Finding Paris – The French Connection


Alix1

click to enlarge

Between 1950 and 1952,  Calcutta was home to the  “Le premier négre du jazz, made in France” (= The first “black” French jazz musician) – Alix Combelle and the “modern” sound of his sextet – three saxes, and a rhythm section.

We followed up in a  2011 Update with interesting documentation including a photo of the band in Calcutta.

Jhaveri 1955-JazzHot

Next, in 2012- came the French Connection, and our friendship with Stephane Dorin, who shared this documentation written by the remarkable “Godfather of Jazz in India”  - Niranjan Jhaveri, found in  Charles Delaunay and Hughes Panassié ’s  Jazz Hot Magazine  (1955)

And now in 2013..more news of the French jazzmen in India ? Continue reading

The French Connection


Four years ago, when we began this project, we had little idea of the interest that might surround it.. and apart from a few whisky sodden minds here and there, we were under the distinct impression that interest in similar research and uncovering was restricted to the aforesaid flotsam and jetsam of peripheral jazz trivia.. How wrong we were.. and little did we know at that time that scholars and learned souls were steadily pursuing and uncovering more of the the rich history that has materialized into this film.. And we regret most heartily that we not privileged to meet them along the way and benefit from their academic scholarship..

And thus , this French Connection

In 2011 we wrote about how the legendary French tenor man Alix Combelle.. found his way to Calcutta

ALIX COMBELLE

….and then, then in 2011,  more about Alix Combelle…and then, in response,  from Our Gentleman of Perpetual Indian Jazz Archives (aka Naresh Fernandes the author of the very fine book Taj Mahal Foxtrot)  shared with us Niranjan Jhaveri’s 1953 review of Alix’s performance in Calcutta.. but was this the only French Jazz Connection to our continuing story ?

Well, around the spring of 2011, the Finding Carlton Blog received the following letter from France:

I came across your Bluerhythm website, and was so delighted to see someone has done a documentary on Cartlon Kitto.

Stephane Dorin , in Calcutta 1997.. working on his Research

I met him 15 years ago in Calcutta, at the beginning of my PhD on jazz and rock culture in Calcutta. I also met Arthur Gracias, Amit Datta, Rubien Rebeiro, Anto Menezes and my friend Tuki from Krosswindz.

I have been to Calcutta around 10 times, the last one was in 2009. …. I am a social scientist in Paris,…..I mostly wrote in French, but I recently published an article on Jazz and race in colonial India, in Jazz Research Journal. It might be of some interest to you…This month also, I am publishing another article, of a larger scope, but in French, in the anthropology review L’Homme (issue 202, 2012).

Astounding.….!

But, wait,, it turns out that Stephane Dorin’s, scholarly work, Jazz and Race in Colonial India was rich in detail and explored the nuances of culture that gave rise to the jazz culture that prevailed thereafter.  His research included study of materials available from the Roy Butler Collection, in Chicago…from where arrived this image of a contract that lured an American jazzman to play in India.

Stephane also opined , quite succinctly, that although Bombay with its many Goan musicians had a rich jazz history, it was Calcutta , that in many ways was the “mothership”..  he says..  ”Anglo-Indian musicians acted as go-betweens, passing down the theoretical knowledge of western harmony as well as the practice of western instruments to the generations of post-Independence India. Moreover, they were the first Indian musicians to perform jazz and blues standards in Calcutta or Bombay, around World War II. Thus, they played a major role in the diffusion of jazz and blues music in India.”

In our film,  Finding Carlton, we share the story of Herb Flemming the ”first Jazz Ambassador”who landed in Bombay in 1933, after a brief rest stop in Bombay, proceeded almost immediately to Calcutta and the Grand Hotel..

In the summer of 2011 we had the opportunity to meet with Stephane and get to know this passionate scholar who continues to have focus on the “Circulation of Jazz outside the United States”..

Stephane Dorin:   http://www.stephanedorin.fr
Maître de conférences à l’université Paris 8 Chercheur en délégation au Centre Européen de sociologie et de sciences politiques (CESSP) UMR 8209 CNRS/EHESS/Université Paris1-Panthéon-SorbonneCentre Pouchet, CESSP, 59-61 rue Pouchet, 75849 Paris Cedex 17

Stephane has been diligently working on uniting scholars from around the world who have looked at this ..and as his network has expanded  it now spans to academics at various universities. He has had remarkable outreach and will hopefully be able to unite a worldwide team of authorities in seminal conference …where for the first time they will look at how jazz cultures were birthed and flourished outside the United States.. and hopefully as they pursue this discourse , there will be Finding Carlton (and) Uncovering the Story of jazz in India

Meeting Marty Napoleon


On June 11th, Finding Carlton screened at the Furman Film Series, courtesy of the Great Neck Arts Center. Our audience was a mixed bag of documentary film fans, jazz folks and the plain curious ..”Jazz in India ?!!”

Our MC for the evening was the delightful Michael Steinman of Jazz Lives!

Among the jazz musicians present was the legendary  Marty Napoleon

Marty had the unique ability to whip a crowd into a frenzy, and he was aptly described as “Louis Armstrong’s exciting pianist.”  His stride piano was a significant part of post WWII New York’s club scene. In 1957 he was a key member of Henry “Red” Allen’s house band from the Metropole. The band featured tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, trombonist J.C. Higginbotham, clarinetist Buster Bailey, pianist Marty Napoleon, guitarist Everett Barksdale, Lloyd Trotman on bass and Cozy Cole on drums.

At 91, Marty is the last surviving member of the Louis Armstrong All Stars.  He has had an extraordinary career as a working and touring musician and more importantly is one of the few musicians of his era who continued to gig well into his 80′s.  From a lineage that has included Earl Hines, and Teddy Wilson.. Marty’s stride piano was distinctive and unquestionably that of a master. Turn up your speakers, and feel the thunder…

He is a fascinating and charming man, with an energy and a zest for life that is unmistakeable. And he loves his music and is joyous in his expression of how richly blessed he is to be a musician.

Marty was very keen on watching the film and it was a distinct honor for us to have him attend.  He had heard about its subject and setting, and although requiring of wheelchair assistance  came to the screening because of its intriguing historical perspective.  He was blown away by the story and the tale of Teddy Weatherford..a fellow stride piano pioneer..and he was fascinated by this jazz story that came out of India. The musicians stories from the film resonated with that of his own life and many others, and were reflective of an era that has passed by, both for him and many others.

But what got him most excited was the film’s tribute and recognition of the role of Herb Flemming …The 50′s club circuit had brought Herb back to New York and Marty had worked with him in an era of working bands and regular gigs on Swing Street ”I knew that guy well” said Marty, ” I played with him !”  A connection by way of Brooklyn to Calcutta!

This is the video sequence on Herb Flemming

Left to right: Don Varella, Stan Johnson, Marty Napoleon, Fraser MacPherson. Penthouse, Vancouver, B.C. April 4, 1952. |Source=[http://www.flickr.com/photos/gmacp/370599290/ Marty Napoleon 1952] |Date= 1952 |Author=Courtesy of guyman22

Both these men came from a different time.. when clubs and audiences offered livelihood and appreciation , and the combination propelled musicians to new heights and innovation. Marty’s world was the flourishing jazz scene in the United States and Europe, a working and touring musician with New York as his “gig central”.

Flemming was a nomad.  Indeed, he was one of the early internationalist’s  of the jazz,  and his travels took him from New York to France, and then to South America, Shanghai, Calcutta and Ceylon as well as the nightclubs of London!  He was truly the first great jazz ambassador.

And it was India where members of Flemming’s International Rhythm Aces found new homes, and new careers…and some stayed on to create India’s jazz generations..All told in the Film ..FINDING CARLTON – Uncovering the Story of Jazz in India

And to close..listen to this inspiring message from Marty on his 90th birthday…

June 11th – Next Screening


Our next Screening is on June 11..at the Furman Film series  Image

The Furman Film Series presents a sophisticated cross-section of powerful and thought-provoking independent, art, classic, and foreign films. The series mainly hosts sneak previews of highly anticipated films prior to their theatrical release dates followed by a discussion with a relevant speaker who provides exciting insight into the film and subject matter.

Our moderator will be the irrepressible and knowledgeable editor of Jazz Lives – the one and only Michael Steinman

Here’s what Michael “had to say about FINDING CARLTON after my first viewing.”

Even people who are not terribly interested in jazz in the intricate ways some of us are will also find much to admire in the portraits captured in it.  And the jazz-fanciers in the audience sat up, enthralled, throughout it. 

The film concentrates on two musicians: guitarist Carlton Kitto, who found himself entranced by the sound of Charlie Christian on the records his mother played at home while she cooked or cleaned — and Louiz Banks, a Grammy-nominated producer and jazz pianist.  Carlton takes our attention and never lets it go, both because he swings delicately yet powerfully, and because he is a sweetly endearing character. 

Unlike some documentaries I have seen where the story is compelling yet the characters are off-putting, everyone in the audience fell in love with Carlton, his sweet sincerity and his devotion to his music.  It did not surprise anyone that when Carlton got pushed on stage when the Ellington orchestra played a concert in India, that Ellington himself warmed to the young guitarist, invited him to sit in, and that Carlton improvised six choruses on SATIN DOLL with the band.  I’m only sorry that the Duke wasn’t able to hire Carlton on the spot and take him on tour.

FINDING CARLTON is full of the results of the most fascinating archival research, but it is not simply a film for those people whose heads are full of record labels and matrix numbers. The fruits of that research are vivid onscreen, in the photographs, sounds, colors and textures of the Indian jazz scene from the Twenties onward — with quick but telling portraits of deeply inspiring players including the world-class pianist Teddy Weatherford, the elusive trombonist Herb Flemming. The stories Sushiel has uncovered talk of Larry Coryell and Billy Taylor, of Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, of jamming with Sonny Rollins in an ashram. As well as these famous names, we encounter people and players who go straight to our hearts: the first-rate singer Ruben Rebeiro, the devoted jazz fan Farokh Mehta, singers Pam Crain and Christine Correa — we watch the radiance on Christine’s face when she is able to hear a broadcast of her father’s band for the first time, music she heard as a child but never knew existed.

Kurien has a splendid eye — even though this is his first film — for the little human details that bring both individual characters and a larger world (now, perhaps no longer quite so vibrant) into focus and into our hearts. FINDING CARLTON blossoms with lovely montages of the present and the past, the aural and the visual, the moving and the still. It is respectful but never dull, informative but never preachy or didactic.

I urge you to make a small jazz pilgrimage to see it: it is fully realized, lively, and deeply moving. I came away from it with some feelings of loss: one of the later scenes shows Carlton at a gig in a hotel lounge, playing swing for an almost empty room, but I thought of his resilience and that of the music we love.

For more details, please visit http://www.findingcarlton.com.  And here is the link to Susheel Kurien’s blog, http://bluerhythm.wordpress.com/

May your happiness increase.

Thanks NY TIMES – India Ink!


Thank you NY TIMES….India Ink !                                Click on Image for the article

We are most delighted that the voice of our film has been shared globally in this portrait of events and happenings at the United Nations on International Jazz Day!

Thank you for reporting that “Finding Carlton, ..had many moments that showcased how jazz bridged cultures and provided a common language of communication”.

….and since we did not aspire to slick filmmaking with budgets to match..forgive us our technical trespasses and lead us not into slick sanitized post-production..and yes, do deliver us from the evil wherein technical perfection overrides human warmth and the honesty of documentary film making.!

Link to the NY TImes article here  http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/in-search-of-kolkatas-lost-jazz-scene/

Thank you MediaGlobal


Media Global carried a review of the International Jazz Day Concert.

A truly amazing and once in lifetime event with leading jazz artists in configurations/combinations that may never be repeated.

They were kind enough to recognize Finding Carlton – Uncovering the Story of Jazz in India!

Click here for the concert review, or on the image at right  SAXOPHONES SOUND FROM THE UN 

SARAJEVO JAZZ FEST FINDS CARLTON !

Image


We are distinctly honored to receive a review on the SARAJEVO JAZZ FEST website !. ….although, perplexed and quite baffled by how the film made it for review to Sarajevo without leaving New York…Jazz Pirates ? !! Well, that may not be a bad thing…Click on the image for their review

We’ve come a long way, baby !


And though we don’t endorse the product that is the subject of the iconic slogan from the Mad Men Era,  and can’t help but smile when we hear the bubblegum anthem from Josie and the Pussycats ,  and as for Fatboy Slim   well….we have come a long way! .

Who would have ‘thunk” that a film about Jazz in India would feature at the first ever International Jazz Day Celebration at the UN ?!

And today, on April 30, 20112 , as declared in PI 2027 issued at the United Nations General Assembly “The Committee on Information of the United Nations General Assembly, in association with the United Nations Academic Impact and the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, will organize a special event to celebrate the first International Jazz Day on 30 April 2012.”

Yes,  Jazz  truly transcends languages, borders and all the divisions that we choose to create between ourselves.. And this great music found its way to India almost 80 years ago, brought there by a diaspora of talented African-American musicians who left behind a legacy that survived them and even wove its way into India’s popular music.

Herb Flemming (Nicolaaih El-Michelle) was one of those pioneers.. (click here for a Wiki entry, and stay tuned for more info in a future post) Here is a clip from the film that tells his story in India..

We are greatly honored to premiere Finding Carlton – on International Jazz Day…when India joins in the celebration of this truly international music with a tale of how jazz travelled to India.. Finding Carlton – Uncovering the Story of Jazz in India !

Made possible by the support and trust of a group of amazing people from all over the world..and yes the invaluable goodwill of all the readers of this blog and our Facebook friends… Thank You !….as we all stand together and say

We have come a long way ..who would have “thunk” it ? !