Los Angeles Downtown News 02-22-2021

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Pandemic Portraits Photographer documents lives during quarantine THE VOICE OF DOWNTOWN LA SINCE 1972

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Covered LETTERSCalifornia will help

OPINION

Communities of color need appropriate health care Editor: Black History Month is a time to celebrate the history of African Americans and the contributions they have made toward forming a more perfect union. It is also a time to candidly acknowledge the tragic impact of slavery, discrimination and racism that impact all of us to this day, including appalling disparities in education, wealth, housing, employment, the criminal justice system, and health care and health status.

The challenge of health care inequities was most recently brought to light with the disproportionate death rates among African Americans and other communities of color caused by COVID-19. Another less talked about health disparity exists in organ and tissue transplant rates. Nearly 60% of the 109,000 Americans waiting for a transplant are from racial and ethnic communities, including 29% African American despite the fact that Blacks make up only 13% of our total population. The need for donation and transplantation is particularly pronounced in these communities, where higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease exist.

There are a number of issues at play here among communities of color, including a multigenerational distrust of the medical system, traditional beliefs around death and dying, and the false presumption that the organ transplant system discriminates. The truth of the matter is that the opportunity to donate and to receive a lifesaving transplant knows no sexual orientation and has no national, racial, ethnic nor religious boundaries. The good news is that here in Southern California Blacks constitute 7% of our population and comprise 7% of our donors. Blacks also receive 9% of all local transplants, but that is not enough, as Blacks constitute nearly 11% of our local waiting list.

We can help address this pressing issue by encouraging communities of color to seek appropriate health care; to say “yes” to organ, eye and tissue donation; and to get listed for transplants, whenever necessary. We can create healthier communities through the generous gift of life and transplantation, an action that looks beyond race and ethnicity to simply help those in greatest need.

I urge you to register to become an organ, eye or tissue donor at donateLIFEcalifornia.org/OneLegacy or doneVIDAcalifornia.org/OneLegacy.

Tom Mone Chief Executive Officer OneLegacy

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EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski STAFF WRITERS: Andrew Checchia, Andres De Ocampo, Julia Shapero CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Sara Edwards, Kamala Kirk ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Luis Chavez CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Myriam Santos ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Michael Lamb FOUNDER EMERITUS: Sue Laris

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FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Covered California will help OPINION

Four legs of freedom

By Ellen Snortland anton, South Dakota, was a provincial, tiny town isolated from the passage of time. When I attended high school at Augustana Academy there in the late ’60s to early ’70s, Canton still had stores with signs in their windows saying, “Ya, we speak Norwegian!” I looked right at home: blonde, blueeyed, slightly yet solidly built — good peasant stock. Augustana itself was on the outskirts of town, standing firmly in the face of winter’s inevitable prairie blizzards. I loved standing on “Old Main’s” steps and staring out over the plains. It was on those prairies where I would have my introduction to liberation, women’s and otherwise. (And no, I did not burn my bra.) Liberation has been on my mind since I was a teenager.

Now I’m a frequent speaker, writer, reader and thinker about gender. My friends say they saw this coming back in high school. Women’s and minority studies? We were attacked for even suggesting that women or minorities were deserving of study. (Queer studies would come later.) Mostly these attacks came from the white cis male establishment, along with a few collaborators in the oppressed groups. As Frederick Douglass famously said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will.”

The logic is simple: One maintains pow-

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er by keeping the supposedly inferior people off balance by suppressing awareness of their plight and their history. Both are initially invisible to most people. These days we say someone is “woke” if they know the intersectionality of “otherness.” I prefer the idea of awakening, as there is always more waking to come.

After some years, I created a metaphor that I like to work with: the liberation table. The four legs are finances, self-expression, self-protection and history. If the legs are uneven — or worse, one of them is missing or broken — then the individual and group itself is wobbly, and repair work is needed. These “legs” apply to whichever group you most closely identify with. Race? Gender? LGBTQ? Financial: One of the first things women in the ’60s awoke to was that being financially dependent inside traditional marriage structures, with the man going to work and the woman forced to stay at home, gave her less of a say — or no say — about almost everything. Society dictated that a man whose wife worked outside the home was an abject failure; a woman who wanted to work outside the home was aberrant. For any kind of financial stability, “all hands on deck” was necessary for lower-income groups.

Self-expression: The victors write history and determine which stories are created and kept in place. They are the gatekeepers, and

unless stories hew to the status quo, they will not be told. We’re still shoring up this “leg” of liberation as white men still primarily decide which stories are printed, appear on screen or are broadcast. They also determine which stories are valued. As a stark reminder, I’m writing this column on the day of Rush Limbaugh’s death. Can you name one man of color, or one woman of any color, who had the impact Mr. Limbaugh did — for good or ill — in this country? You can’t because they don’t exist.

Self-defense: Most women are still being raised with the “baked-in” idea that they cannot defend themselves. One of my main missions in life has been to humanize men enough to dismantle the notion that they are cyborg-like in their physical prowess. This “leg” deserves its own book… oh, wait! I wrote one! Gloria Steinem said, “Why are females of other species as fierce in self-defense as males, except female humans? Any woman who feels defenseless — physically or verbally — will be helped by my book ‘Beauty Bites Beast.’”

History: Next month is March, Women’s History Month. Didn’t know that? Trust me, you’re not alone. I wonder what it will take to have people make Women’s History Month as important as Black History Month. I offer kudos to those who have made Black history observances practically ubiquitous. Now, let’s awaken everyone to March, as everyone is related to their mother! By keeping people ignorant of their foremothers’ accomplishments

Time to slow down in school zones

By Kathy Wooten o place is more aware of California’s severe health crisis than the Los Angeles region, but there is another life-threatening concern right here in our backyard also deserving of urgent attention. According to law enforcement, speed-related fatalities are increasing at an “alarming rate.” And the increase in deaths is connected to a surge of speeding on streets that are less congested than usual and a higher number of people walking and biking in their neighborhoods.

A shocking statistic: In 2018, 893 pedestrians were killed on California roadways. More than 14,000 pedestrians were injured.

Every man, woman and child has the right to live in a community where precautions are being taken to keep them safe from a virus, and where there is a commitment to eliminating all traffic deaths and severe injury crashes.

And we have tools available. Speed camera enforcement programs, for example, have been used nationwide to protect our youth by reducing speeding and improving

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driver behavior.

I have called Watts “home” all my life. I’ve raised my children here. My grandchildren are here. I have devoted my time and energy to this community and am proud of the local community members and organizations who are dedicated to keeping our neighborhoods safe.

The safety and well-being of our state’s youth is of particular concern to me.

As school districts across the state wrestle with how to get students back in the classroom, one of the toughest issues being examined is that of transportation. According to school superintendents, transportation directors, experts and others across the country, and as reported in Education Week, the need to take extra health and safety precautions due to COVID-19 is creating discussion around other ways to reduce those who traditionally ride the bus. As schools reopen this year, our students may be strongly encouraged by school officials to modify their behaviors and carpool or walk greater than normal distances to their classrooms. Even right

here in the Los Angeles region.

School zones are historically an area of concern when it comes to pedestrian injuries and deaths, and while schools aren’t open yet, now is the time for California to renew a focus on state and local policies related to safe streets, speed limits and speed enforcement where we know pedestrians — our children — are at greatest risk.

School zones are designed to be lowspeed areas during school hours. Studies show, however, that two-thirds of drivers are speeding as they pass through such zones.

In fact, since 2013, there has been a 13% increase in the pedestrian death rate for 12to 19-year-olds. According to Panish, Shea & Boyle LLP, in 2015, “of school districts with 20 or more elementary schools, Los Angeles had the highest number of accidents near elementary schools with over 62,000 within a half mile.”

And that was pre-pandemic.

In California, the use of speed safety cameras would require legislative approval. For this reason, as a mother, community lead-

and struggles, and those further back in history, we become limited by what we see as possible… or impossible.

I love and promote Dr. Riane Eisler’s work; she is one of the essential liberation philosophers of our time. Her book “The Real Wealth of Nations” delineates exactly where economies benefit in the short term by its use of free or low-wage workers primarily made up of women and people of color.

Meanwhile, how is your liberation table?

Are your finances healthy? Do you speak up for yourself? Do you walk around scared of people? And finally, do you know the history of your own family or group? If you firm up even one of those legs, you’ll experience more freedom.

Ellen Snortland has written “Consider This…” for a heckuva long time, and she also coaches first-time book authors! Who knew?

Contact her at Ellen@beautybitesbeast.com

er and founder of Loving Hands Community Care Inc., I am pleased that Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) will be chairing the Assembly Transportation Committee this year. Assemblywoman Friedman has demonstrated a commitment to many forward-thinking policies, such as the design of safe streets and review of how California sets speed limits. Her legislative success in this area is further proven in the creation of a Zero Fatality Task Force, which in a report issued earlier this year recognized value in speed safety camera enforcement.

As California climbs out of this pandemic and returns to a more normal fast pace of life, there should be effective public policies in place to help communities such as mine prevent traffic fatalities, specifically in school zones. It’s time for the legislature to act by demonstrating their support. Slowing down saves lives.

Kathy Wooten is the founder of Loving Hands Community Care Inc. and a Los Angeles mother.

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FEBRUARY 22, 2021

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Covered NEWS California will help

Photographer documents lives during quarantine

By Kamala Kirk ack in April when the first statewide stay-at-home order had been issued in California, Alon Goldsmith had an idea for a unique project.

For the next six months, he traveled around Los Angeles capturing images of people sheltering at home. At the beginning of the lockdown, Goldsmith’s wife showed him photos that a man had taken of his neighbors on their porches. Goldsmith was inspired to expand on that concept and photograph people in different places. He started by sending out a Facebook message to his friends to see who would be interested in having their photo taken.

“I had all this time on my hands, so I just headed out and started photographing people,” Goldsmith said. “Lockdown was the perfect time to do it, because everyone was at home and there was no traffic. It began to snowball from there. I’d photograph someone and they’d mention a friend or neighbor who was also interested in participating, so then I’d go photograph them. We were all in this weird lockdown situation together, and it was the perfect way to stay connected to people.”

Goldsmith is an award-winning photographer whose work has been exhibited in galleries in private collections around the world. For the project, he photographed a wide variety of people, including a homeless woman who lives on Ballona Creek, actress and Venice resident Alley Mills, a deaf activist from Compton, the president of KCRW, a best-selling author, several rabbis and rock stars, and dozens of other interesting and diverse Angelenos.

“Anywhere in LA was fair game,” Goldsmith shared. “I drove all over the place, from Glendale and Beverly Hills to West Hollywood and the Valley. I also took a trip up to Joshua Tree for a few days and photographed a bunch of folks out there. That was really cool because it’s such a photogenic place and the people are so interesting.”

At one point during the project, Goldsmith thought it would be interesting to photograph people in other states and countries, so over Zoom and FaceTime he captured shots of people in Alabama, Florida, Seattle and the United Kingdom as well.

After photographing more than 100 people and families across LA, Goldsmith realized that he had enough material for a book, and in December he published “In Place: Portraits of a Pandemic.”

“When I was putting the book together, I realized I had a lot of photographs — maybe too many — but it felt important to honor every single person that participated in this project,” Goldsmith explained. “Each shoot was a challenge because I had no idea what kind of set-up there would be, so I had to figure out what I was going to do once I arrived. The conditions I was shooting under were far from ideal, and some portraits turned out better than others due to lighting and other factors, but whether I got good photos or not, I wanted to include everyone because it was about documenting this period of time in an honest way.”

For each socially distanced shoot, Goldsmith captured three different types of shots of his subjects. In addition to a longer-distance shot of them in front of their home, he also snapped a close-up and a shot through a window or open door.

Subjects were also given a questionnaire to fill out about their experiences during the pandemic, and Goldsmith included their responses in the book. He asked a variety of questions ranging from the TV shows people were watching to their personal goals and dreams.

“The responses I got were very different, and I gave people the option to only answer what they were comfortable with sharing,” Goldsmith pointed out. “Some people provided long answers; others sent back really short ones. There’s a bit of an imbalance between the way all the stories are told, but I wanted to stay true to what they gave me. Everything in the book is arranged in chronological order as well.”

Looking back at the project, Goldsmith said that one of the most memorable people he photographed was a homeless woman named Salty who lived in a tent on Ballona Creek. Goldsmith met her one afternoon while riding his bike and ended up spending an hour with her.

“She had built this incredible art garden from found objects and had this whole vision of how she saw it developing and what she wanted to do with it,” he said. “She planned to give people tours and include a performance art aspect. It was extremely interesting.”

Goldsmith is currently in the process of planning a second book that will focus on pandemic portraits of other photographers.

“I’m going to use my phone for this project and take pictures of them either at home or at a significant place where they’ve spent time during the pandemic,” Goldsmith said. “I’m also going to have them submit their favorite photo they took with

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Alon Goldsmith with his daughters Lennon and Noa, and his wife Lianne.

Photos by Alon Goldsmith

their phone during the pandemic. I’m thinking about having them photograph me while I photograph them as well. I’ll also ask them to share their experience of how the pandemic affected their photography.”

Since the book came out, Goldsmith has received a lot of positive feedback and many people have told him how grateful they were to be included in the project.

“During a time when everyone felt separated from one another, this allowed me to connect with people,” Goldsmith shared. “Many of the people I photographed were friends or acquaintances of mine, and I felt very fortunate to be able to stay connected with a lot of people and see what was going in their lives. It was a bonding experience that was very intense and pretty powerful.”

“In Place: Portraits of a Pandemic” retails for $78. For $95, customers can select a cover photo of their choice from the project for a custom version of the book. A high-resolution PDF version is also available for $10.

Goldsmith’s latest work can be viewed on Instagram (@alon_goldsmith). For more information and to purchase a copy of the book, visit alongoldsmithphoto.com or email alon.goldsmith@gmail.com.

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Covered will help NEWS - California COVID COUNT

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Covered NEWS California will help

Foundation issues $400K in arts grants

By Sarah Donahue he art organizations within Los Angeles continue to be one of the city’s most defining, celebrated aspects.

Securing adequate funding was already a major challenge for many nonprofit arts organizations — even before COVID-19 started running its course. The financial strain only intensified as the months went on, leaving many organizations wondering how to stay afloat.

This prompted the Mike Kelley Foundation of the Arts to award $400,000 in grants to 18 Los Angeles arts organizations.

The grant recipients of the foundation’s first “Organizational Support Grants” were announced on Feb. 4. They include a variety of small and mid-size institutions specializing in poetry, experimental music, archives as well as performance and multimedia art.

Los Angeles native Alejandro The foundation granted each recipient with up to $30,000 in Cohen the executive director of the unrestricted funding to “support and be responsive to the most nonprofit dublab radio station. Cohen urgent needs of our grantees,” said Mary Clare Stevens, the founhas recorded over two hundred solo dation’s executive director. artists and bands as a sound engineer “In terms of creative and artistic cultural work, these organiand dublab consultant over the last zations give so much back to a broad audience. So, it’s really imtwo decades. portant that they’re supported.

Photo by Laura Shumate “With these grants, the foundation seeks to continue Mike Kelley’s mission to support organizations that are committed to risk taking, critical thinking and provocation in the arts.”

This new grant initiative replaces the foundation’s “Artist Project Grants” to provide additional support to organizations facing the “devastating” effects of COIVD-19, Stevens explained.

To apply for the grant, each organization was asked to describe its purpose and how it plans to use the awarded funds, she said. An independent panel then selected the grant recipients.

A third of the grantees are first-time recipients of support from the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts.

One of the awarded recipients was the nonprofit dublab radio station, which received $20,000 from the grant initiative.

The radio station’s executive director, Alejandro Cohen, described the grant as “a big chunk of money,” adding that it will go a long way to help cover the basic needs and expenses of the organization’s day-to-day operations.

“It’s just a great honor,” he said. “It’s just humbling to get this type of recognition.”

The radio station has managed to remain fully operational despite the pandemic’s financial challenges, he said.

However, the organization did have to adapt to the times and conduct its radio shows remotely, as it was deemed unsafe to conduct the radio show in the enclosed “fishbowl”-like space while sharing microphones, he said.

However, “We’ve managed to stay afloat and not only that but, in some ways, even thrive at moments despite all the challenges,” he said.

Receiving this grant is “just another sign that I think we’re on the right track in terms of what we’re doing and our mission,” he said.

COVID-19 also prompted the radio show to pivot its focus from arts, culture and music to more dialogue-centered content, he said, adding that it started a radio and podcast series called “The Quarantine Tapes.”

It’s important for the radio organization to continue its operations because “we’re a part of people’s daily routines,” he said.

“It’s important to give that sense of stability,” he said. “Regardless of the challenges, we’re here, we’re that source of connection, we’re that source of comfort, we’re that companionship and a source of enrichment, too.”

It’s important to celebrate these organization’s resilience, Stevens said, adding that it’s “incredible” to see them adapt and overcome struggles.

“These creative spaces are really the heart of our communities.”

The grants program is a “wonderful way of extending Mike Kelley’s legacy through grants,” she said. “It’s kind of like a living legacy.”

Mike Kelly began his artistic career in the late 1970s, doing solo performances as well as image and text works and gallery installations. He came to “prominence in the 1980’s” with a sculpture series.

Kelley is regarded as “one of the most influential artists of our time,” others state.

The foundation will continue to reach out to its grantees, she said, adding that the grantors hope to “continue to respond and do what we can to support.”

“We’re happy to do our part, and we hope to do more and more.”

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Reported cases in Downtown LA and surrounding areas as of Feb. 14 Chinatown: 682; Little Tokyo: 368; Los Feliz: 972; Silverlake: 2,964; South Park: 7,059; Wilshire Center: 5,258 Total confirmed cases in DTLA: 3,657 Total deaths in DTLA: 42 Total confirmed cases in LA County: 1,164,769 Total deaths in LA County: 18,984 Los Angeles County is slowly easing out of the winter holiday pandemic surge as daily COVID-19 case rates fall below 5,000. COVID-19 cases have been improving, with a downward trend in daily case numbers. There are currently 3,270 hospitalizations, with 981 in intensive care compared to early January when there were more than 8,000 hospitalized patients. Although the numbers are improving, the risks remain very high. The county has reported an additional 15 cases of MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children), including one death. There has been a 35% increase in the number of MIS-C cases over the past two weeks. As cases continue to drop, officials are hoping to move to less-restrictive tiers and start reopening the economy.

Recent figures show 1,345,949 doses have been administered in Los Angeles County, with 1,047,074 of them being first doses. About 13.5% of the county’s population aged 16 or older have received their first dose, with 3.8% of the total population fully vaccinated. Starting from March 15, California residents aged 16 to 64 with certain health conditions or disabilities will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. People with disabilities will be able to get doses at mass vaccine sites and other providers, but the state is still determining how their health conditions will be verified and what documentation will be required. About 4 to 6 million additional Californians will be eligible under the new guidelines, which means between 17 to 19 million people will be eligible for the vaccine next month. However, supplies remain scarce and appointments hard to make; it will be up to the local providers to decide who gets the vaccine.

Nearly 8.1 million vaccines have been delivered and nearly 5.3 million have been administered in California. First doses will have to be held back in the coming weeks in order to have enough vaccine doses available to people requiring a second dose. Certain parts of California have had to hold of vaccinations for certain groups because of shortages, and some vaccination sites that were planned to close Friday ran out of doses sooner than expected and closed on Thursday. With the limited supplies, Mayor Eric Garcetti has expressed concern about limited vaccine supplies during such an unpredictable time. The county receives 200,000 doses each week, but it has varied greatly week to week, making planning difficult.

Information compiled by Doyoon Kim

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

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DOWNTOWN NEWS 7

#MuseumsForMasks is a statewide initiative launched by SoCal Museums and the California Association of Museums.

Images courtesy of SoCal Museums and the California Association of Museums

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Covered California will help ARTS AND CULTURE

California museums rally behind statewide health initiative

By Sofia Santana n response to the ongoing statewide restrictions put into place over the last year, SoCal Museums and the California Association of Museums have joined in a collective effort to support health guide-

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lines across the state.

The #MuseumsForMasks initiative includes over 45 participating museums and cultural institutions from San Diego to the Bay Area and reminds people to wear masks, stay 6 feet apart from others, wash

their hands frequently, and stay home if they are feeling sick through social media and digital ad campaigns.

Since the annual SoCal Museums Freefor-All event, which offers free admission to various museums, was canceled this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, members of SoCal Museums and the California Association of Museums were looking for a way to engage museumgoers while promoting California health guidelines. “#MuseumsForMasks came out of a desire to just use our platforms, because collectively we have a really big reach, and to just support the public health initiative,” said Lucy Spriggs, president of SoCal Museums and marketing manager for The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. “Obviously there is the payoff that if numbers go down, we can reopen.

But genuinely our motivation was to simply use our platforms to get the word out.”

On Jan. 28, 45 museums across California, including The Getty, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the California Science Center, took to social media to remind their visitors of the state’s COVID-19 health guidelines.

“We are thrilled to partner with SoCal Museums to prioritize health and safety during this unprecedented time,” said Jennifer Caballero, board president of the California Association of Museums and marketing director for Skirball Cultural Center.

“Our collective goal is to bring arts and culture to our communities, and we can only do that if everyone is safe. We hope that this effort will remind people to adhere to the state’s public health guidelines and CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Via social media and digital ad campaigns, participating museums and cultural institutions across California will use their platforms to share the public service announcement to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Photo by Luis Chavez

#MUSEUMSFORMASKS, 7 that together we can help stem the spread of coronavirus infections in California.”

SoCal Museums is a group of marketing and communications professionals from museums all over Southern California whose mission is to foster dialogue between marketing and communications museum professionals in order to learn from each other, network, and conceptualize ways to increase visitation to and

awareness of museums.

The California Association of Museums is made up of more than 1,200 individual, business and institutional members across California, ranging from historical societies and cultural centers to zoos and more.

More information about SoCal Museums and the California Association of Museums can be found at socalmuseums.org and calmuseums.org.

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

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ARTS AND CULTURE

TARCHIE SHEPP & JASON MORAN, Let My People Go (Archieball): HHH½

YASMIN WILLIAMS, Urban Driftwood (Spinster): HHHH

ARLO PARKS, Collapsed in Sunbeams (Transgressive): HHHH

THE WEATHER STATION, Ignorance (Fat Possum): HHH½

The 20-year-old Londoner, who counts Billie Eilish and Michelle Obama among her fans, opens with a spoken affirmation of purpose (“Stretched out open to beauty however brief or violent”) before moving on to strike an uplifting balance between pop hooks, soul grooves, funk and hip-hop beats.

The airy sweetness of her vocal tone belies the lowering realities of depression, addiction and doomed romance informing tracks such as “Hurt,” the empathetic “Hope” and “Bluish.” “I’d lick the grief right off your lips/ You do your eyes like Robert Smith/ Sometimes it seems like you won’t survive this,” she coos during “Black Dog,” but from that vulnerability she excavates strength. arloparksofficial.com

Love and climate intersect in unsettling metaphors throughout Canadian composer and actress Tamara Lindeman’s latest offering, which thrums with rhythmic urgency (courtesy of three percussionists and Tegan and Sara keyboardist Johnny Spence). Positioning herself as an avatar of generations born into a world torched by the climate crisis, Lindeman sifts through bewildering emotions wrought by corporatization (the jazz-tinged “Robber”), powerlessness (“Tried to Tell You,” the hooky “Separated”), and cultural and climatic turmoil (“Trust”).

Nervous amid “pink clouds massing on the cliffs” and electric keyboard, flute and skittering drumbeats, “Atlantic” echoes countless 2020 conversations: “I should get all this dying off my mind/ I should really know better than to read the headlines.” theweatherstation.net

AARON LEE TASJAN, Tasjan Tasjan Tasjan (New West):HHHH

CELESTE, Not Your Muse (Interscope): HHHH

Shepp chooses his moments well. Five minutes pass as the veteran avant-garde saxophonist mournfully sounds the melody of “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” against jazz pianist Moran’s ruminative harmonics; not until the 5:17 mark does Shepp’s leathery voice take up the blues spiritual’s weary lyric. Such unrushed, spacious arrangements foster instrumental conversations that dispense with inconsequential frills. The expressive humanity of “Isfahan” and “Go Down Moses” are similarly affecting. “Lush Life” is comparatively unfocused, but a live exploration of “Round Midnight” delivers a graceful coda to an unexpectedly deep, satisfying exchange. archieshepp.org, jasonmoran.com

Melodic patterns and pop hooks tug insistently at the ear throughout the Nashville tunesmith’s fourth solo album. The spacey bounce of “Cartoon Music” springs into the psychedelic slide and rock ‘n’ roll confessions of “Feminine Walk,” while “Computer of Love” rides Tasjan’s knife-edged wit and guitar riffs. Weighty truth-telling is so deftly glammed up in reverb and sunny, Beach Boys-style harmonies during “Dada Bois” that his layered meanings may not register with listeners until they find themselves singing along with his delirious poetry. A keeper worthy of steady replays. aaronleetasjan.com

COREY LEDET, Corey Ledet Zydeco (Nouveau Electric):HHH

The zydeco veteran gets the Fat Tuesday party started early with this ingratiating set co-produced with Lost Bayou Ramblers fiddler Louis Michot. Due to sessions being interrupted by the pandemic, tracks alternate between full-band rompers (Big Joe Turner’s “Flip Flop and Fly,” the cheery “It’s Gonna Be Alright”) and Ledet’s solo accordion (“Nina’s Hot Step”); about half are sung in Kouri-Vini, his family’s Creole dialect. “Buchanan Ledet Special” is named after his grandfather, “zydeco’s first drummer,” whose double-clutching beat has defined the genre since he backed zydeco king Clifton Chenier.

Pandemic be damned. coreyledetzydeco.bandcamp.com

The 24-year-old Virginia guitarist’s percussive fingerstyle technique often inspires wonder, as does this set of acoustic instrumentals composed during the pandemic and lockdown, with Williams tapping guitar on her lap like piano or drum while also riffling notes on kalimba.

“Sunshowers” and “I Wonder” spin fluid visions of countryside tranquility; “Adrift,” a dynamic exchange with cellist Taryn Wood, reflects the turbulence sparked

by George Floyd’s death. Williams nods to West African griots by playing kora during “Through the Woods,” which — like the cinematic title track — is sensitively punctuated by hand drummer Amadou Kouyate, before “After the Storm” spreads hope like balm. yasminwilliamsmusic.com

“Please don’t mistake me for someone who cares,” the Culver City-born, London-based soul singer warns in sultry tones during opener “Ideal Woman,” but that’s the pride of the rejected talking; this album’s a magnetic declaration of feeling. Her material and distinctive phrasing channel mid-20th century blues, jazz and soul, notably during the Nina Simone-inspired “Stop This Flame” and vibraphone-rippled dream “Beloved.”

Crescendoing horns vent stormy reactions to England’s December 2019 election during “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know,” but “Strange,” composed in LA during 2018’s wildfires, hits hardest. Conveying profound isolation and need with just piano, strings and a raw vocal, it devastates with velvet restraint. celesteofficial.com

ANYA MARINA, Live and Alone in New York (self-released): HHH

Recorded in December 2019 at Manhattan’s Rockwood Music Hall, this 17-track live set reaches back to the pop artist’s 2004 debut “Miss Halfway” with a winsome rendition of “Clean & Sober” and resurrects songs from numerous albums made since, including the title track of last year’s cactus-inspired “Queen of the Night.” Marina’s in fine, wisecracking form as she accompanies her sweet contralto on guitar and piano; her confessional rapport with the audience triggers memories of pre-COVID-19 songwriter shows at Hotel Café, making this more than just an engaging retrospective for fans. anyamarina.com

DT

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Covered DININGCalifornia will help

Owner and chef Fatima Zindine and her husband, Moh Kend, with her Italian crepe.

Fatima Zindine makes crepes in her Café Balzac.

Photo by Luis Chavez

Photo by Luis Chavez

Café Balzac: Caffeine and crepes at The Bloc

By Frier McCollister he 19th century French novelist Honore de Balzac was said to have consumed more than 40 cups of espresso daily as he churned out his pages.

There’s a pertinent quote from the great author painted in neat cursive on the back wall of the Café Balzac, a tiny creperie and espresso stall that opened the first week of December at The Bloc on Seventh and Flower streets.

It says, “Coffee is a great power in my life.

It chases away sleep and it gives us the capacity to engage a little longer in the exercise of our intellects.”

T

Moh Kend, a Moroccan banker with advanced degrees in math and finance, is pulling fresh espresso from behind Café Balzac’s counter. He and his wife, Fatima Zindine, co-founded Café Balzac. Arrive after 11 a.m. and Zindine is there making crepes.

“I’m a banker with Deutsche Bank,” Kend said. “I took three months off to help her.

Zindine used to live in Dubai. She had a couple of creperies in Dubai.”

Living in Los Angeles since 2005, Kend said the Moroccan couple have been together seven years and have a 10-monthold daughter, Lena Anais.

Fatima was in Casablanca, and Kend, a na-

tive of the capital, Rabat, was on vacation there. A lawyer whose firm does business with Deutsche Bank, Fatima’s sister introduced the couple.

A three-year long-distance, international courtship ensued, as Zindine returned to her creperies in Dubai and Kend resumed his banking position in Los Angeles. “We dated in Italy and Hong Kong,” he recalled wistfully.

After three years, the couple married. Zindine joined Kend in Southern California, and they initially lived in Irvine. Intending to re-establish Zindine’s crepe operation there, a lack of viable and affordable locations in Orange County led the couple back to Los

Angeles and specifically Downtown. They settled on a larger nearby location and were in escrow when the pandemic lockdown arrived in March. They quickly pulled out of the deal.

Uncertain of the pandemic’s course, they found a more viable location at Hill Street and Olympic Boulevard and signed a lease in April for the expansive 1,200-square-foot space and began renovations. In the meantime, Zindine noticed their current stall at The Bloc was occupied by a convenience store that was underutilizing the space.

A chance, serendipitous encounter with the stall’s owner resulted in the Café Balzac’s

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

DOWNTOWN NEWS 11

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Café Balzac’s Italian crepe comes with prosciutto, cheese and arugula.

Photo by Luis Chavez

debut at The Bloc during the first week of December — just as the county banned outdoor dining again.

Meanwhile, work continued on the originally intended location on Olympic and Hill.

They had already invested $130,000 in the renovation.

“I’m not going to just throw it out,” Kend said. “It’s a different concept.”

Conceived as an art gallery and café, the new space will accommodate outdoor patio seating and a cozy interior with couches and armchairs. Depending on the pace of permitting, look for the launch in March or April.

Just before 11 a.m., Zindine arrived at the shop and immediately installed herself at the circular crepe iron. The couple exchanged notes with each other in fluent French. Asked what language they speak at home, Zindine smiled and replied, “We start

with Arabic and finish with French.”

Like her sister, Zindine is a lawyer and initially moved to Dubai for an internship at her sister’s firm. Soon, it became clear that law was not her true calling. Two successful creperies over two years were the result.

As she began to prepare the menu’s Italian crepe ($9.50), a molten, savory toss of provolone, prosciutto and arugula, Kend said Zindine’s culinary instincts and crepe-making techniques come from home.

“In Morocco, it’s a family thing,” he said. “At least once a week, we do it at home; mostly the sweet ones.”

Introduced during France’s occupation of Morocco, crepe-making is a traditional and tasty remnant of Morocco’s colonial past.

The menu at Café Balzac is simple. Besides the usual espresso drinks and fresh orange juice, there are columns of nine sweet crepes and seven savory preparations. The

sweet side ranges from a classic Suzette of sprinkled sugar and lemon juice ($6) through Nutella or caramel with fruit variations. A Nutella crepe with fresh strawberries and bananas tops out at $8.50.

The savory crepe options start with the Quatre Fromages ($8), filled with a mixture of mozzarella, provolone, gruyere and cheddar cheeses. Ham or turkey with cheese ($8.50); spinach or mushrooms with cheese ($8.50); and the aforementioned Italian crepe offer more choices. The DTLA crepe, a combination of salmon, gruyere and spinach ($9.50), is a final standout on the small menu.

Zindine’s crepes have already attained local popularity. By noon, she was fielding orders from neighborhood regulars. One such Downtown denizen — Natashia Miyazaki — chatted cheerily with Kend as she waited for her order. Over the iron with expertly practiced turns, Fatima carefully flipped and folded the steaming crepe to form. Miyazaki co-owns and operates the café No Ghost Bears, farther east on Eighth and Santee. Watching Zindine’s technique, she exclaimed, “It’s hard to find a good crepe in this town.”

Not anymore.

Café Balzac 700 W. Seventh Street, Suite 310, Los Angeles Instagram: @cafebalzac310

Guests can order a ham, cheese and spinach crepe for $8.50 at Café Balzac.

Photo by Luis Chavez

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FEBRUARY 22, 2021