Day: April 23, 2015

LFM Reviews Song of Lahore @ Tribeca 2015

By Joe Bendel. There have been many notable fusions of jazz and South Asian musical forms over the years, such as Buddy Rich’s percussion duets with Alla Rakha and the Indo-Jazz Fusion double quintet co-led by Joe Harriott and John Mayer. However, the impetus for such explorations typically started on the jazz side. The traditional musicians of Pakistan’s Sachal Studios are a different case entirely. They decided to experiment with jazz forms and they did it at a time when simply being a musician could get them killed in Islamist Pakistan. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy & Andy Schocken chronicle their unlikely collaboration with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in Song of Lahore, which screens during the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.

In Taliban infested Pakistan, culture of any sort is largely prohibited. It was not always so. The Sachal Studio musicians represent a long line of artists, stretching back to the time when Lahore was a renowned center of music. Things were bad under the Zia regime, improved somewhat after his fall, but became even more dangerous in recent years. Identifying the need for a safe creative outlet, Izzat Majeed secretly opened Sachar Studios.

Finally, Pakistani musicians had a place to play together. With their chops rebounding, Majeed challenges them to tackle American style jazz, hoping it will broaden their potential base of listeners. The idea that the commercial popularity of jazz looks enviable to Pakistani musicians is a pretty depressing thought. Nevertheless there are kinships between the two musical traditions, most notably the improvisational ethos.

Of course, one of the bestselling jazz records of all time was Dave Brubeck’s Time Out, featuring his classic rendition of “Take Five.” When the Sachar Studio posts a video of the ambitious arrangement of “Take Five” on YouTube, its viral appeal quickly surpasses their expectations. Soon, they are invited to play a special concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center. However, melding the two ensembles will be a tricky proposition.

From "Song of Lahore."

Wow, it is simultaneously inspiring and horrifying to see musicians risking everything to play jazz. Indeed, Song leaves little doubt jazz is the music of freedom, giving a deserved shout out to the U.S. State Department’s Jazz Ambassadors program of the 1960s. Longtime fans and patrons will also find it cool to see J@LC mainstays like Ron Westray, Victor Goines, Ryan Kisor, and Joe Temperley on the big screen. However, not to be pedantic, but the frequent references to “Dave Brubeck’s Take Five” get a little irksome. Actually, Paul Desmond, a longtime Brubeck band-member and leader in his own right, composed “Take Five” and his alto solo (along with Joe Morello’s classic drum solo) helped make it so enduringly popular.

Regardless, Obaid-Chinoy & Schocken show a fine general understanding of the music and appreciate it enough to let us hear some of the performances in their entirety. Ellington’s “Limbo Jazz” is an especially hospitable vehicle for the combined group’s improvisations.

Song of Lahore does something that is almost impossible. It gives viewers a faint glimmer of hope for the future of Pakistan. It also features some wonderfully swinging and sophisticated music. Highly recommended, Song of Lahore screens again today (4/23), as part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on April 23rd, 2015 at 4:00pm.

LFM Reviews Fastball @ Tribeca 2015

From "Fastball."

By Joe Bendel. They say for fastball pitchers, it more about movement and location then velocity, unless they can hurl it over 100 mph. In that case, it really is about velocity. Some of the game’s best power pitchers and power hitters explain what it is like to be on either side of the high heat in Jonathan Hock’s enormously entertaining Fastball, which screens during the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.

Obviously it is almost impossible to compare pitchers from different eras, but Hock and his on-screen experts will develop a methodology to do just that. Hock surveys the game-changingest fastball pitchers throughout baseball history, starting with Walter Johnson’s celebrated 122 feet per second fastball, segueing into Bob Feller’s still impressive 98.6 mph benchmark. Yankee fans will be delighted to see Goose Gossage get ample screen time, but will be baffled by the absence of Mariano Rivera (what, the cutter doesn’t count?). Still, future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter turns up as consolation (presumably he is like Martin Scorsese in classic cinema docs – if you can get him, you find a place for him).

Okay, fans from every city might wonder why their respective teams are not better represented, but nobody will question the time spent with Bob Gibson and Nolan Ryan. There are even more Hall of Famers represented on the hitters’ side of the equation, including George Brett (yes, the pine tar incident is revisited), Hank Aaron, and Al Kaline. Some fans might find it rather bittersweet seeing the recently passed Ernie Banks and Tony Gwynn adding even more class to the film.

From "Fastball."

There are a lot of laugh-out-loud stories in Fastball, but there is also a lot of nostalgia. In fact, the film becomes unapologetically sentimental and empathetic when chronically the story of Steve Dalkowski, the almost Major Leaguer who partly inspired the film Bull Durham. It is a tough game sometimes.

Surprisingly, Hock even incorporates lessons in physics and physiology into the film that really heighten our appreciation of fastball pitching (and hitting). The manner in which the documentary breaks down and adjusts fastball measurement over time might sound a little geeky, but it is totally perfect for such a wonky, numbers-obsessed sport. To Hock’s credit, Fastball is willing to make the call as to which pitcher really was the fastest, without any hedging or second-guessing, so there is even some suspense built in.

Throughout the film, Hock always hits the right notes and Kevin Costner’s narration is the perfect finishing touch. If you are a baseball fan, Fastball will bring make fond memories of the game and if you do not follow the boys of summer, you can still enjoy the anecdotes. Highly recommended, Fastball screens again this Saturday (4/25) and Sunday (4/26), as part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on April 23rd, 2015 at 3:59pm.

LFM Reviews The Forger @ Tribeca 2015

By Joe Bendel. Raymond J. Cutter is not exactly Raffles or the Pink Panther. This working class art thief and forger is a decidedly Gloomy Gus. His son Will’s terminal illness gives him a very valid reason. To get out of prison while there is still time to reconnect with the young lad, Cutter makes a deal with the devil involving a Monet. Eventually, things will get caperish in Philip Martin’s The Forger, which screens during the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.

With a little less than a year left on his sentence, Cutter would ordinarily sit tight and do the time. Unfortunately, time is one thing Will Cutter does not have, so Cutter reaches out to Keegan, a Boston mobster, to “fix” things with the judge. Of course, there will be a quid pro quo. In this case, Cutter must steal Monet’s Woman with a Parasol on loan from the National Gallery, replacing it with a fake. It seems Keegan desperately needs to clear a debt to his art-loving cartel connection—hence the caper.

It takes a while to get to the actual art thievery, though. Instead, Martin and screenwriter Richard D’Ovidio force viewers to cool their heels in a lot of hospital waiting rooms and sit through many father-and-son heart-to-hearts. Patience and character development are both good things, but at some point the film starts to feel like it is stalling for time.

It has been a while since Travolta rekindled that old magic on-screen, but in a way that works to his advantage here. Believe it or not, he is quite good as Cutter, forcefully conveying all his guilt and regret, without wallowing in melodramatic excess. Unfortunately, Tye Sheridan is pretty dull and wooden as his son, whereas it is hard to know what to make of Christopher Plummer as Travolta’s extremely Irish father.

There are random flashes of chemistry between Travolta and Abigail Spencer’s Special Agent Paisley, but the film goes out of its way to keep them apart. The actual heist is well executed, but the film’s casts its lead characters as Red Sox fans, thereby making it extremely difficult to establish any degree of viewer sympathy.

Much to the frustration of his fans, The Forger probably ranks as one of Travolta’s better vehicles in recent years (anyone care to make a case for Old Dogs or Wild Hogs? Anyone?). It is not without merit, but it is maddeningly uneven and undeniably slow out of the blocks. Watchable but hardly worthy of Manhattan movie ticket prices, The Forger opens tomorrow (4/24) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

LFM GRADE: C+

Posted on April 23rd, 2015 at 3:59pm.