Community Profiles

Individual Profile:

Gerard Rudolf

South Africa

(Writer Actor Theatre Director)

Comments:

• The finest artists of our time

  Blue Note Records

  28 June 2004

  Blue note has been around for over fifty years recording the finest Jazz, Blues and Soul artists of our time. This aside, their simple sleeve designs and brilliant cover photography captures the very soul of each featured artist in a way no other label can. Each sleeve is a design classic and absolutely representative of the era in which it was produced. They have produced some of the most iconic, understated graphics of the last half century. Over the years I've had countless hours of inspiration from listening to any one of my large collection of Blue Note recordings and can't imagine a world without this brilliant record label. Long may Blue Note Record prosper and inspire!I for one shall mourn the demise of this record label should it (God forbid!!) ever happen.

• "Qualita' Superiore " How cool is that?

  Panama Hat

  18 July 2005

  When I say 'Panama Hat' I don't mean those mother-of-plastic-place-mat ones you'd find in the men's section at 'the big department stores' every summer. When I talk Panama Hat I mean the genuine natural straw, handwoven-in-the-heat-of-Ecuador-hat with the black band as worn by unforgettable cigar-chomping saints and sinners, such as Hemingway, Django Reinhardt, Bogey, BB King and many more. It gets better looking with age, makes the living look easy, has saved many gringos from sun stroke while sipping Pastis and falling asleep in the pool - or seaside or propping up sweaty tropical bars somewhere. How cool is a hat you can roll up, stick in your rucksack/kit bag/jacket pocket and still maintains its classic shape whenever it's needed? Besides, the fantastic old school diamond shaped label on the inside of a Panama Hat clearly says: "Qualita' Superiore - paglia naturale". How cool is that?