Here is a brief sequence assembled from our footage. — 60 secs of 16 hours. !
for faster connections click
If bandwidth is an issue, click here for a downloadable quicktime file
http://www.mediafire.com/file/yzgzwqmwzn5/QJazz was our music.mov
Enjoy..and thanks to all those who appear
Joanna Rabiger has joined our team as an advisor and story consultant. Working with her suggestions, a treatment that blends the historical curve with a character driven, human story is under development
Welcome Joanna !
ABOUT JOANNA
Passionate about the craft of making documentary films, Joanna Rabiger has worked as an editor, researcher, story consultant and associate producer on numerous independent films, several of which have aired on American PBS’s Independent Lens series. Called upon to write treatments, pitches and synopses in her day to day work, Joanna began writing grant proposals for independent filmmakers at their request. She has now authored more than twenty documentary film proposals, of which six have been successfully funded. Joanna is also skilled at writing copy for festival submission, websites and marketing purposes.
In addition to grantwriting she is available for hire as an editor and as an editing & story consultant, with recent credits that include Marcy Garriott’s international festival hit, INSIDE THE CIRCLE and Carnivalesque Films’ groundbreaking film INVISIBLE GIRLFRIEND. She is editor of the PBS Independent Lens documentary GIRL WRESTLER. Joanna is currently assisting director Lucia Duncan in the fine cut editing of her feature documentary, WHALES OF GOLD, which explores the difficulties faced by a small fishing community located in the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, Baja, Mexico.
Joanna is able to work remotely with independent filmmakers from all over the US. A native of the UK who has lived and worked in the States since 1999, she currently resides in Ithaca, NY but is more permanently based in Austin, TX. Fluent in French, with a serviceable knowledge of Spanish, she enjoys working on bilingual projects, and is also available for hire as a translator/transcriber (from the French language).
Click here for www.joannarabiger.com
Thomas , Anto’s son , sent me the following. For those who don’t know, Soli Sorabjee, former Attorney General of India and ardent jazz fan…
Subject: SOLI SORABJEE’S TRIBUTE TO DADDY Sun, Sep 13 06:40 AM
http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20090913/1241/top-obscene-craze-for-statues.html
Indian jazz scene
The present generation of jazz musicians thrives on electric or bass guitar, synthesizer and drums. Traditional jazz instruments like trumpet, trombone and clarinet are shunned by them because mastering them takes time and involves intensive practice.Vibraphone, made famous by Lionel Hampton, is hardly played by our jazz musicians. An exception was the gifted musician, Anto Menezes, a pianist, composer and performer, who delighted jazz fans by his magical touch on the vibes. Anto played in Delhi in 1982 with the All Star Swing Band which featured greats like Rudy Cotton and Anto’s brother Mosin Menezes. Anto’s performance made that concert unforgettable. Anto rightly described as “an ever-giving soul with a peace-loving heart” passed away in Calcutta last month leaving a void in the Indian jazz world.
But life goes on. The Indian jazz scene has seen the emergence of a brilliant young musician, Madhav Chari. Madhav is a brilliant pianist. His recent performance at the release of his CD, ‘Parisian Thoroughfares’, displayed his complete mastery of the key-board. His sparkling runs on the piano, his solid left hand and the ingenuity of his compositions thrilled jazz fans. Madhav is an extremely knowledgeable jazz musician who keeps abreast of developments in the jazz world and adapts them to his musical style and his remarkable compositions without losing his individuality.
Thomas also sends this:
Thanks Thomas !
On the continuing subject of the influence and contributions of jazz on Bollywood’s music ..an informative essay by Naresh .an advisor to this project…well worth the read..
Remembering Anthony Gonsalves
Thanks Naresh
I am totally overwhelmed and blown away by the generosity and goodwill of a Bombay based jazz man (who wishes to remain anonymous) who has arranged for a very generous grant to help move this documentary forward. Thanks to this individual, the Gayatri Education, Research, and Medical Foundation has committed funds to help initiate and complete some critical next steps, that will be done in India:
– transcribing over 5 hours of interview footage
– moving forward on a website to promote the film
– and most importantly, edit a 5-6 pilot from the hours and hours of footage and over 500 archival photographs.
Words cannot say how I feel about this gift and the conviction behind it. More importantly, it is the recognition that projects such as this one demand not only the attention and interest of supporters , but also need to be viably funded. It means a lot to me and makes me proud that the first support for this project has come from India ! Score 1 -0 in favor of Indian jazz fans!
If there is any one out there who thinks they can help round out this first gift with an additional sponsorship or grant, please contact me
Ashwin and Sarita Panemangalore suggest this clip from Teesri Manzil as a great example of Leslie Godinho influence on Bollywood. His drum solo is the right at the beginning. Also check out the nice tone of Manohari Singh’s sax at 3:09 , right after Helen in Flamenco mode !… Was it the opening sequence that suggested the title for Greg Booth’s recent book, Behind the Curtain ? Click the link to see some video clips by Greg and Sunil Shanbag.
Ashwin says: ” Chic Chocolate, the Gomes brothers, George Fernandes. the Monseratte brothers, the Lord family, Goody, Manohari, Sebastian and scores of violinists whose unmatched sounds continue to be heard fifty years later in households and concert halls where old hindi film music is still revered.Sadly, few know who created that magic”
Thanks Ashwin and Sarita.
Many readers of this Blog will know the Teddy Weatherford story. For those who dont, here is some detail at http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=11225. The article leaves out the fact that he played in Calcuta for 2 or 3 years at the Grand Hotel…and in Bombay at the Taj Mahal Hotel. Louiz Banks’ dad , Georgie Banks played in Teddy’s band at the Grand Hote and may have been the trumpet player on one or more of the recordings. Apparently the EMI/Columbia Label in India released multpiple recordings by Teddy. We are trying to locate one or more of these for the soundtrack of the film. Can anyone help ?
We can’t tell the story of jazz in India without recognizing its influence and contribution on Bollywood music..While we research and identify appropriate examples, here is a fun one that goes from Leslie Godinho’s drum solo opening , to 12 bars of horns playing a very traditional early jazz arrangement, to surf guitar (!) that interlaces with the vocal, and then at 1.47 – enter the Tijuana Brass (!) , at 3.10 the horns call and response with the vocal, at 3.50 the Tijuana Brass wander in (yet) again, followed by some Don Sebesky strings (!) at 4.15. Did you catch the flash cut at 0.57 ? That’s Leslie Godinho, the jazz drummer whose drumming and attack drive the whole tune. We are fortunate to have obtained a filmed interview with Leslie.
Click here for the You Tube link : Jaan Pehchaan Ho
Says Ashwin Panemangalore: “Shankar Jaikishan with Sebastian arrangements of course. Completely irreverent stuff and all fun ! So much brass !”
It would be great if someone who attended the concert at the Palladium Lounge in Calcutta could comment on the evening. The concert reunited three musicians who had not played together for many many years. The musicians were Carlton Kitto – gtr, * Clive Hughes -drms,vcls * George Chator – upright bass * Arunava -piano. The evening featured guest vocals by Anjum Katyal, and Smita Mishra. Here are a few production stills. (courtesy Sunil Shanbag) We will put some more stills up next week. If you have photos, please send to us. And please, share comments
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