Quatorze Juillet
Have a jazzy Bastille Day with the Harlem Hellhounds!
Mayann and Lou’s band in Paris is led by Sgt. Cottonmouth (top right), a veteran of the 369th infantry regiment, a.k.a “the Hellfighters” - the first Allied troops to reach the Rhine in 1918, *and* the first to introduce jazz to France (you should read more about them, they were amazing). Arm in arm with him is blues singer Lady Magnolia from New Orleans, and in the 2nd row from left to right: Freddy Renard (bass), Mayann Sparks (soprano, dancer), “Professor” Brown (sax), Amadou Talibe (drums), Lou Robinson (clarinet), and a random guy on trombone, let’s call him Arnold. All the guys are US Army veterans (although they did their fighting under French command, since General Pershing wouldn’t let them see action otherwise) except Amadou, who was a tirailleur in the French colonial troops. He and Lou are wearing Zouave-style uniforms, very flashy, but actually not used 1914-1918.
Oh, and Mayann’s dress is based on an illustration from La Vie Parisienne.
July 13th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Mochi is the baddest hellhound of all …