Ornette:
Made in America
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Ornette: Made in America, the epic film of composer Ornette Coleman, has been rereleased in DVD format to coincide with the 2007 Grammy Awards, in which Coleman receives a Lifetime Achievement Award. The Recording Academy has recognized Coleman as a major innovator of the free jazz movement of the 60s and a major influence on contemporary music. Ornette: Made In America captures Ornette’s evolution over three decades. Returning home to Fort Worth, Texas in 1983 as a famed performer and composer, documentary footage, dramatic scenes, and some of the first music video-style segments ever made, chronicle his boyhood in segregated Texas and his subsequent emergence as an American cultural pioneer and world-class icon. Among those who contribute to the film include William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Buckminster Fuller, Don Cherry, Yoko Ono, Charlie Haden, Robert Palmer, Jayne Cortez and John Rockwell. Ornette:Made in America is essential for anyone hoping to understand the history of jazz and the fertile creative exchange that highlighted the 60’s and 70’s in America. It is a portrayal of the inner life of an artist-innovator. Says Deborah Snyder, CEO of Synergetic Press, “The innovative techniques that director Shirley Clarke and producer Kathelin Hoffman employed in this film very closely parallel the music of the man who is its subject, defying traditional documentary format to reveal Ornette’s extraordinary vision through Clarke’s equally-extraordinary filmmaking artistry.” Critically acclaimed when it released in 1985, the film is even more significant today as Coleman’s influence has increased, while Clarke and Hoffman’s interpretation of his life and times remain as fresh and exciting as ever.”(Some excerpts of reviews of Ornette: Made In America are listed below.) The film focuses on the struggles and triumphs of Ornette Coleman’s life as well as on the inspired intelligence that spawned his creativity and ensured his success. Clarke’s footage includes Ornette in conversation with family and friends; excerpts of interviews, riffs and travels, along with footage of his performances—in his hometown of Fort Worth, TX, in New York, in Morocco and beyond—presents the most comprehensive record of his career available. “A unique portrait of a jazz giant.” —San Francisco Chronicle "A wonderful film of the complex Ornette." —San Francisco Examiner "A unique project whose composition rejects boundaries…in favor of a more allusive path…the footage is riveting…stunning…definitely valuable." “This is an experience unique to the medium of film." —L.A. Weekly "The most influential individual to have emerged in Afro-American art music since Charlie Parker." "Clarke thrusts the viewer into his music and his mind." "This film is not just a film about a great musician…it is, as the title suggests, also a film about America…and it is brilliant."- “Perfect in every way.” Pat Metheny |
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Journeys To Other Worlds:
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This six volume series designed for showing in any order, was filmed during the 'Around the Tropic World ' Expedition- a three year expedition in which the Research Vessel Heraclitus sailed over 30,000 miles and called into 40 ports in 25 countries on her course to circumnavigate the globe at tropical latitudes.
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