(Photo Captions: #1 Book cover, #2 Scott Billington, Johnette Downing and Eduardo Perez in the Ediciones Idea publishing office, and #3 Scott signing his very first published book to Carol Perez Nunez, the daughter of Irvan Perez.)
Scott and I are pleased to announce that our book (for grownups) The Spanish Tinge, Louisiana Music Pioneers of Canary Islands Descent was published in Spanish by Ediciones Idea in Santa Cruz, Tenerife. This is our first book project together, and we enjoyed researching and writing about the musical link between Louisiana and the Canary Islands, The book honors the legacy of three key Louisiana musicians of Canary Islands lineage: jazz clarinetist Alicide “Yellow” Nuñez; Cajun accordion player Joe Falcon; and décima singer Irvan Perez, and celebrates their contributions as pioneers of three forms of American music at pivotal moments in American music history.
The book may be purchased through the publisher Ediciones Idea.
We are deeply grateful to Jose Carlos Hernandez Santana, Carol Perez Nunez, Wade Falcon, Robert Nunez, Francisco Pomares, Eduardo Perez (Edward T. Riker), Greg Lambousy, Jonathan Cabrera Ascensio, David Kunian, New Orleans Jazz Museum, Melissa Smith, Bruce Raeburn, Alania Hebert, Michael Leathem, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans Jazz Club Collection, Tulane University Hogan Jazz Archive, Music Rising, Charlene Bonnette, State Library of Louisiana, William de Marigny Hyland, Catherine Frank, John Hickey, Chris Strachwitz, Jimmy LaRocca, Miguel Angel Navarro Menderos, Wrenna M. Poirrier, Joseph D Poirrier, and so many others who helped us make this book a reality!