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Jazz From Lincoln Center Body and Soul Written by Neil Tesser (c) and (p) Jazz From Lincoln Center, 2001, all rights reserved
1) Music: start with silence and segue into "Body and Soul" after first sentence
2) Bradley: WHEN TODAY’S JAZZ AUDIENCES HEAR THE TITLE "BODY AND SOUL," THEY USUALLY THINK OF THE 1930 TUNE THAT BECAME A JAZZ STANDARD IN THE HANDS OF SAXOPHONIST COLEMAN HAWKINS. BUT AFRICAN-AMERICAN AUDIENCES OF THAT ERA HAD A DIFFERENT REFERENCE POINT FOR THE TITLE. "BODY AND SOUL" IS THE 1925 MASTERPIECE BY OSCAR MICHEAUX, THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MOVIE DIRECTOR OF THE SILENT-FILM ERA.
3) Vox: Richard Pena (Tesser interview) "Silent cinema as a // concept is always a bit of a misnomer – because almost never in the Silent Era were films shown silently. There was always a narrator, there was most often music, sometimes even sound effects // were being added. So when Body and Soul would have been shown in the Silent Era, to predominantly African-American audiences, there certainly would have been music played; and we’ve discovered that // in several places it was in fact accompanied by a jazz orchestra."
4) Bradley: EARLY CINEMA STILL REACHES ACROSS THE CENTURY INSPIRING ORIGINAL MUSIC AND NEW SCORES FOR CLASSIC "SILENTS." RECENTLY, THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA’S PROLIFIC TROMBONIST WYCLIFFE GORDON TOOK UP THE CHALLENGE OF SCORING THE 1925 FILM, BODY AND SOUL WE’LL HEAR HIGHLIGHTS THAT NEW SCORE ON THIS REEL OF JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I’M ED BRADLEY. fade music
5) Music: TK 6) Bradley: RICHARD PENA DIRECTS THE FILM SOCIETY AT LINCOLN CENTER.
7) Vox: Richard Pena (Tesser interview) "Micheaux began film production, I believe his first film was in 1916, and made a number of films during the silent era, of which // only three still survive. // But his most famous film of the Silent Period, and I think what most people think is probably his best film // is Body and Soul, which was made in 1925, and which was the first film to star the great African-American actor, Paul Robeson."
fade music
8) Bradley: IN BODY AND SOUL, PAUL ROBESON PLAYS AN ESCAPED CON MAN CALLED "BLACK CARL" WHO HAS DISGUISED HIMSELF AS THE PIOUS "REVEREND JENKINS." THIS PHONY CLERGYMAN DRINKS HEAVILY, STEALS FROM HIS PARISHIONERS, AND EVENTUALLY RAPES THE DAUGHTER OF A DEVOTED CHURCHGOER. AS THE FILM BEGINS, HE STAGGERS ON TO THE SCREEN. WYCLIFFE GORDON DEPICTS THE ACTION WITH THIS BLUESY AND SINISTER THEME, PLAYED AND CHANTED BY THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA.
9) Music: "Black Carl" (LCJO) ID # 1 3:32
10) Bradley: AT THE STADTHALLE IN BRAUNSCHWEIG, GERMANY - THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA, CONDUCTED BY WYCLIFFE GORDON IN THE EUROPEAN PREMIERE OF HIS SCORE FOR THE FILM BODY AND SOUL. GORDON SAYS THAT HIS CREATIVE JUICES STARTED FLOWING THE FIRST TIME HE SAW THE FILM:
11) Vox: Wycliffe Gordon (Tesser interview) "I had always been interested in doing film scoring // It took about the third or the fourth time for all the scenes to really come together for me . . . // but after I saw it the first time I began composing in my head. // I had heard of Oscar Micheaux before doing this project; he dealt with controversial issues, but he decided when he made films // he wanted to tell the story through his eyes as he saw life -- // the things that he experienced. And he was not afraid to put those things on screen."
12) Music: TK 13) Bradley: BODY AND SOUL IS SET IN A SMALL SOUTHERN TOWN. MOST OF THE ACTION TAKES PLACE IN THE ONE-ROOM CHURCH, IN THE TOWN’S BAR, AND IN THE SMALL APARTMENT SHARED BY THE DOOMED ISABELLE AND HER MOTHER. FOR GORDON, WHO GREW UP IN TINY WAYNESBORO, GEORGIA:
14) Vox: Wycliffe Gordon (Tesser interview)
15) Bradley: GORDON FOUND ANOTHER FAMILIAR SLICE OF SMALL-TOWN LIFE IN THE SCENE WHERE ISABELLE’S MOTHER AND HER FRIENDS LEAVE THE CHURCHYARD AFTER THE SERVICE. fade music
16) Vox: Wycliffe Gordon (Tesser interview) "Whenever the // three women were there, I tried to emulate that by using the voice of the three woodwinds. // The thing that speaks to me across all of those years is it was a part of my experience growing up, from the women that would get together after church, to talk about the sermon or just the things that had happened during the week. //
17) Bradley: WYCLIFFE GORDON CAPTURES BOTH THE FILM’S ACTION AND HIS OWN MEMORIES WITH THESE SECTIONS FROM HIS SCORE FOR BODY AND SOUL. FIRST, WE’LL HEAR THE CHURCH SERVICE AND THEN THE SAME THEME – WITH ADDITIONAL ORCHESTRATION AND A SWINGING BEAT – FOR THE CHURCHWOMEN’S SPIRITED DISCUSSION. (continued)
17) Bradley: (cont.) YOU’LL ALSO HEAR AN INTERLUDE OF BOOGIE-WOOGIE PIANO, WRITTEN FOR THE BAR SCENE WHERE "BLACK CARL" IN HIS GUISE AS THE REVEREND JENKINS – IS AN INCONGRUOUS REGULAR.
18) Music: "church" (LCJO) ID # 2 3:53 19) Music: "ladies" (LCJO) ID # 3 4:11 20) Bradley: WYCLIFFE GORDON LEADING THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA IN MUSIC FROM HIS SCORE FOR BODY AND SOUL. THE PIECE WAS PREMIERED AS PART OF THE 38TH ANNUAL NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL AND RECORDED SHORTLY AFTERWARD AT THE STADTHALLE IN BRAUNSCHWEIG, GERMANY. THIS IS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER; I’M ED BRADLEY.
21) Music: TK 22) Bradley: OSCAR MICHEAUX, WHO WROTE AND DIRECTED BODY AND SOUL, HAD AN EYE FOR THE SMALL DETAILS OF MIDDLE-CLASS SOUTHERN LIFE. BUT HIS MAIN INTEREST LAY IN THE BIG PICTURE. FILM HISTORIAN RICHARD PENA:
23) Vox: Richard Pena (Tesser interview) "He began his career, like many other African-Americans, in the mid-teens, somewhat as a reaction against Birth of the Nation. As many African-Americans and others were outraged by the lies and distortions of that film, they decided that what was needed was really to create their own images."
24) Bradley: MICHEAUX SURPRISED AUDIENCES WHEN HE CAST THE POPULAR YOUNG STAGE ACTOR AND SINGER PAUL ROBESON, IN THE ROLE OF "REVERED JENKINS," THE CON MAN TURNED PREACHER. BUT HE WAS NOT INTERESTED IN PRESENTING A SENTIMENTALIZED, FALSELY VIRTUOUS IMAGE OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS. fade music
25) Bradley: MICHEAUX TOOK A DIM VIEW OF NOT ONLY THE WICKED PREACHER, BUT ALSO THE UNBLINKING ADMIRATION PLACED IN HIM BY HIS TRUSTING FLOCK. THOUGH HER MOTHER HOPES THE REVEREND JENKINS WILL MARRY HER DAUGHTER, ISABELLE MAKES PLANS OF HER OWN. SHE BRINGS HOME A POLITE AND EDUCATED BUT DESTITUTE BEAU, ALSO PLAYED BY PAUL ROBESON. THIS LEADS TO AN ARGUMENT AND ISABELLE’S ALIENATION. WYCLIFFE GORDON USES A SOMBER PALETTE TO PAINT THE SCENE, FEATURING LOW BRASS AND THEN THE MOURNFUL ALTO SAXOPHONE OF WESS ANDERSON
26) Music: "Mary & Isabelle" (LCJO) ID # 4 4:37 27) Bradley: THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA, UNDER THE BATON OF TROMBONIST WYCLIFFE GORDON, PERFORMING MUSIC FROM HIS SCORE TO THE 1925 SILENT CLASSIC BODY AND SOUL.
28) Music: TK
29) Bradley: THE FILM’S DIRECTOR OSCAR MICHEAUX USED A QUITE SOPHISTICATED NARRATIVE SCHEME, EMPLOYING FLASHBACKS AND QUICK CUTS BETWEEN SIMULTANEOUSLY OCCURRING SCENES. COMPOSER WYCLIFFE GORDON DIDN’T ATTEMPT TO MATCH THIS QUICK EDITING WITH MUSICAL CUES:
30) Vox: Wycliffe Gordon (Tesser interview) "I thought it would have been a bit much to just try to catch and play something off every scene exactly, // just to be too particular about what was going on. So I thought it would be best for me to set the mood. // it was the duty of each of the musicians that I delegated to solo, [I’d] say, ‘Watch the film and try to catch the action that’s happening.’
31) Bradley: FILM HISTORIAN RICHARD PENA.
32) Vox: Richard Pena (Tesser interview) "I think Wycliffe – having never done this kind of work before – came up with an extremely original approach to scoring it that includes not only music, but also some singing, some chants, some hand-clapping // -- it’s a very very original approach to how to score, especially a film from the 1920s, // which gave the presentation that much more electricity." fade music
33) Bradley: THE NEXT TWO PIECES ACCOMPANY SCENES WHERE ISABELLE’S MOTHER RETURNS HOME AFTER HAVING LEFT HER DAUGHTER ALONE WITH REVEREND JENKINS. WE DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED, BUT THE MUSIC – A REPRISE OF THE "BLACK CARL" THEME, PUNCTUATED BY THE SIMMERING TRUMPET OF WYNTON MARSALIS AND RYAN KISOR -- SUGGESTS SOMETHING TERRIBLE. A DISTRAUGHT ISABELLE PACKS HER SUITCASE, AND LEAVES A NOTE FOR HER MOTHER, EXPLAINING THAT SHE’S RUN AWAY WITH THEIR CAREFULLY SAVED NEST EGG. GORDON PROVIDES THE DISTINCTIVE RHYTHMS OF THE EXPRESS TRAIN TAKING HER FAR FROM HOME TO ATLANTA.
34) Music: "Isabelle & Mary" (LCJO) ID # 5 4:24 35) Music: "Atlanta" (LCJO) ID # 6 2:54
36) Bradley: THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA, PLAYING MUSIC COMPOSED AND CONDUCTED BY WYCLIFFE GORDON FOR THE SILENT FILM BODY AND SOUL. 37) Music: TK 38) midbreak SUPPORT FOR JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER COMES FROM NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO MEMBER STATIONS AND NPR, WHOSE CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE THE LILA (LYE-la) WALLACE READER'S DIGEST FUND -- SEEKING TO ENRICH COMMUNITY LIFE THROUGH SUPPORT OF EDUCATION, THE ARTS AND CULTURE. FOR MORE ABOUT THE FILM SCORE FOR BODY AND SOUL, OR TO HEAR THIS SHOW AGAIN, CHECK OUR WEBSITE AT "W-W-W DOT JAZZATLINCOLNCENTER DOT ORG. YOU'RE LISTENING TO JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I'M ED BRADLEY. [Midbreak @ tk -- (incl. :10 as bed for local stations ID's)]
39) Music: TK 40) Bradley: WYCLIFFE GORDON’S SCORE FOR BODY AND SOUL REPRESENTS THE FIRST COLLABORATION OF JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER WITH THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER. FILM SOCIETY DIRECTOR RICHARD PENA:
41) Vox: Richard Pena (Tesser interview) "[It’s a] very powerful film, one that even today caused a certain amount of dissension among those who saw it // because it does offer a very harsh view of African-American life, or at least aspects of it. And indeed the film was roundly criticized when it first came out."
42) Bradley: BODY AND SOUL HAS A PARTICULARLY INTERESTING HISTORY. IT WAS CREATED IN 1925 AS A NINE-REEL EPIC RUNNING OVER ONE-HUNDRED MINUTES. BUT INSTEAD OF BEING WELCOMED FOR ITS HONESTY, IT WAS CENSORED BY NEW YORK STATE FOR ITS DEPICTION OF THE DRUNKEN AND MALEVOLENT REVEREND JENKINS. DIRECTOR OSCAR MISCHEAUX COULD ONLY EXHIBIT THE FILM AFTER HE CUT IT TO FIVE REELS AND REMOVED ANY NEGATIVE REFERENCE TO THE CLERGY. IN 1986 WHEN IT WAS RESTORED BY THE GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE, ONLY EIGHT OF THE ORIGINAL REELS COULD BE FOUND. RECENTLY, FILM SOCIETY DIRECTOR RICHARD PENA SAW AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE THE WORK NEW LIFE.
43) Vox: Richard Pena (Tesser interview) " and I thought, ‘Gee, wouldn’t it be great if Rob could get the orchestra to come up with a new score for this, ’cause it’s such a great film . . . //
44) Bradley: ROB IS ROB GIBSON, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR OF JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER AND HE KNEW EXACTLY WHERE TO TAKE THE IDEA: TO TROMBONIST WYCLIFFE GORDON, WHO HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC AND PROMISING COMPOSERS FOR THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA. FOR GORDON, THE CHALLENGE OF WRITING FOR FILM EXTENDED HIS RANGE.
45) Vox: Wycliffe Gordon (Tesser interview) "If I’m composing music for a jazz band, I think about the mood that I want to create, and I try to make it happen in the notes, and it’s a visual thing for me . . . // Then with the film, I had to focus more on the film // than on my imagination – or I had to use my imagination within the context of the film, and the scenes that were happening. But I think it’s all part of the same process." fade music
46) Bradley: GORDON HAD TO EXPLOIT THAT PROCESS TO ITS FULLEST IN THE CRITICAL SCENE IN WHICH ISABELLE’S MOTHER LOCATES HER DAUGHTER IN ATLANTA. SHE FINDS HER IN DESPERATE STRAITS, LIVING IN POVERTY, HUNGRY AND LISTLESS. THE MUSIC CONVEYS THE PATHOS AND JOY OF THE REUNION, WITH SAXOPHONIST WESS ANDERSON CARRYING THE THEME, FOLLOWED BY SOLOISTS WYNTON MARSALIS ON TRUMPET AND VICTOR GOINES ON CLARINET.
47) Music: "storytelling" (LCJO) ID # 7 7:05 48) Bradley: THE CLIMAX OF BODY AND SOUL OCCURS AS ISABELLE – ON HER DEATHBED - TELLS HER MOTHER THE TRUTH ABOUT HER FLIGHT FROM HOME. SHE TELLS OF BEING RAPED BY THE REVEREND JENKINS AND THEN TORTURED INTO GIVING HIM ALL OF THEIR SAVINGS. THE BEREAVED MOTHER RETURNS HOME TO CONFRONT "REVEREND JENKINS" AT CHURCH, WHERE THE CONGREGATION HEARS HER ACCUSATIONS AND FINALLY TURNS ON HIM. GORDON’S MUSIC CAPTURES THE RANGE OF EMOTIONS, REPRISING HIS EARLIER THEMES AND THEN SETTING THE BAND LOOSE IN A FURIOUS COLLABORATIVE IMPROVISATION.
49) Music: "Oh My Soul part I" (LCJO) ID # 8 8:56
50) Bradley: FROM THE STADTHALLE IN BRAUNSCHWEIG, GERMANY, THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA, WITH WYCLIFFE GORDON’S SCORE FOR BODY AND SOUL. (continued)
50) Bradley: (cont.) THE FILM COMES TO A SURPRISING CONCLUSION IN THE FINAL SCENE AS ISABELLE'S MOTHER WAKES FROM THE LONG DREAM THAT WE - THE AUDIENCE - HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN SEEING. IN FACT, HER DAUGHTER IS VERY MUCH ALIVE AND SHE SWEEPS IN TO ANNOUNCE THAT HER FIANCE HAS SUCCESSFULLY SOLD HIS FIRST INVENTION. IT'S A HAPPY ENDING AFTER ALL. AND WYCLIFFE GORDON'S MUSIC CARRIES THE CELEBRATION.
51) Music: "Oh My Soul part II" (LCJO) ID # 9 7:46
52) Bradley: WYCLIFFE GORDON, LEADING THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA IN THE EUROPEAN PREMIER OF BODY AND SOUL, HIS NEW SCORE FOR THE 1925 OSCAR MICHEAUX SILENT FILM MASTERPIECE. 53) Music: TK (perhaps "Black Carl" again ??) 54) Bradley: JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER IS PRODUCED BY JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER AND MURRAY STREET ENTERPRISE NEW YORK. THIS PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY NEIL TESSER. OUR SENIOR PRODUCER IS STEVE RATHE. (continued)
54) Bradley: (cont.) THE PROGRAM WAS EDITED BY VALERIE GLADSTONE WITH ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS AVE CARRILLO AND JOSHUA JACKSON. THE RECORDINGS WERE MADE DAVID ROBINSON AND ROB GIBSON AND REMASTERED BY SAUNDRA PALMER GRASSI AT BMG STUDIOS. DIGITAL POST PRODUCTION BY DAVID GOREN AT STEVEN ERICKSON'S. THE PRODUCTION TEAM INCLUDES GWENDOLYN DEAN, ANDREW ROSENBLUM, LEE BERNARD, PETER ZANGER, AND TRACEY SCHUTTY. THANKS TO CHRISTA TETER, CATHERINE HENRY, AND THE RADIO FOUNDATION. THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR OF JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER IS ROB GIBSON. THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR IS WYNTON MARSALIS. I'M ED BRADLEY. THIS IS N-P-R, WHERE JAZZ LIVES. Copyright © 1998-2001 Jazz From Lincoln Center, All Rights Reserved. |