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OF THE SCHOOL OF 164 N. STATE STREET |
This month's focus is movies about jazz, overlapping in the first two weeks with the Black Harvest festival and coinciding at the end of the month with the Chicago Jazz Festival. We shed light on four giants of jazz -- Denis Charles, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis -- and finish up with an encore engagement of the classic festival film JAZZ ON A SUMMER'S DAY. -- Jim Dempsey DENIS CHARLES: AN INTERRUPTED CONVERSATION2001, Veronique N. Doumbe, USA, 76 min. With Frank Lowe, Archie SheppIf it's true that jazz music represents being triumphant in the face of adversity, then Denis Charles is the perfect jazz musician. Born in the Caribbean and sent to New York at a young age, Denis Charles sustained a diverse and nomadic career. In his early days, he anchored legends like Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Giuffre, Steve Lacy, and Don Cherry. His later years, even while homeless, were spent with young creative musicians (such as Susie Ibarra, seen performing a marvelous duet with Charles) who admired his gentle spirit and fierce devotion to his craft. DENIS CHARLES perfectly captures the humor and sweetness of this fearless musician, who literally played for his life. Beta SP video. (JD) Sunday, August 4, 5:30 pm;
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