Ecoutez et parlez--Or, How to Relearn French After a Nine-Year Hiatus

I am revisiting [struggling to remember] conversational French since I haven't had a conversation en francais in nearly nine years. I owe much respect, love, and appreciation to ma professeur Mme. Ford, the Cajun high school teacher who managed to teach how to "listen humanly to speak naturally": listening to the words, the cadence, the pauses, and the accents as you watch the gestures and facial expression. It worked; I confidently had conversations with native French and Canadian (Vive la Quebec!) speakers with ease--until I stopped maintaining my newfound talent.

The desire to resume my bilingual days (the only "bi" I will EVER be) has led me to French websites, free online language classes, and a renewed interest in French music. Jazz and hip hop have long benefited from the wit, musical textures, and smooth-as-silk flow of French musicians, singers, and rhyme artists. Guru of GangStarr fame introduced me to French hip hop in the early Nineties with a collaboration (the first of many) with French MC Solaar on the first installment of the JAZZMATAZZ music series, a series of projects that included some masterful joinings of classic and new jazz artists with fresh new (and now legendary) acts from the world of hip hop. The circle remains unbroken: I am once again learning how to speak a beautiful language and finding equally beautiful music. Enjoy Hocus Pocus.