ghost of miles Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 This week on Night Lights it's "Jazz in the Postwar French Cinema." In the 1950s, French film directors turned to American musicians such as Miles Davis and Art Blakey and French musicians such as Barney Wilen and Martial Solal to score the moody, cutting-edge movies that they were making. We'll hear music from Davis' soundtrack for the Louis Malle film Elevator to the Gallows and Solal's for Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless, in addition to music from Blakey's Jazz Messengers and the Modern Jazz Quartet. Indiana University professor James Naremore, author of More Than Night: Film Noir In Its Contexts, is a special guest on this edition of Night Lights, which airs Saturday, May 21 at 11:05 p.m (9:05 California time, 12:05 a.m. NYC time) on WFIU. The program will also be posted Monday afternoon in the Night Lights archives. Next week: "Turn Out the Stars: Jazz Elegies." Musical tributes to jazz musicians for the Memorial Day weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 Will make sure not to miss that one when it gets archived! What, no soundtrack music by Kenny Dorham (Un Temoin Dans La Ville)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted May 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 Will make sure not to miss that one when it gets archived! What, no soundtrack music by Kenny Dorham (Un Temoin Dans La Ville)? ← Brownie, Yes, I managed to get in a track near the end of the program--right before MJQ's "Three Windows" from NO SUN IN VENICE. Please pardon any botched French names--it's been many years since my junior-high/high school French classes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted May 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 Oops... I used "Mélodie pour les Radio-Taxis," which is a duo of Wilen and Duke Jordan. So no Kenny Dorham... sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyJazz Posted May 22, 2005 Report Share Posted May 22, 2005 (edited) This is not properly a "jazz radio" topic but I'd like to alert any cinema DVD fans here of a film I viewed the other evening which had some interesting jazz content. Titled "Une femme de ménage" (aka "The Housekeeper" en anglais) from 2002, it's a good (not great) film about the realities of a May-September romance. Our hero is an audio engineer who attends jazz clubs and the viewer gets to see and hear Rene Urtreger, Pierre Michelot and Daniel Humair playing some good trio music. Rent it. Edited May 22, 2005 by MartyJazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted May 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2005 "Jazz in the Postwar French Cinema" is now archived. The playlist is here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted May 24, 2005 Report Share Posted May 24, 2005 Listened to the archived show. Excellent! Very nice and sweet touch in starting the show with the piano and strings music Martial Solal composed for one of Jean Seberg's scene from 'Breathless'. Solal - like a lot of people - must have fallen in love with the actress! God, she was beautiful in that film! The talks made some sense out of the French scene from that time. Just wanted to correct some errors regarding Boris Vian. He was - among a lot of outstanding activities - a trumpet playing jazz wannabe. Played mainly dixieland music and I don't think he ever played alongside Dizzy Gillespie or Miles Davis, unless it might have been for fun. Also I don't think he was sent to prison in connection with his Vernon Sullivan writings. Vian was a pretty well know figure in French arts circle in the fifties. Doubt that any government of the time would have allowed to have him spend some time in prison for fear of ridicule! One last thing. If you come to France, brush up your French! Marshall Solal! Renay Yugtrigger! You'll need to practise some At least you got Barney Wilen right! Very interesting show, as usual! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted May 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2005 Listened to the archived show. Excellent! Very nice and sweet touch in starting the show with the piano and strings music Martial Solal composed for one of Jean Seberg's scene from 'Breathless'. Solal - like a lot of people - must have fallen in love with the actress! God, she was beautiful in that film! The talks made some sense out of the French scene from that time. Just wanted to correct some errors regarding Boris Vian. He was - among a lot of outstanding activities - a trumpet playing jazz wannabe. Played mainly dixieland music and I don't think he ever played alongside Dizzy Gillespie or Miles Davis, unless it might have been for fun. Also I don't think he was sent to prison in connection with his Vernon Sullivan writings. Vian was a pretty well know figure in French arts circle in the fifties. Doubt that any government of the time would have allowed to have him spend some time in prison for fear of ridicule! One last thing. If you come to France, brush up your French! Marshall Solal! Renay Yugtrigger! You'll need to practise some At least you got Barney Wilen right! Very interesting show, as usual! ← Brownie, My apologies--I should've fact-checked my guest's statements re: Boris Vian. The French errors, however, are solely mine... perhaps I need to be sent to some remedial language camp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neveronfriday Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 ... perhaps I need to be sent to some remedial language camp? ← Thanks for reminding me of my French lessons. Le Capitan: Luke, how big is the cat? Luke Johnson: It's a little, bitty cat. [ Honeycut hits Luke even harder, making him fall to his knees ] Le Capitan: What we got here is a failure to communicate bi-lingually! Le chat es petite! HOW BIG IS THE CAT? Luke Johnson: Le chat es petite. Le Capitan: AGAIN! [ Honeycut hits Luke again ] Luke Johnson: Le chat es petite. Le Capitan: There now. That wasn't so bad, was it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 It is clear Luke is not British, in that case he would never have forgot the "T", twice! (Le Capitan isn't doing much better) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elissa Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Elevator to the Gallows is about to be rereleased in a brand new gussied up print. Saw the preview the other night which itself was gorgeous - some might say better than the film. Bruce Goldstein even got Verve to rerelease the soundtrack for the occasion. Bless Rialto Pictures for their extrordinary work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted June 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Thanks for the heads-up, Elis. Will it be re-issued on DVD as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man with the Golden Arm Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Elevator to the Gallows is about to be rereleased in a brand new gussied up print. Saw the preview the other night which itself was gorgeous - some might say better than the film. Bruce Goldstein even got Verve to rerelease the soundtrack for the occasion. Bless Rialto Pictures for their extrordinary work. ← Not certain that Verve / fontana is a new rehash as the date is still 1989. The old re-issue from first go round. The Uni / Europe version in digipack is the one to look out for. Stunning!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elissa Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 (edited) The Elevator trailer is online. Verve will have a rerelease out to coincide with the film's, but it's not yet ready; and as to a DVD release: perhaps. Edited June 5, 2005 by Elis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elissa Posted June 5, 2005 Report Share Posted June 5, 2005 (edited) Tonight caught the gorgeous, not-to-be-missed Two of Us (Berris' auto-bio with him as a tyke, and co-starring (an antisemetic) Michael Simon). It opened with a Berri short that had a wonderful French jazz band from the era... though I've no idea who it was, found it quite swinging indeed. Edited June 5, 2005 by Elis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted June 5, 2005 Report Share Posted June 5, 2005 It opened with a Berri short that had a wonderful French jazz band from the era... though I've no idea who it was found it swinging indeed. You're kidding me - right? - you ← Elis, looks like the Berri short you caught was 'Le Poulet'. Music to that 1962 short was performed by Rene Urtreger. Don't know who else played with him. The music was not released on disc and I have not run across this chicken in a long time! Urtreger was also the pianist with Miles Davis for the soundtrack of 'Un Ascenseur pour l'Echafaud' (Elevator to the Gallows). Urtreger and Claude Berri have been childhood friends, coming from the same jewish background and Paris neighborhood. No kidding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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