A Quiet Revolution.

Format:

Video

Series:

Icons Among Us ; Episode 1

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States and Canada.

Jazz music.

Cultural identity.

Performing arts life.

(1899), Duke Ellington,.

(1926), John Coltrane,.

(1926), Miles Davis,.

(1901), Louis Armstrong,.

Local Subjects:

United States and Canada.

Jazz music.

Cultural identity.

Performing arts life.

(1899), Duke Ellington,.

(1926), John Coltrane,.

(1926), Miles Davis,.

(1901), Louis Armstrong,.

Genre:

Documentary

Physical Description:

1 online resource (49 minutes)

Place of Publication:

Paris, Ile-de-France : Qwest TV, 2009.

Language Note:

In English.

Original language in English.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

It’s always been a given in jazz that one of the most important lessons for aspiring artists is to learn from their elders. In many circles, that’s where the music stops with gallant attempts to be the next Louis Armstrong, the next Miles Davis, the next John Coltrane, the next Duke Ellington. But that misses the whole modus operandi of the art form: its constant evolution rooted in the magic of improvisation. That is at the crux of the brilliant, ear-opening 2009 four-part film *Icons Among Us—Jazz in the Present Tense*, directed by Lars Larson, Michael Rivoira, and Peter J. Vogt. It has been highly praised, including a review by All About Jazz that said, “Without doubt, the best series in jazz that’s ever been produced.” Indeed, the first episode of the *Icons* series, *A Quiet Revolution*, examines how jazz never died—a conservative outlook on the genre according to museum-piece scholars—but has continued to thrive as a living and vital element of today’s music. Seven years in development with 75 interviews with artists about jazz’s unique importance, Icons comprehensively not only features interviews on philosophy, but importantly offers a charged vision of jazz with current bands at the time expanding the music and taking their forward-thinking views on jazz to the stage. Opening with trumpeter Nicolas Payton’s enlightened views on the music and continues with long segments of concerts by Jason. Moran, Greg Osby, Aaron Parks, and Matt Shipp, who says, “I do it my way…I accept that John Coltrane was a human being, but he’s not God.” Adventurous European pianist Bugge Wesseltoft shows in concert his electronic, computerized prowess and wisely expounds, “Every generation has its own vision.” Part 1 is a compelling look at jazz in its finest, focusing on the revolution in the music in the first decade of 2000. Dan Ouellette

Notes:

Title from resource description page (viewed July 15, 2024).