south by sud

trailing the blues / mississippi to france

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“joe you know one thing? paris is a fine place to be.”

—big joe turner, from "paris blues" (1969) 

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jackson, mississippi born blues man otis spann at the piano.

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paris blues: t-bone walker, big joe turner, otis spann & george 'harmonica' smith (1969). 

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terroir: tɛrˈwɑː, french tɛrwar/. noun.

loosely: "a sense of place." or, the environment in which a particular wine or regional agricultural product is produced, including the soil, topography, and climate that lend it its characteristic taste. while traveling in search of the mississippi blues in france, i've heard this term time and again when asking people what it is that makes them so passionate about the blues, and why it has such a special connection with france. it's "elemental," people will say. "deeply rooted" (in a people, a place). the people and geography of southwest of france, especially, remind me so much of the deep south. and their appreciation of the blues, like those in mississippi, seems born of a kind of communion between a place, its history, and craft, as nicolas miliani of french record label normandeep blues tells me. 

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terroir, mississippi to cahors.

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au revoir, cahors!

leaving southwest france and heading back to paris today. will definitely miss this region of the world for so many reasons: the big blue skies, the honey sun, the peace and utter quiet, coffee outside on the patio every morning. and also, pablo! our new little friend, the cottage cat.

[southbysud]

final morning in cahors: w/ pablo the cottage cat, and coffee on the front patio.

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lolmie blues:

goodnight, from southwest france! it's my last night here, so i'd like to think the sunset rolled out its very best just for us. 

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lolmie blues: goodnight, from southwest france! it's my last night here, so i'd like to think the sunset rolled out its very best just for us. 

[southbysud]

from where i stand: blues trail. 

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lighght; quercy edition:

the light here in the quercy province of southwest france reminds me so much of the deep south. big blue skies, and the just the right amount of shade from the midday sun. no wonder the blues so easily took hold! on my way to & from cahors, i've also come across some great architectural elements (including cottage doors, and the most lovely blue and green painted shutters) in the tiny villages surrounding st. laurent lolmie (where my gite/cottage is located).

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lighght; quercy edition. 

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la porte. or, the doors of quercy.

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profiteroles! because: FRANCE. (also, they're robert mauries' favorite dessert). 

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the  blues, in southwest france. this year's festival takes place july 14-18. check out the cahors blues festival site for the lineup of musicians, tickets, and more! 

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in the shadow of the blues trail. 

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"the blues is my passion!"

" ... so, having this marker is really like a dream."

—robert mauries, cahors blues festival president