Los Angeles - Documentaries on Ernie Andrews, Clora Bryant this Sunday

[Adam]

Hi all,

This Sunday Los Angeles Filmforum presents two documentaries about

Los Angeles jazz legends Ernie Andrews and Clora Bryant. It appears

that both Clora Bryant and Ernie Andrews will be present!

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Sunday, November 18, 7:00 pm

At the Spielberg Theatre at the Egyptian Theatre

6712 Hollywood Blvd. at Las Palmas

www.lafilmforum.org

Los Angeles Filmforum presents

"Trumpetistically, Clora Bryant" and "Ernie Andrews: Blues for Central

Avenue"

In association with the Getty Research Institute's Côte à Côte: Art

and Jazz in France and California.

http://www.getty.edu/visit/events/cote_a_cote.html

We're delighted to host these portraits of the musicians Clora Bryant

and Ernie Andrews, essential players in the jazz scene of Los Angeles.

For its first public screening in Los Angeles in many years, we are

delighted to screen "Ernie Andrews: Blues for Central Avenue" (1987,

50 min, screening on DVCam)

Produced and directed by Lois Shelton

With Ernie Andrews, Dolores Andrews, Buddy Collette, Harry (Sweets)

Edison and others.

Followed by

"Trumpetistically, Clora Bryant" by Zeinabu irene Davis (2004, 55

min., DVcam)

LA Weekly review of "Ernie Andrews; Blues for Central Avenue":

"Beautifully produced, directed and edited by Lois Shelton,

Ernie Andrews: Blues for Central Avenue is a crucial document about

L.A., as well as a touching portrait of the man. Ernie Andrews is a

superb Jazz singer who, 40 years ago, was one of the lights of the

Central Avenue scene. In those days, L.A.'s Central Avenue was a

match for New York's 52nd Street and New Orleans' Latin Quarter as the

hottest jazz and party scene in the country -- hard to believe

considering the city as we know it now. The racism that still divides

L.A. was much more blatant then. Shelton shows us some headlines of

the times ("Court Reviews Right of Negroes To Live in Their Own

Homes," "White Policeman Jails Man for Walking With Negro Friend"). It

was a racism that finally spelled doom for the scene.

"Against this backdrop we see the life and friends of Singer Ernie

Andrews. Andrews is, if anything, a better singer now than he was then

--the fullness and control of his voice can be breathtaking -- and the

film lets us hear him at length. But its heart is the contrast between

the strong man singing and the worn, wounded man speaking. Here we

see "history" not as a word or a doctrine, but as something a man

must breathe and which, like polluted air, scars you from the inside

out. When Andrews says, "We got what we wanted, but we wrecked what

we loved," he seems to be speaking from the heart of what America has

meant -- though he cops no pleas and takes the burden of his fate

squarely on himself. His dignity and, above all, his art, make this

documentary shine." -- Michael Ventura, LA Weekly

AWARDS: CINE Gold Eagle; First place Anthropos festival, USC; Silver

medal, Houston International Film Festival; Honorable Mention, Prized

Pieces.

BROADCAST HISTORY:

1987-89: KCET; WNET; Discovery Channel; The Learning Channel.

Followed by

"Trumpetistically, Clora Bryant" by Zeinabu irene Davis (2004, 55

min., DVcam)

Zeinabu Irene Davis's new film "Trumpetistically, Clora Bryant"

portrays the life and work of "trumpetiste" Clora Bryant, a largely

unrecognized force in the Los Angeles and Central Avenue jazz scenes.

"The odds were stacked against Clora Bryant: she was a woman; she was

black; and she was playing a "man's instrument" - the trumpet. Yet she

paved her way onto the Los Angeles jazz scene during the 1940s and

50s, and became known as a skilled trumpet player, performing with

Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday and

Ella Fitzgerald. A multi-faceted cinematic portrait, the film pays

homage to the career of a courageous woman." ˆ Berenice Reynaud

"Zeinabu irene Davis's films explore and celebrate the black female

body and female experiences not treated by mainstream cinema." ˆ

Literature Film Quarterly

Clora Bryant

One of the last living musicians of the Be-Bop jazz era is a 75-year

old woman who mentors the next generation of jazz players. Clora

Bryant toured with Billie Holiday, and she is the only woman trumpet

player who ever recorded with Dizzy Gillespie and played with Charlie

Parker. Though she was honored last May at the Kennedy Center in

Washington, D.C., Bryant has never become well known to the general

public.

Despite a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery in 1996 that left

her unable to play her trumpet, Bryant continues to exert her

influence on the world of jazz. She still sings and lectures on jazz

history at several Los Angeles-area colleges. She also mentors several

young female jazz musicians, encouraging, inspiring and teaching them.

Bryant says the younger generation needs to learn from older players,

as she did from greats like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis

Armstrong. "When I grew up there were legends everywhere, and now the

legends don't make themselves available to young people anymore∑these

days people just get in their limos and away they go, and it hurts my

heart."

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Tickets are $9 general;, $6 students, seniors over 65. Free for

Filmforum members.

Cash and checks only!

****Tickets only available at the door, CASH AND CHECK ONLY, but we

will take reservations through the email address until Saturday night,

and hold all reservations until 6:45 pm.***

Filmforum is selling memberships! They get you into shows for free!

$50 single/$75 double. Again, cash or check only. Inquire at the door,

or send us an email at lafilmforum@yahoo.com

Parking validation at the Hollywood & Highland parking complex. Park

four hours for $2 with validation. Free street parking also generally

available. The theatre is two blocks from the Metro Red Line station

at Hollywood & Highland.

**For full and up-to-date information, please visit our website at

www.lafilmforum.org or email us at lafilmforum@yahoo.com **

***For a complete listing of alternative films in Los Angeles, check

www.filmradar.com

Los Angeles Filmforum is the city's longest-running organization

dedicated to weekly screenings of experimental film, documentaries,

and video art. This is our 31st year!

Filmforum is also raising funds. Sponsor a whole season for only

$5000, or become a member for $50, or anything in between. We're also

looking for a Sony DSR-11 video deck, which plays mini-DV and DV-Cam,

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which means your fiscal donations are fully tax deductible.

Coming Soon to Filmforum:

December 2 - Films by Robert Nelson, part 1 - at the Echo Park Film Center

December 9 - The Documentaries of Jessica Yu - at the Egyptian Theatre

December 16 - Films by Robert Nelson, part 2 - at the Egyptian Theatre

[RDK]

Hey Adam - thanks for the heads up. Not sure if I can make it, but I'll try.