The monk and the mermaid, the voice of Charles Lloyd.

Format:

Video

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jazz.

Contemporary Jazz.

United States and Canada.

Americans.

Local Subjects:

Jazz.

Contemporary Jazz.

United States and Canada.

Americans.

Genre:

Documentary

Physical Description:

1 online resource (60 minutes)

Place of Publication:

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

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

This wonderful profile of Charles Lloyd was written by Fara C. in the style of a road trip along the French festival circuit. The documentary alternates between excerpts from concerts (including with Jason Moran) and commentaries that are each more relevant than the last. Its title, Le moine et la sirène (The Monk and the Siren), refers on the one hand to the saxophonist’s monastic devotion to music, and on the other to the role of his wife, Dorothy Darr. His spouse describes how she discovered him onstage in 1968: "It was as if I was in a church where he was preaching a sermon. He was telling us how life should be and everything that was wrong. It was a time of both joy and intense anger. I said to myself, ‘He’s a great artist.’" The memory of a travel companion, drummer Billy Higgins, whose voice opens the film, hovers all along. But Herbie Hancock and Ornette Coleman, among others, are still there to express their admiration. Charles Lloyd, a historic jazz tenor (he was born in Memphis in 1938), himself explains how Charlie Parker and Lester Young were his first heroes, before he collaborated with Chico Hamilton and Cannonball Adderley, then found renewed inspiration in India and Africa. He also discusses his friendship with Jimi Hendrix and his meeting with Michel Petrucciani, when he had stopped playing in 1969 after his mother’s death: "I felt that I should leave my retreat, come down from my mountain, and I left with him for two years around the world." Borrowing from spirituality and humility, his words rise to the level of his music. In other words, it all soars very high. Eric Delhaye

Notes:

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