JSngry Posted September 16, 2017 Report Share Posted September 16, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/arts/television/hal-tulchin-90-dies-documented-a-little-seen-black-woodstock.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fobituaries In August 1969, Nina Simone took the stage at Mount Morris Park in Harlem for a remarkable performance in which she sang “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” and recited a poem that asked, provocatively, if her audience was ready to “kill if necessary,” “smash white things” and “give yourself, your love, your soul, your heart, to create life.” Ms. Simone was one of many artists, mostly African-American, who appeared that summer at the Harlem Cultural Festival, a series of six free Sunday concerts. Stevie Wonder was there, as were other popular music acts, each of which could have attracted a big crowd on its own: the 5th Dimension, Abbey Lincoln, B. B. King, Sly & the Family Stone, Herbie Mann, Hugh Masekela, Gladys Knight & the Pips, David Ruffin, Mahalia Jackson and the Staple Singers. The series, partly overlapping with another music festival being held in upstate New York that summer, became known as “the Black Woodstock.”... Mr. Tulchin’s footage did not fully disappear. Some of it was used in two television specials shown that summer. And some of it was seen in two Nina Simone projects: the “Soul of Nina Simone” (2005), a combined CD-DVD, and “What Happened, Miss Simone” (2015), a documentary by Liz Garbus. One of the few people who have seen all the footage is Joe Lauro, the president of Historic Films, an archive of music and entertainment film that restored, digitized and licensed Mr. Tulchin’s tapes for a while. “The material is amazing,” Mr. Lauro said in a telephone interview. “He used all his expertise to film something extraordinary.”.3.. Mr. Lauro began working with Mr. Tulchin in 2004 and teamed up with the filmmakers Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon in a plan to turn the videotapes into a documentary film. But within a few years the deal had unraveled over financial issues.... Harold Monroe Tulchin was born to Jewish immigrants from Ukraine in Elizabeth, N.J., on Dec. 23, 1926. His father, Leo, was a machinist and a supermarket manager, and his mother, the former Clara Fisher, was a homemaker. He graduated from the University of Iowa with bachelor’s and master’s degrees and studied acting and directing at the Dramatic Workshop in Manhattan. From a job in programming with Sterling Television, a syndicator, he went to the advertising agency Young & Rubicam, where he worked for President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1956 re-election campaign, his daughter said. He then began directing live commercials for shows like “The $64,000 Question” and “The Philco Television Playhouse.” He became an expert in the use of videotape, especially in commercials... The documentary might still be made. A producer, Robert Fyvolent, said he had lined up a director and had an offer to finance a film that would ideally be released in 2019 for the 50th anniversary of the festival. In a telephone interview, Mr. Fyvolent said that until a month ago Mr. Tulchin was pitching ideas for marketing the concert footage, such as turning some of it into webisodes. “He was thinking outside the box,” Mr. Fyvolent said, “and had strong opinions about what he wanted to try.” Simone's performance here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1tfgn6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 Is there footage of Max? I wonder who was with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted September 22, 2017 Report Share Posted September 22, 2017 Sure hope they get the documentary made; that would be something to see! And hear, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted July 3, 2021 Report Share Posted July 3, 2021 Ms. TTK and I watched Summer of Soul last night. Has anyone seen it yet? I couldn't find an existing thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2021 We are going to see it in less than an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2021 On 9/21/2017 at 7:01 PM, bertrand said: Is there footage of Max? I wonder who was with him. There is. He's playing with the house band. But he's also got Abbey with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted July 12, 2021 Report Share Posted July 12, 2021 On 7/3/2021 at 5:32 PM, JSngry said: There is. He's playing with the house band. But he's also got Abbey with him. So Max is with a larger ensemble. Not sure if it is a house band, but we didn't see enough for me to recognize anyone. Looks like the guitar player is sitting on the floor. Another question arises: The piece Abbey sings is captioned as 'Africa'. It is not 'All Africa' from We Insist. The credits at the end claim it is the Coltrane composition but I think I would have recognized it. I will check it again later. Not just an academic exercise, there is serious $$$ involved and the correct composer needs to be identified. Bertrand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2021 https://youtu.be/g3cReo2Dc9s it's this arrangement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted July 12, 2021 Report Share Posted July 12, 2021 That is 1973 though. Will check the Lord later for pre-1969 versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2021 The record is 1973. It's the same lyrics as the ones sung in the movie, I recognized them immediately...that People In Me record, on Inner city, kinda hit me between the eyes back in the day. You don't forget that. Checking Lord...Abbey, and to a lesser extent Max, were "blacklisted" (and there's different stories about that, to be fair)., so...take my word for it. It's the same thing. Abbey claims the lyrics...are you saying that she didn't get that in the film credits? You do not forget something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted July 12, 2021 Report Share Posted July 12, 2021 1) I do not think she gets lyric credit, I can check again. 2) No recording of the song before 1973, but she may have been playing it live for a while. 3) In terms of blacklisting, this is the timeline on her recordings between 60 and 73: - A few Candid dates 1960-1961 - Percussion Bitter Sweet and It's Time1962 - Japanese film soundtrack with Max 1963 - A few live bootlegs 1964 - One Italian live bootleg 1968 - Elektra Japan date c. 1973 - People In Me 1973 - Painted Lady Marge 1980 So yes, the majors were not recording her so she had time to work out some arrangements that she was woodshedding live before she got that 1973 record date. But she may have also chosen to focus more on acting during this period, possibly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2021 Possibly, of course. Also, of course, what "major" at the time would have recorded her if she wanted to be recorded? I don't see any evidence that Atlantic was pushing Max too hard, and that would have been her best shot, right? Those early 60s records pissed off a lot of people. Add to that, they both well might have been "difficult" people...but again, plenty of "difficult" people in this business (really, that business, it's different now, and only maybe for the better...)...not a big safety net to begin with... Really, how much acting was she doing in these years anyway? It's not like she was rocketing to stardom, like For the Love Of Ivy opened up a whole new world for her...and what was that role, really? A maid for whom her white employer tries to arrange a marriage to keep her in their employ. You want a career playing "modern maids"? Help? Max being violent didn't help any, I'm sure. At some point, I think, she just wanted out and to be free of all of that. She got there, but it couldn't have been easy, in any way. God bless Abbey Lincoln. What is this Elektra Japan date of 1973? This one? https://www.discogs.com/Abbey-Lincoln-Live-In-Misty/release/2636594 This is a new one for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted July 13, 2021 Report Share Posted July 13, 2021 34 minutes ago, JSngry said: Possibly, of course. Also, of course, what "major" at the time would have recorded her if she wanted to be recorded? I don't see any evidence that Atlantic was pushing Max too hard, and that would have been her best shot, right? Those early 60s records pissed off a lot of people. Add to that, they both well might have been "difficult" people...but again, plenty of "difficult" people in this business (really, that business, it's different now, and only maybe for the better...)...not a big safety net to begin with... Really, how much acting was she doing in these years anyway? It's not like she was rocketing to stardom, like For the Love Of Ivy opened up a whole new world for her...and what was that role, really? A maid for whom her white employer tries to arrange a marriage to keep her in their employ. You want a career playing "modern maids"? Help? Max being violent didn't help any, I'm sure. At some point, I think, she just wanted out and to be free of all of that. She got there, but it couldn't have been easy, in any way. God bless Abbey Lincoln. What is this Elektra Japan date of 1973? This one? https://www.discogs.com/Abbey-Lincoln-Live-In-Misty/release/2636594 This is a new one for me! New to me also! Would like to hear what she does with Clifford Jordan's Japanese Dream. Do not want to hear 'My Way' sung by ANYONE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2021 If I was going to listen to anybody do it, it would be Abbey. At that point in her life, she could put some real meaning into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted July 14, 2021 Report Share Posted July 14, 2021 On 7/13/2021 at 9:20 PM, JSngry said: If I was going to listen to anybody do it, it would be Abbey. At that point in her life, she could put some real meaning into it. Complete agreement here with both you and Bertrand—in general, NO desire to hear that song done by anyone anywhere at any time, but if you had to pick somebody to do it, Abbey would get my vote. Saw Summer Of Soul this past weekend—my first venture into a movie theater since January 2020. Damn, what a film... go see it!! (Or dial it up on Hulu) Some of the Nina Simone footage has popped up on YouTube from time to time over the years, but it’s crazy to think that nearly all of those taped performances were gathering dust for 50 years. I thought the documentary did a great job of putting it all in the context of 1969, and it was moving to watch some of the attendees and artists reacting to what they were seeing again five decades later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2021 1 hour ago, ghost of miles said: Some of the Nina Simone footage has popped up on YouTube from time to time over the years, but it’s crazy to think that nearly all of those taped performances were gathering dust for 50 years. That might be a bit of origin story hype/ myth: https://gregmitchell.substack.com/p/was-summer-of-soul-footage-really Still, this essentially seems like a bit of butthurt beghanding and the fact remains that no matter why the footage never got wider circulation (when it go any at all), it was doomed to obscurity until somebody came along with the right combination of motive, plan, and resources to pull it all together in a more coherent larger form than just leasing selected clips for one-offs. That person was Questlove, and marketing taglines are a fact of life, as are origin stories that engage in myth and reality symbiotically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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