Jazz drummer found dead in the Bronx
NEW YORK (AP) — Noted jazz drummer Lawrence Leathers has been found dead outside a Bronx apartment.
Police say the 37-year-old Leathers was found Sunday in a stairwell outside the apartment he shared with 41-year-old Lisa Harris.
Police say Leathers was involved in a physical dispute with Harris and a man. They say Harris punched him and the man, 28-year-old Sterling Aguilar, of Brooklyn, placed him in a chokehold.
Leathers was pronounced dead at the scene.
Both Harris and Aguilar were arrested Monday on assault charges. It wasn’t clear if they had lawyers.
Leathers, a native of Lansing, Michigan, worked on two Grammy Award-winning albums by Cecile McLorin Salvant, who posted a link of Leathers playing on Instagram.
Drummer E.J. Strickland remembered Leathers on Instagram as “one of the most musical, swingingest, honest drummers out there.”
Maxwell, Owens take fashion awards
NEW YORK (AP) — Designers Brandon Maxwell and Rick Owens have taken top honors at the annual Council of Fashion Designers of America awards.
A slew of fashion luminaries and celebrities were on hand at the Brooklyn Museum Monday evening for the glittery ceremony, which is fashion’s answer to the Oscars. TV host and comedian Hasan Minhaj and actress Jessica Williams were among the top presenters, handing out the womenswear award to Maxwell and the menswear award to Owens.
Maxwell was best known as a stylist for Lady Gaga until becoming a known designer in his own right. He recently oversaw the pop superstar’s Met Gala look that involved her shedding outfits on the red carpet to reveal multiple looks.
Perhaps the evening’s most high-profile honor, the Fashion Icon award, went to pop star Jennifer Lopez, honored for her style and her multifaceted career. And this year’s Board of Directors’ Tribute went, for the first time, to a doll: none other than Barbie was honored as “an icon and champion of female empowerment.”
Martin joins Wolf as ‘chief world builder’
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — George R.R. Martin, author of the novels that fueled “Game of Thrones,” is teaming up with Meow Wolf, a New Mexico-based art collective.
Martin’s storytelling skills will be tapped to tie together the Meow Wolf multi-verse.
Inside the collective’s permanent installation in Santa Fe, visitors explore a multidimensional mystery house with secret passages, portals to magical worlds, and an expansive narrative amid surreal and mesmerizing art exhibits.
Meow Wolf CEO Vince Kadlubek tells the Albuquerque Journal that he always wanted to collaborate more with Martin.
New projects are planned in Las Vegas; Washington D.C.; Phoenix and Denver — each with a different, immersive storytelling experience.
With Meow Wolf building its universe rapidly, Kadlubek says there’s more in store, including a TV series and comic books.
