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Bertrand Tavernier (1941 - 2021)


soulpope

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Talking about films and jazz fandom ...

Strange thing ... Of course I've heard the name of Bertrand Tavernier quite a few times and have seen some of his films, but whenever I hear his name it is automatically "Elevator to the Gallows" ("Ascenseur pour l'Echafaud") that comes to mind - before I realize "no, that wasn't Bertrand!" :lol:

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I found this quote on the IMDB:

"on working with Dexter Gordon in 'Round Midnight (1986)] It was incredible. Sometimes it was difficult to bring him in front of the camera, because crossing the courtyard of the studio could last one hour. But once he was there, he was so smart, so on top of it, and so knowledgeable about the camera. I never did more than three takes with him. He was amazing. One day he didn't show up. The next day, I wanted to kill him, but he came up to me and said "Lady Bertrand, I made a huge mistake. I knew I had to come and work, but my mind was set on going to the Turkish baths. And strangely enough, I could not change my mind." And what can you say to that? You cannot scream and yell, and be angry."

RIP.

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1 hour ago, Big Beat Steve said:

In today's world, Google is the all-time best friend of your memory.

Yes, that's very true. And I use it frequently. And also Imdb and such. But here I hadn't thought of it.

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Dexter was not acting!

That's something I've heard or read before.

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3 hours ago, Bluesnik said:

Yes, that's very true. And I use it frequently. And also Imdb and such. But here I hadn't thought of it.

That's something I've heard or read before.

I have to watch that film again.  The first (and only) time I saw it, I was very upset by how feeble he seemed-- including his playing.  A few years before I had seen him walking through LAX, carrying his sax case and looking majestic.  I remember thinking "There he goes: long, tall, Dexter."  Everything I'd heard him play sounded very strong to me and I thought his playing in the film was not up to his standards. 

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51 minutes ago, medjuck said:

I have to watch that film again.  The first (and only) time I saw it, I was very upset by how feeble he seemed-- including his playing.  A few years before I had seen him walking through LAX, carrying his sax case and looking majestic.  I remember thinking "There he goes: long, tall, Dexter."  Everything I'd heard him play sounded very strong to me and I thought his playing in the film was not up to his standards. 

My quarrel with the film, which I enjoyed by and large, is that the arc of the plot requires that Dexter's character be in bad shape physically and above all musically, then be regenerated/regenerate himself in France in both ways but especially musically, then return to the States where Martin Scorsese, playing an evil club owner, precipitates Dale Tallon's final decline and death. Problem was that at that point in his life Dexter could only play one way -- a very faded version of his former self -- and thus there was no musical regeneration present/audible for Dale Tallon on the screen. Did Tavernier see that this was a problem? Probably so, but I would assume that he could see no way around this and may have thought that the verisimilitude of Dexter's presence could make up for it.

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I saw it several times. I saw it first when it was brandnew at the movies. 

The story is mostly based on Francis Paudras´ story about his time with Bud. 

That´s the same here, the friendship between Dale Turner (Dexter)  and the young french Francis. 

About Dexter´s playing music in the film. Sure it is not as strong as he was before, but I think he had been very sick for 2 years and already had retired.

I heard, that even after the film, Dexter played some gig´s with something like the "Round Midnight Allstars". They even went to Europe but I didn´t see it and have not heard recordings of it. This must have been shortly after the film. 
And it´s reported that Dexter played something with an Orchestra, and it was titled "Ellingtones". But it was not recorded I think......

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9 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

And it´s reported that Dexter played something with an Orchestra, and it was titled "Ellingtones". But it was not recorded I think......

A David Baker composition, and I think you’re correct that there isn’t a recording. Here’s a 1987 review.

Edited by ghost of miles
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40 minutes ago, Peter Friedman said:

Whatever its faults might be, I loved "Round Midnight". Have seen it 2 or 3 times. Time to pull out my copy and watch it again.

Same here. It rings very true to me in several key ways. And Dexter...Dexter not really acting makes it one step away from being a documentary, basically.

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On 25.3.2021 at 5:16 PM, ghost of miles said:

A David Baker composition, and I think you’re correct that there isn’t a recording. Here’s a 1987 review.

And Dexter played only one tune. 

Well, the decline startet in 1983. I attended a set of Dexter at a concert bill and the first three tunes were performed without Dexter, who took his sweet time to get on stage and played with less power and less imagination only three other tunes. 

The post-Round Midnight concert tour of the "Round Midnite All Stars" remains a mistery for me. It was not recorded, I think it featured Bobby Hutherson. I had no occasion to see it, but I think it´s possible that Dexter again played only a few tunes.....

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On 3/25/2021 at 1:01 PM, sgcim said:

I found this quote on the IMDB:

"on working with Dexter Gordon in 'Round Midnight (1986)] It was incredible. Sometimes it was difficult to bring him in front of the camera, because crossing the courtyard of the studio could last one hour. But once he was there, he was so smart, so on top of it, and so knowledgeable about the camera. I never did more than three takes with him. He was amazing. One day he didn't show up. The next day, I wanted to kill him, but he came up to me and said "Lady Bertrand, I made a huge mistake. I knew I had to come and work, but my mind was set on going to the Turkish baths. And strangely enough, I could not change my mind." And what can you say to that? You cannot scream and yell, and be angry."

RIP.

That's a great Lester story!

 

 

gregmo

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On 25.3.2021 at 7:21 AM, Gheorghe said:

I heard, that even after the film, Dexter played some gig´s with something like the "Round Midnight Allstars". They even went to Europe but I didn´t see it and have not heard recordings of it. This must have been shortly after the film. 

Do you mean this LP? Now spinning:

40877090oi.jpg

40877092lp.jpg

Dexter Gordon: The Other Side Of Round Midnight. Blue Note BT 85135 [1986]

See interesting liner notes on back cover by Michael Cuscuna!

 

Edited by optatio
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17 hours ago, optatio said:

Do you mean this LP? Now spinning:

40877090oi.jpg

40877092lp.jpg

Dexter Gordon: The Other Side Of Round Midnight. Blue Note BT 85135 [1986]

See interesting liner notes on back cover by Michael Cuscuna!

 

I also have this LP, but it´s from the music of the film. There was a first LP with music from the film score, and the tunes that were not published on the first LP are on the BN LP.

But from the few activities of Dexter AFTER the Film, that means after 1985 there is nothing recorded.

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