‘Rockjazz’ pianist 36-year-old Eric Lewis a.k.a Elew played at TED Long Beach, California, in February this year to an audience that was impressed enough to give him a standing ovation. Elew’s style is difficult to describe. He studied piano as a child and later at the Manhattan School of Music. He then played for the Lincoln Center Jazz Troupe and toured with jazz greats Wynton Marsalis and Cassandra Wilson before breaking off to go it on his own. His individual style – he often stands when he plays, reaches into the piano to pull its strings and contorts his face [...]

Yesterday marked the unveiling of the TED prize, an annual award given to 3 ‘world-changers’ granting them each $100K to fulfill their philanthropic wish.

We attended the Chelsea, NYC screening of the event, sponsored by TED, to (remotely) take part in the live unveiling as well as get a sense of the local TEDophile community. The community, however, was distinctly missing.  Whether it was NYC’s brutally cold weather, low interest or poor promoting, only about 15 people showed up to the large theatre (the crowd at the award ceremony seemed kind