Rent Jaki Byard: Anything for Jazz / Elvin Jones: Different Drummer (1980)
60 minutes
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Two of a kind - This phenomenal DVD release includes documentaries of two of the most original and innovative musicians in jazz, drum legend Elvin Jones and enigmatic pianist Jaki Byard.
An unparalleled piano innovator with a unique style, Jaki Byard was widely recognized among the genre's legends as one of their most unheralded contemporaries. Bassist Ron Carter and pianist Bill Evans - who passed away shortly after this documentary was made - give heartfelt accounts of the importance of Byard's musical contributions.But even more convincing than his fellow musicians' testimonies, are the incredible segments of Byard's solo piano work and performances with his big band, the Apollo Stompers. The pianist demonstrates all of the intensity and versatility that made him a favorite of musicians like Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy.
Byard's own commentary shows him to be a very sensitive individual and a man totally dedicated to his art - a very powerful documentary of one of jazz music's uncrowned kings.
Filmed by Ed Gray in 1979, Elvin Jones take you inside his impressionistic world of rhythm, where he describes how each drum and cymbal possesses its own colour and energy, and demonstrates how he constructs a drum solo by intersecting moods and textures.
The movie also boasts an outstanding clip of Jones with the classic Coltrane quartet that showcases the unique relationship shared by the premiere tenor saxophonist in jazz and his incomparable manner. Live footage of Elvin Jones with his current band gives more than ample proof that he remains the greatest living jazz drummer.
Also included here are entertaining segments of Jones with his family, with one of Elvin's sisters recounting how the young drummer's rhythmic exploration led to the destruction of the family's complete set of pots and pans!- Actors:
- Jaki Byard, Elvin Jones
- Directors:
- Daniel Algrant
- Studio:
- Quantum Leap
- Genres:
- Music & Musicals
