Jamy Ian Swiss


The New Yorker recently ran an in-depth piece on magic and magicians, with a heavy emphasis on my friend Jamy Ian Swiss, who is widely acknowledged to be one of the best sleight-of-hand guys in the world. That's him in the picture above, not being David Blaine.

The story takes you from David Copperfield's massive magic warehouse in Las Vegas to Tannen's, a small store in New York where many young magicians bought and learned their first tricks. Also discussed in Adam Gopnik's piece: Penn & Teller, Dai Vernon, Blaine, and Houdini. But Jamy is the centerpiece of this magical tour, and I'm happy to see him get the attention he deserves.

For several years, he has been running Monday Night Magic, a stage show in Manhattan featuring magicians and carnival performers that changes every week. He is also a magic historian, columnist for magic magazines, and has helped create illusions for Penn & Teller and others. Now, Jamy is taking off for the west coast with his cards, cups, and balls -- plus his latest creation, the mentalism show "Heavy Mental" (there's a sample video here). If you ever hear that Jamy is performing anywhere near you, run to see him.

Read the entire New Yorker piece here.