Currently working on a documentary about pianist Professor Longhair, Tom Roche will share some insight into the life and motivations of this NOLA treasure, and why his wildly creative contributions have had such a lasting impact on the way New Olreans music has developed today.

Tom Roche is an accomplished film and video editor, documentary director and producer, and published author and photographer. He began his career in 1980 while a student at Florida State dropping out to direct TV newscasts full time, and later he got into his own creative pursuits; Notable projects include the earliest R.E.M. videos, festival-selected documentaries, ad agency work and  Broadcast/cable clients such as CNN, TBS, NFL, CCTV-Beijing, Al Jazeera, ABC, CBS, and NBC Olympics.

In the late 1990’s he was co-editor on 66 episodes of the pioneering Cartoon Network series Space Ghost Coast-To-Coast, the boundary-breaking program which led to the creation of Adult Swim. Another specialty: multi-camera concert editing, with videos for musicians as diverse as Kirk Franklin, Norah Jones, Melt-Banana and even Spinal Tap Unplugged.

His self-produced/directed documentary about R&B Radio in the 1960s, Alley Pat: The Music Is Recorded landed First Place the 2010 Atlanta Film Festival. He was Associate Producer on a trio of Civil Rights documentaries: Dare Not Walk Alone, Sacco & Vanzetti, and Spelman College Foot Soldiers. In 2011, he edited the landmark Katrina documentary for Harry Shearer, The Big Uneasy.

He was a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Board Of Governors 2005-2009, has chaired various Grammy panels over the last 25 years, and is now involved with NARAS lifetime achievement awards. He is presently a blues/jazz/world host on WWOZ-FM, and just completed editing a comprehensive documentary on a local legend: Professor Longhair: Rugged and Funky.

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