Watch “The Best One-Eyed Junkie Piano Genius In New Orleans”

 
Art & Culture

Bayou Maharajah is the award winning documentary chronicling the wild life of James Booker, sometimes considered New Orleans' greatest jazz and soul pianist. Booker was quite the character, an openly gay musician touring with some of the world's greatest soul and RnB acts, inbetween recording numerous classic tracks of his own. He would wear outrageous, over sized afro wigs to smuggle drugs on tour, and invent hundreds of stories to explain away his missing eye, inevitably hidden behind one of his flamboyantly decorated eyepatches- basically he's ideal documentary material. 

The film, directed by Lily Keber, collects archive footage of Booker in interview and performance, alongside talking heads from Dr. John, Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint, and Booker's some time piano student, Harry Connick Jnr. Having picked up numerous festival awards, it's now due for showing in the UK, playing on the following dates throughout July and August

July:

Friday 8 th Oswestry Kinokulture tickets

Friday 8 th – Saturday 9 th London Bernie Grant Arts Centre tickets

Friday 8 th – Thursday 14 th Bristol Watershed tickets

Fri 8 th – Sun 10 th , Wed 13 th – Thur 14 th Derby QUAD tickets

Saturday 9 th Colchester First Site tickets

Thursday 14 th Bury St Edmunds Abbeygate Cinema tickets

Friday 15 th – Thursday 21 st London DocHouse Curzon tickets

Monday 18 th Derry Nerve Centre tickets

Tuesday 19 th – Wednesday 20 th Hebden Bridge Picture House tickets

Thursday 21st July London Bernie Grant Arts Centre tickets

Friday 22nd – Thursday 28 th London Picturehouse Central tickets

Saturday 23 rd Hastings Electric Palace tickets

Saturday 23 rd London Bernie Grant Arts Centre tickets

Sunday 24 th Saffron Walden Saffron Screen tickets

Monday 25 th Norwich Cinema City tickets

Monday 25 th London Hackney Picturehouse tickets

Monday 25 th London Ritzy Cinema Brixton tickets

Monday 25 th London Crouch End Picturehouse tickets

Wednesday 27 th London Regent Street Cinema tickets

Sunday 31 st Leeds Hyde Park Picturehouse tickets

August:

Monday 1 st – Tuesday 2 nd Edinburgh Film House tickets

Tuesday 2 nd Manchester Home tickets

Wednesday 3 rd London Regent Street Cinema tickets

Thursday 4 th Leeds Hyde Park Picturehouse tickets

Thursday 4 th London Bernie Grant Arts Centre tickets

Sunday 14 th London Bernie Grant Arts Centre tickets


 

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