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ENTERTAINMENT
George
FRIDAY. JANUARY 9 at 7 p.m.
SATURDAY. JANUARY 10 at 5 p.m.
PORTLAND PREMIERE ■ VISITING ARTIST
Charles Mingus: Triumph
of die Underdog (1997)
Clinton’s
I am Charles Mingus, half black man. half
yellow man 1 play jazz, I am a Negro." declares
the volatile, uncompromising genius at the start
of Don McGlynn’s riveting look at the tortured
musical life of the great composer and bass
player. Featuring wide ranging interviews w ith
musicians and critics w ho were close to Mingus,
along w ith the insights ol his wives Celia and
Susan, an extraordinary portrait emerges o f an
artist o l unparalleled talent and complex,
paradoxical temperament. Over the course o f
nine years o f digging, McGlynn has also surfaced
treasured film and television clips from the 1960s
and 1970s, radio broadcasts, interviews and
vintage photographs, many unknown, tocapture
the joy and rage o f his life, and the legacy o f
musical genius that he left behind (78 mins.)
Preceded by Mark M ills’ Ornette Coleman
Harmolodiscs (1996), a pithy examuiation o f
jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman's theory o f
music (and life), which is to "remove the caste
system from sound." (10 mins.) Director Don
McGlynn w ill introduce his film
G re a te s t
Funkin’ H its
A party record from top to bottom.
Greatest Funkin' Hits compiles new
versions of such R&B chart-toppers
and dance floor staples as "Atomic
Dog’ from Clinton’s I982solodebut
Computer Games and “Flashlight'
from P a rlia m e n t's 1978 d isc
Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syn
drome. Q-Tip. Busta Rhymes and
O f Dirty Bastard and original P-
Funk members do the honors on the
updated “Flashlight,” while Ice Cube
takes the mike for a version of
Funkadelic’s "Bop Gun (one Na
tion)’’ which has been commercially
unavailable until now. The 96 remix
of the funk anthem "Knee Deep ( Deep
As AM uthaFunkaRem ix)" included
here features new vocals by digital
Underground and Clinton himself.
This #1 R&B smash is among the
most sampled songs in the history of
hip hop. Greatest Funkin’ Hits also
includes a remix of "M othership
Connection Starchild.” the theme
song of Clinton’s current Mothership
Tour, which began last July and con
tinues through 1999!
Greatest Funkin' Hits testifies to
George Clinton's production genius
and innovative musical style and his
FRIDAY, JANUARY 16 at 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 17 at 5 p.m.
PORTLAND PREMIERE
Can’t You Hear the Wind
Howl? The Life &i Music
o f Robert Johnson (1 9 9 7 )
profound impact on every major con
temporary artist from Prince to Snoop
Doggy Dogg and beyond. By pre
senting these fi esh reworkings of the
most influential and respected songs
in today’s urban music scene, a whole
new generation of critics and fans
can appreciate C linton’s enormous
musical achievement in a fully mod
ern context — proving once and lor
all that the funk is truly its own re
ward.
C A P L E T O N
If reggae is a rhythm set to poor
man'scry.Del Jain Record' mie rocker
Capleton has charged that cry with red
hot discourse and slamming beats.
Since he received a record-breaking
seven encores at 1990’s Reggae
Sunsplash festival. “The Prophet’s”
searing word bullets and riveting live
performance have established him as
a pace-setter for reggae's new wave
ju g g le odd jo b s and the m ie by
n ig h t w ithin K in g sto n ’s fiercely
co m p etitiv e sound sy stem circuit.
An a u d itio n w ith (his cu rren t
m a n a g e r/p ro d u c e r)
S tu a r t
B ro w n ’s T o ro n to . C an ad a-b ased
A frican S tar sound system led to
C a p le to n ’s first b re a k , g o in g
head to head in head R oache.
T he ro o ts g rap ev in e teleg rap h ed
the new o f C a p le to n ’s success to
hom e, a ttra c tin g in terest from
h eav y -w eig ht Jam aican producer
P hillip "F a ttis" B urrell o f the
X term inator label. F attis released
his f irst hit sin g le , I 9 8 9 's "G ood
C h a rt," "W o m an Mi L o tio n ,"
“G ood L oving" and "M ake H ay .”
S lin g in g
s la c k n e ss w on him
d an ce hall stard o m and those
m u ltip le S u n sp la sh en c o re s in
' 9 0 . But in 1992, C apleton risked
it all by break in g from the girls
n ' guns pack and d e d ic a tin g h im
self instead to R a sta la ri and ly r
ics o f up liftm en t.
~“ W —
w ith / í m m y
Saturday, January I7 from
James DePreist, conductor
Ron Steen Sextet:
Ron Steen, drums; Hadley Caliman, tenor sax;
roots generation. I-Testament. the
label's follow-up to Capleton’s 1995
chart-busting debut Prophecy, is the
artist’s most audacious venture so far.
It's percussive rhythms, powerful
m elodies, and m em ory-tugging
samples obliterate boundaries bet ween
R&B’s soul, hip-hop's catharsis, and
reggae’s promise.
“We have to mix it in order to
transcend to a wider audience, so
everyone can hear the message.”
Capleton explains.
Even as a 12-year-old rebel from
a huge extended family in the bucolic
St. Mary's Parish o f Jamaica, Clifton
Bailey's precocious gift of gab earned
him the nickname Capleton. "There
was a lawyer in my town named
Capleton. and when I met with my
bredren. and me just jump and start
to talk. One of them said, ‘He can
talk. He’s just like lawyer Capleton.
It's like from then, the name just
stuck.”
Y o u n g C a p le to n w as a ls o
know n for sp in n in g d ream s o f
deejay stardom and stealing from
his hed to bask in the in to x ic a
tion of night-long country dances.
At eig h teen , he left St. M a ry ’s to
JAN. 7, 1998
Julian Priester, trombone; Paul Mazio, trumpet;
Phil Baker, bass; Bill Beach, piano
Carlton Jackson/Dave Mills Big Band
Shirley Nanette,
vocalist
Our first "Jazz with Jimmy" sold out in 1996 so
we just had to do it again! This year, as part of the
Jazz Society's 1st Jazz Festival, we re featuring some
of the best jazz talent around and our orchestra
performing Ellington s rhythmic Suite from The River,
John Lewis Three Little Feelings and Poem for Brass
by J.J. Johnson.
Tickets start at $13
Sponsored by U X Kentrov. Supported 4/ Willamette Week,
tMHD and The /a it Society oi Oregon
This event is part ol the /a n Society 's 1st /a n festival
2 2 8 -1 3 5 3
(1-800-228-7343) • Mon. - Sat. 9am - 5pm
www.orsymphony.org • Ticketmaster: 790-ARTS
James DePreist, Music Director & Conductor
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall • SW Main A Broadway
He never gave an interview or wrote any o f his
compositions down on paper, and only recorded
29 songs. He claimed he sold Ills soul to the devil
at the crossroads for a diabolical tuning o f his
guitar, constantly roamed, and was murdered
under still mysterious circumstances at the age
o f 27. Robert Johnson, the most influential artist
in the history o f blues music, is both a legend
and an enigma Peter Meyer’s imaginatively
crafted portrait reveals the power o f music to
shape our culture as it presents a vivid picture o f
Johnson and the circumstances that gave rise to
his brilliant music Danny Glover narrates
portions of the story and bluesman Keb'Mo
portrays Johnson in new footage, which Meyer
blends w ith rare photographs, stock footage,
in s ig h tfu l
in te rv ie w s
w ith
Johnson
contemporaries such as JohnnyShmesand Robert
Jr. Lockwood, and appearances by Eric Clapton,
Robert Cray, John Hammond, Keith Richards
among many others (77 mins.) W ith Third
Ward Blues (1997) Anentertainingexannnation
o l the personal and professional relationships o f
Albert Collins. Clarence "Gatemouth " Brown,
Johnny ClydeCopeland and Joe "Giular" Hughes
(29 m m s)
THE NORTHWEST FILM CENTER
PR ESENTS
Reel Music
A CELEBRATION
OF MUSIC ON FILM
Jazz, blues, rock, folk, punk, Tex-Mex,
soul, reggae, klezmer, classical, Brazilian,
Hollywood musicals.-.there is something
for every taste. For the full REEL MUSIC
schedule, pick up the Film Center's Jan/
Feb calendar or W illa m e tte W e e k .
SUNDAY JANUARY 18 at 7 p.m.
SUNDAY. JANUARY 25 at 4:30 p.m.
PORTLAND PREMIERE
Blue Note: A Story of
Modem J azz (Germ any, 1996)
One o f the great jazz labels. Blue Note Records
was founded in 1939 by Alfred b o n and Francis
Wolfe, jazz fans from Germany who came to New
York to escape Nazism By the 19S0s, the fledgling
company came into us own, documenting the
rich currents ol modern jazz w ith little regard to
commercialism as well as amassing a legacy o f
recordings that provide the backbone for any
serious jazz record collection. Recordings o f Charlie
Parker, Bud Powell, Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis,
John Coltrane, Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Ornette
Coleman, Herbie Hancock and hundreds more,
past and present, are essential documents o f
America's greatest art form. Julian Benedikt's
homage is full o l great clips, photographs,
interviews and history o f the music and the two
men w ith the rare dedication and vision to preserve
it ( I 20 mins ) Sponsored by Bravo
SATURDAY, JANUARY 31 at 7 p.m.
PORTLAND PREMIERE
Dexter Gordon:
More Than You Know ( 1997)
Don McGlynn s (Charles Mingus Triumph ol the
Underdog, Art Pepper Notes From A JanSumwr) newest
| jazz biography celebrates the life and career o f
the great saxophonist Dexter Gordon At
seventeen Gordon joined the bone! Hampton
Orchestra, soon graduated to the Billy Eckstein
Band and then went on to be one o f the great
players o f the modem era Full o f superb
performances by Gordon and some o f those
w ho inspired h im — Lester Young, Charlie
Parker, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins. Dizzy
Gillespie and Bud Powell— as well as clips from
the screen tests for Gordon's role (for which he
received an Academy nomination) in Bertrand
Tavernier's Round Midnight and other rare treats,
McGlynn's portrait most o f all captures the
beautiful expressiveness— in personality and
music— o f this musical treasure (S2 m in s )
Preceded by Jules At Eight ( 1996), Mark Becker's
portrait o f Santa Rosa, California eight year old
Julian Lage, who. except for the trials o f the
second grade, has spent his tune taking jazz,
blues and classical music lessons You w ill be
impressed (24 mins ) And The Spitbull Story
(1997), Matthew Seig’s recounting o f how
trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, playing in Cab
Calloway s band in 1941 w ith fellow musicians
Jonah Jones and M ilt Hinton, got his start down
the path to modem |azz history (20 mins.)
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 4 at 7 p.m.
PORTLAND PREMIERE
Gilberto Gil: Tempo Rei
(Brazil, 1997)
"Gilberto Gil is one o f the legends of Brazilian
music In this intimate, beautifully photographed
documentary he returns to Ituacu, his childhood
home and to the rivers o f Salvador, where he
wrote the first song that gamed him attention
Talking w ith his family and friends, musician
and writers Jorge Amando, Caetano Veloso,
Pauhnho Camafeu, Carlinhus Brown and others,
Gil explores the rich musical tradition o f Bahia
and Africa Gil, a mulatto, reveals the ideological
importance he placed on integrating questions
o f race in his art, and the central influence of the
Candomble tradition The many performances
captured in the film range from improvisations
m village squares to concerts in huge auditoriums
Wherever lie goes, people know his songs, and
jubilantly sing along He is their king " — Kathy
Gerritz, Pacific Film Archive (107 mms.)
Reel Music is sponsored by
Willamette Week, M u s ic M ille n iu m ,
McMenainins Theaters and Pubs,
and KINK 102 FM.
NORTHWEST FILM CENTER, 1219 S.W. PARK AVENUE, PORTLAND, OR 97205 (503) 221-1156