Forthcoming Duke Pearson documentary

[bertrand]

Fundraiser by Katey St John : Now Hear This - The Duke Pearson Story (gofundme.com)

I have been providing some background information to the filmmaker.

Bertrand.

 

[bertrand]

Katey came down to the DC/Baltimore area this week-end and we brainstormed. I will post some questions occasionally here.

1. Have any Duke Pearson compositions been sampled? I assume so, but specific examples would be great.

2. I know of no video footage of Duke, but there used to be no footage of Hank either... Duke's nephew thought he saw footage from the 1960 Newport gig with the Jazztet on YouTube a while back. Has anyone else ever come across it?

Duke never went to Europe but maybe the Brazilian trip with Nancy Wilson could yield some footage? I am thinking of the Ray Charles video with Tina Brooks. The big band did do a 30-minute video for Connecticut Public TV but they could not find it.

Bertrand.

 

[Daniel A]

I never believed something like this would ever happen! I'm sorry I can't be of any help.

[Daniel A]

What became of this project?

I was a bit astonished and saddened the other day when I found a clip from Duke Pearson's funeral on YouTube.

Edit: 60 USD raised... 🙁

Edited March 5, 2024 by Daniel A

[bertrand]

I hesitated to post the outcome. The project was discontinued at the request of the family. Not sure what is going on but this is a lost opportunity to champion this underappreciated artist.

All the money was refunded.