Blues on PBS

Message

Greg Avakian · #1 Post by **Greg Avakian** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 10:54 am

Dear Blues Fan,

Just a quick reminder to watch "The Blues" on PBS tonight at 9pm (check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/theblues/broadcast.html )

TONIGHT’S FILM
"The Road to Memphis"
Director Richard Pearce traces the musical odyssey of blues legend B.B. King in a film that pays tribute to the city that gave birth to a new style of blues. Pearce's homage to Memphis features original performances by B.B. King, Bobby Rush, Rosco Gordon and Ike Turner, as well as historical footage of Howlin' Wolf and Rufus Thomas.

Says Pearce: " The Blues is a chance to celebrate one of the last truly indigenous American art forms, before it all but disappears, swallowed whole by the rock 'n' roll generation it spawned. Hopefully we'll get there before it's too late." Complete interview with Pearce is available at http://www.pbs.org/theblues/aboutfilms/ ... rview.html

Featured Performers: B.B. King, Bobby Rush, Ike Turner, Little Milton, Rosco Gordon

Interviews: Bobby Rush, B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Rufus Thomas, Calvin Newborn, Hubert Sumlin, Rosco Gordon, Chris Spindel (WDIA program officer), Don Kern (WDIA Production Manager), Louis Cannonball Cantor, Cato Walker III, Little Milton Campbell, Sam Phillips, Ike Turner, Jim Dickinson

Archival Performances: Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, The Coasters, Fats Domino, Little Richard

LOG ON
Chat with director Richard Pearce tomorrow on WashingtonPost.com

Richard Pearce, director of "The Road to Memphis"
Wednesday, October 1 at noon ET
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... Aug27.html

And "The Blues" forum continues on NYTimes.com with a panel of producers and interviewees from "The Blues" television and radio series. Join in or just read along at http://www.nytimes.com/pages/readersopinions/index.html
(Free registration required)

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If you know other blues fans who would enjoy these updates, please pass this message along and encourage them to sign up at http://www.pbs.org/theblues/signup.html

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Visit "The Blues" Web site at http://www.pbs.org/theblues to check out the film descriptions and get more information about the project and partners. We also welcome your questions, comments, and feedback. Send your message to theblues@pbs.org.

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ABOUT THE BLUES(tm)
"The Blues," executive produced by filmmaker Martin Scorsese and premiering Sunday, September 28 at 9pm on PBS, anchors a multi-media project to help raise awareness of the blues and its contribution to American culture and music worldwide. The Blues is a seven-part television series of personal and impressionistic films viewed through the lens of seven world-famous directors who share a passion for the music. The films, by Charles Burnett, Clint Eastwood, Mike Figgis, Marc Levin, Richard Pearce, Martin Scorsese and Wim Wenders, capture the essence of blues music and delve into its global influence - from its roots in Africa to its inspirational role in today's music. Four of the seven films are written by Charles Burnett, Robert Gordon, Peter Guralnick and Wim Wenders. Sponsored by Volkswagen of America, Inc., "The Blues" project initiatives include an extensive Web site at http://www.pbs.org/theblues; a 13-part public radio series; educational outreach; a companion book, and value-added DVDs, a CD box set, individual soundtracks for each show, a single "Best of" album and individual artist recordings. "The Blues" project will also go "On the Road," to a national schedule of film, music and heritage events celebrating the blues throughout the year. "The Blues" is a presentation of Vulcan Productions and Road Movies in association with Cappa Productions and Jigsaw Productions; WGBH Boston presents the series on PBS; public television funding is provided by PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Along with Scorsese, Paul G. Allen and Jody Patton of Vulcan Productions and Ulrich Felsberg of Road Movies are executive producing the series; Alex Gibney is the series producer; Margaret Bodde is the producer, and Richard Hutton is the co-producer. "The Blues" is closed captioned for viewers who are deaf and hard-of-hearing and described for people who are blind or visually impaired, by the Media Access Group at WGBH. The descriptive narration is made possible by a special grant from Volkswagen and is available on the SAP channel of stereo TVs and VCRs.

Mr Awesomer · #2 Post by **Mr Awesomer** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 12:29 pm

There's already a thread on this in "Other Music."

http://www.swingdjs.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=354

Greg Avakian · #3 Post by **Greg Avakian** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 12:42 pm

Sorry, I should have checked/posted there.
Feel free to delete the thread Mr. Admin.

Lawrence · #4 Post by **Lawrence** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 12:54 pm

I frankly think that it belongs here, and was surprised it was not here yesterday. The admin should keep it here if only to let people know about the other thread.

As I wrote in the other thread, I have been INCREDIBLY disappointed so far, and am surprised others have not complained.

Perhaps Ken Burns set the bar too high with his Jazz series (which I thought was brilliant despite its obvious biases and limitations) or set my expectations on a well-edited, well-directed, narrative-driven series that has a common thematic thread throughout. But this series so far seems to be just a hodge-podge of useless and uninsightful anecdotes from losers, hippies, and ooshie-wooshie musicians who strive to minimize the creative genius and source of Blues music through perpetuating those outdated anecdotes.

Part of the problem is the absence of credible scholars or experts on the Blues. I'm REALLY not that interested in hearing what a bunch of loser sycophants, bearded dreadlocked hippies, or no-name losers and their psycho Swedish wives have to say on the matter. In contrast, the Jazz series had, for instance, Wynton Marsalis as a major contributing "scholar." Despite Marsalis's well-documented biases, he at least is a credible expert.

The problem perhaps is worsened by having different directors doing each segment.

Mr Awesomer · #5 Post by **Mr Awesomer** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 1:14 pm

It fits in either folder, but considering the Blues includes much more then just "Swinging Music," the thread in the other folder is already going full steam, and the creator of this thread is okay with closing it down, I'll lock this one up and leave it to direct others to the other thread as was suggested.