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SONIC WAVE Weekly In 1972, having topped the pop charts with a series of hits, Aretha Franklin returned to her family’s gospel roots. She held two concerts of the most deeply moving spirituals at a Baptist church in Watts, a Los Angeles neighborhood still recovering from the riots six years earlier. Director Sydney Pollack was hired to document the shows, but he neglected to bring the clappers to mark the sound. As a result, the footage sat unused for more than 40 years. Just months after Franklin’s death, this film is finally being seen, and it’s an unforgettable testament to her musical influences and legacy. The camera pans across the ecstatic audiences and then returns to Aretha’s soaring vocals. It makes for a raw, exalted performance, buoyed by the Southern California Community Choir and jubilant attendees taken over by the spirit. (1972/2019, 87 min.) “You get both the most lovely gaze a professional camera’s ever laid upon Aretha Franklin and some of the mightiest singing she’s ever laid on you.” NY Times “Amazing Grace is a movie worth seeing and re-seeing and re-seeing again, a testament to the Queen of Soul at the height of her powers, live, in full color, in rich sound, resplendent.” The Wrap
SONIC WAVE Weekly The iconic music of Ennio Morricone’s expansive career can be found in such films as Fistful of Dollars, Days of Heaven, and The Hateful Eight. Now, in this carefully curated documentary, we are able to trace his life from his Italo-pop roots to some of the most legendary music in cinema. Interviews with collaborators like Bertolucci, Argento, and Tarantino detail the artistic relationship between music and movies, while paying homage to a dedicated and talented composer. (dir. Giuseppe Tornatore, Italy Belgium Japan Netherland Italy Belgium Japan, 2021, 150m) “(Tornatore’s) documentary represents a painstakingly detailed, fantastically entertaining deep dive into the career of the hyper-prolific Italian composer Ennio Morricone…” – The Guardian
PG-13for supernatural action/violence, language and suggestive references.
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.
w/ Katie Cokinos (April 3, 4) & Eric Grode (April 3 via skype) A culture-shifting musical about a midwestern boy who’s been drafted for the Vietnam War, travels to New York City, and meets a group of hippies. Through song and trippiness, the group changes the boy forever. (dir. Miloš Forman, U.S, 1979, 121m) “Hair succeeds at all levels—as lowdown fun, as affecting drama, as exhilarating spectacle and as provocative social observation.” — Time
LIVE FROM UPSTATE event Rolling Stone ranks John Prine’s self-titled debut album as the 149th best record of all time. But that doesn’t do it justice. It is a jaw-dropping record that has stood the test of time, 53 years and counting: songs like” “Hello in There,” “Sam Stone,” and “Angel from Montgomery” are now much-admired standards in the American Songbook. Writer Erin Osmon’s 33 ⅓ book shows us how the Mark Twain of songwriting went from singing mailman to celebrated son of Chicago. Through original interviews, exhaustive research, and incisive commentary, author Osmon has written a journalistic inquiry and a love letter to Prine's landmark debut. She will host an evening celebrating Prine’s songwriting, interspersed with live clips + cover songs by local luminaries including Robert Burke Warren.
Rfor violence and grisly images, sexual content, nudity, language throughout and drug use.
From Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.
Louise Brooks smolders as Lulu in this era-defining, hyper-stylized German silent film wherein a beautiful showgirl’s indulgence brings about her ruin… but how lovely that downfall looks! Lesbians, killers, and modern dance all weave through Lulu’s adventures on her way down the rabbit hole of depravity. Originally received as scornful and debaucherous, the film is now seen as a landmark of cinema. (dir. G. W. Pabst, Germany, 1929, 141 min) “There are few tragic heroines more alluring than Lulu, the heartbeat of Georg Wilhelm Pabst’s Pandora’s Box, brought to life by a performer whose image—the winsome, mischievous eyes, the glossy, art-deco bob—remains a symbol of sexual charisma and freedom….To watch her today is to become her prisoner all over again. She’s as dismissible as a moonbeam.” – Time
PGfor some language, partial nudity and smoking.
Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.
A SONIC WAVE 2 event Slow Fawn ft. Sam Cohen, Cochemea and Stuart Bogie w/visuals by Alyson Denny Producer/musician Sam Cohen collaborates with Kevin Morby, Danger Mouse and Karen O among others, and has released three well-regarded solo records. As Slow Fawn, he teams up with two iconic multi-instrumentalists, Cochemea and Stuart Bogie, to conjure a fantastical blend of delicate songs, cosmic jazz, and minimal electronica.The band’s live show is augmented by jaw-dropping projections from visual artist and light show veteran Alyson Denny. With a post-screening DJ set by Malik Abdul-Rahmaan Sam Cohen - Samuel Benjamin Cohen is a vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, artist, and producer based in Brooklyn, New York. He’s founded the bands Apollo Sunshine and Yellowbirds, as well as acting as a session musician for artists Norah Jones, Bob Weir, and many others. Slow Fawn expands upon his indie/psychedelic roots, pushing the envelope of what can be expected from instrumental space. Cochemea- Cochemea Gastelum combines musical inspirations from his ancestry and performance experience with the world’s premier soul/funk and jazz artists. His deep reverence of the horn and of the music and traditions motivate him to make his own inventive, contemplative sound. Stuart Bogie- Stuart Bogie is a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and composer who has been a driving force in the Brooklyn jazz music scene since the 2000’s. He has worked with producer Dave Sitek, TV On The Radio and many others. Bogie’s band Antibalas had an incredible run, and many of those members performed in Broadway’s musical Fela!, about Fela Kuti. He continues to produce and collaborate with talented musicians. Alyson Denny - Alyson Denny manipulates light, mixes its colors, and then captures that altered light to make both still and moving images. Her moving images were featured on the largest outdoor screen in the Southwest as part of the inaugural screening of OffTheWall@725Ponce, a new showcase for film and video art from around the world.Her still photography has been reviewed in the New Yorker and the New York Times. In addition, it was featured in Harpers Magazine and on the cover of the fifth edition of the textbook Exploring Color Photography. She has performed abstract visuals with an eclectic group of musicians including Terry Riley, Lou Reed, John Zorn, MGMT, and Oneohtrix Point Never. DJ - Malik Abdul - A world traveler, Malik Abdul-Rahmaan immerses himself in music from around the globe. His project Field Research captures sounds of the country, from Bollywood to Southeast Asian funk. He has worked with an impressive roster, including heavyweights like Ghostface Killah and progressive hip-hop label Paxico Records.
A SONIC WAVE WEEKLY and CLOSE UP screening Post-screening discussion with film director Ryan Worsley and Negativland’s Mark Hosler via Skype. Since childhood, David “The Weatherman” Wills has recorded and reported on anything that grabs his attention. When he and friends Richard Lyons and Mark Hosler formed Negativland, it soon became a collage of sounds and visuals, both ordinary and extraordinary. The group’s work is so expansive and unique that it cannot help but push boundaries of sound, media, propaganda, and perception. (Ryan Worsley, US, 2022, 99m) “Few artists have logged as many hours on the battlefield of fair use, let alone questioned as persistently the associated legal constraints around intellectual property, as Negativland, whose sonic, visual and performance appropriations and parodies have challenged eyeballs, eardrums and moral standards alike since the late 1970s.” — The Wire
April 7 & 11 w/ the film’s set photographer Adger Cowans If there could be such a thing as a neo-realist musical, it may be this. Francis Ford Coppola offers a slice of life at one night in a 1930’s Harlem night club. With an ensemble cast of (to name only a few) Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Nicolas Cage, the revolving door of the Cotton Club offers a rough and filmic home to mobsters, lovers, performers and great music. This remastered Encore version features never-before-seen scenes and musical sequences that deepen and enrich the storylines. (dir. Francis Ford Coppola, U.S, 1984, 128m) “…quite simply, a wonderful movie. It has the confidence and momentum of a movie where every shot was premeditated — and even if we know that wasn’t the case, and this was one of the most troubled productions in recent movie history, what difference does that make when the result is so entertaining?”– Chicago Sun-Times
A FREE event; please RSVP. In thinking about music, we often focus our attention on the instruments—there have been documentary films about Steinway pianos, Stradivarius violins and Moog synthesizers—and the artists. We often neglect a key element: the venues. Concert halls, punk clubs and arenas all have their own audio properties that deeply influence the ways in which the players, the instruments and the audience co-create experiences. To celebrate the opening of The Mark screening room at the Orpheum, an exquisitely designed new space for cinema and live performance, we’ll discuss the ways in which acoustic strategies and materials can combine, with a kind of alchemy, in transforming spaces into audio wonderlands. The discussion features architect and audio designer John Storyk and sound engineer Elliot Scheiner. Storyk is co-founder and leader of the award-winning architectural acoustics design firm WSDG. The firm’s previous projects include venues and studios for Bruce Springsteen, UCLA, Lincoln Center, Spotify, Jay-Z, MTV, Alicia Keys, NYU and, at the beginning of Storyk’s career, Jimi Hendrix. Scheiner, winner of eight Grammys and 19 other nominations, along with two Emmys, has produced a continuous stream of unforgettable music during his more than 50 years in the industry. Scheiner has worked with Beyonce, Steely Dan, Eric Clapton, Sting, Beck, R.E.M., Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Tony Kushner and Billy Joel, engineering more than 90 platinum albums. The program will demonstrate the audio properties of The Mark using samples from Scheiner’s Emmy-winning History of the Eagles and musical work, live performance that showcases the Mark’s live sound system, designed by WSDG and featuring Blaze Audio components, and short films that utilize Dolby’s immersive Atmos system. Moderated by Vic Brooks, associate director for the arts and senior curator for time-based visual art at EMPAC—Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she currently serves as co-acting director.