being 30.''

FOOTNOTES

The Los Angeles Philharmonic's 6,125-pipe organ in the Walt Disney Concert Hall will be inaugurated tomorrow in a recital by Frederick Swann, the president of the American Guild of Organists and organist emeritus of the Crystal Cathedral and the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles.