Hugh Laurie has released his second album, Didn’t It Rain: another disc of New Orleans jazz and blues, a genre that he loves and proves to be a surprisingly fluent performer in. It’s been almost two years since I wrote a profile of Laurie for The New York Times Magazine (and almost seven years since I interviewed him for Rolling Stone and he advanced the opinion, mildly controversial then and a well-worn verity now, that TV in the modern era was operating at a higher level than movies). Three incidental but memorable experiences from reporting the Laurie article for the Times: (1) On my way to Heathrow, done with my London reporting, I took a car in the opposite direction so I could return to the Natural History Museum and tape the elevator message, on a hunch that I might need it (read the opening paragraphs of the article if that doesn’t make sense). When the Times factchecker flagged that passage as something that would need double-checking, I just cackled with delight. (2) I got to trade emails with both Laurie and Stephen Fry, who are pretty much the world’s most charming correspondents. (3) I saw Laurie perform at a small LA club, joined for the encores by Tom Jones, who decided on the spot to teach the band some Jerry Lee Lewis songs.

posted 13 August 2013 in Articles, News and tagged Hugh Laurie. no comments yet