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Chet Baker: Italian Movies
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Italy was an ideal setting for Chet Baker's romantic trumpet in 1959. When he arrived in Europe that year and began touring, Italy's art and passion held a special charm and allure for him. He had been to Rome briefly in 1958, comfortably getting his hooks into fans for cash, meals and narcotics. A second, longer stay seemed like a good move. [Photo above of Chet Baker shortly after his release from prison in Lucca, Italy, in December 1961] Baker's ...
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Super Bowl's Jazzy Halftimes
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Yesterday's Super Bowl was amazing—perhaps the most astonishing finish in NFL history. But the halftime show was a bit of a disappointment. A little too playful and silly for me, and not nearly enough intensity or drama. Which reminded me that in the beginning, the Super Bowl halftime show was a modest jazzy affair. The turning point came in 1993 during a halftime show that would change the event forever. The first Super Bowl halftime in 1967 at the Los ...
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New Jazz Film "They Died Before 40" Seeks Help With Photographs
Source:
Howard E. Fischer
They Died Before 40, a new jazz film with licensing concerns needs help from the jazz community. In order for the film to be shown publicly all photographs and music must be licensed. There are over 600 photographs and graphic images in the film. It has been determined that about 100 are in the public domain and need not be licensed. In order to determine which of the others are in the public domain the jazz community can help. Those ...
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Music Education Monday: Behind the score of Birdman with drummer Antonio Sanchez
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
The Academy Award nominated film Birdman, now playing in theaters across the US, has won acclaim for its script, cinematography, lead performance by Michael Keaton, and the musical score created by drummer Antonio Sanchez. Perhaps best known to jazz fans for his work with guitarist Pat Metheny, Sanchez (pictured) unfortunately was eliminated from consideration in this year's Oscars due to a technicality, as the film's soundtrack also included some pre-existing material. But that snub hasn't stopped viewers and critics from ...
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Robert Herridge: Jazz on TV
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Up until 1955, modern jazz was largely a punchline. The music wasn't easy to understand by those who grew up listening to big bands and other forms of pop and dance music, and many post-war jazz musicians seemed silly in their cool extreme—people with names like Dizzy, Monk, Chubby, Hawk, Shorty and Bird who recorded for equally quirky jazz labels. Jazz was perceived by the white mainstream as insider's music, largely urban, performed by eccentric outsiders with an independent streak ...
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Documentary On Unsung Jazz musician, "Warne Marsh: An Improvised Life" Directed by son, K.C. Marsh is Raising Awareness
Source:
Michael Ricci
Los Angeles, CA: K.C. Marsh, the son of tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh, having completed a successful fundraising campaign is now raising awareness for his soon-to-be-completed feature documentary film. The film covers what made the improvisational capabilities of Warne Marsh so extraordinary as well as touching on the price of genius for a family left to support a musician single-mindedly devoted to his craft and art. The film will tour the festival circuit in late 2015 and throughout 2016 and be ...
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Thomas Chapin Film Project Ends Europe Filming At The Famous Bimhuis In Amsterdam
Source:
Michael Ricci
This week, EMMY-winning U.S. filmmaker Stephanie J. Castillo ends her filming for her documentary Thomas Chapin, Night Bird Song at the Bimhuis, Amsterdam's and Europe's jewel for jazz and improvisational music performances. Castillo concludes her four-country tour, which started in Paris, in Holland where her effort to gather the stories of Thomas Chapin in Europe have taken her to France, Italy, Germany and now the Netherlands. Some other 30-plus interviews for the project done in the last two years were ...
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Recent Viewing: Films About Hersch, Brown and McFarland
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
The new video recording of an acclaimed theatre piece recounts the surreal workings of pianist Fred Hersch's mind during a long medically induced coma. Documentaries about trumpeter Clifford Brown and the composer, arranger and vibraharpist Gary McFarland recall major artists who died as their brilliant careers were flowering. Fred Hersch: My Coma Dreams In 2008 Hersch had been feeling unwell and one day found himself unable to get out of his bathtub. His partner Scott Morgan rushed him to New ...
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