Sun Ra - Cry of Jazz
by Edward Bland
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DVD details
Actor: Andrew Duncan, Dorothea Horton, George Waller, Leroy Inman, Linda DillonDirector: Edward Bland
Brand: Music Video Dist
Cinematographer: Hank Starr
Producer: Edward Bland
Writer: Edward Bland
Producer: Nelam Hill
Writer: Nelam Hill
Writer: Eugene Titus
Writer: Mark Kennedy
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 34 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Quantum Leap
DVD Reviews of Sun Ra - Cry of Jazz
DVD Review: The historically significant CRY OF JAZZ
Summary: 5 Stars
Thanks to the efforts of Atavistic, Ed Bland's historically significant film, THE CRY OF JAZZ has finally made it onto DVD. Adapted from Bland's book, THE FRUITS OF THE DEATH OF JAZZ, and produced by the innovative KHBT Productions, THE CRY OF JAZZ is a fascinating analysis of the state of jazz music in the late 1950s and its relationship to African-American life. No other film of the 1950s probes as deeply into the evils of racism and the appropriation of African-American art forms by white jazz musicians.
Bland's film is divided into two, alternating segments. The first features dramatic scenes of a racially-mixed party wherein the subject of jazz comes up in conversation. The white individuals are skeptical of one African-American's claim that "jazz is dead." In the alternating sections, a voice-over discusses the foundation of jazz and what makes the art form African-American by nature. The philosophical musings on the "paradox of jazz" are quite thought-provoking: Bland argues that the form of the music (repeating chorus or head) is restraining while improvisation allows for freedom. This paradoxical element of jazz is elaborated on as Bland relates the form/changes to the "suffering, futureless future" for African-Americans while identifying improvisation/solos as the eternal present and hope for change. Here are a few quotes that are representative of the tone and direction of this controversial film:
"The jazzman must be constantly creating, otherwise the dehumanizing portrait of him in American life will triumph"
"The American Negro produces an oblique musical product and a damaging commentary on the human wastelands of America."
"The cry of joy and suffering in jazz is based on the contradiction between freedom and restraint. The feeling of freedom is based on the negro's view of what life in America should be, why the feeling of restraint is based on the actual inhuman situation in which the Negro finds himself."
All of the music here is beautifully done by Sun Ra and his Chicago Arkestra of 1958. Although Ra himself is rarely seen in the film, some of the great Arkestra players - like John Gilmore and Julian Priester - are seen up close on the stage.
What makes this film historically significant is Bland's overt commentary on blatant racism and his clear condemnation of whites who appropriate jazz music without truly understanding the art form.
Description of Sun Ra - Cry of Jazz
CRY OF JAZZ - DVD MovieJazz Music CDs
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