Stevenson Palfi |
Stevenson J. Palfi (1952–2005) was a documentary filmmaker best known for chronicling the musicians and musical culture of New Orleans. Raised in Chicago and educated at Clark University, he settled in New Orleans, where he became closely involved with the city’s music community.
Palfi was one of the filmmakers, along with Andrew Kolker and Eddie Kurtz, of This Cat Can Play Anything (1977), a portrait of New Orleans jazz guitarist and banjo player Emanuel “Manny” Sayles. He is perhaps best known for Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together (1982), his acclaimed documentary featuring New Orleans pianists Isidore “Tuts” Washington, Professor Longhair, and Allen Toussaint. His other work included films on Ernie K-Doe and violinist Papa John Creach, as well as work on the series Played in the USA.
Palfi received support and recognition from the Guggenheim, MacArthur, and Rockefeller foundations and from the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities. At the time of his death, he was completing a feature-length documentary about Allen Toussaint. Palfi died by suicide at his New Orleans home in December 2005, at age 53. His family said he had suffered severe depression after Hurricane Katrina damaged or destroyed his home and many years of files, photographs, and other possessions.
