Black February Streaming, We’re Discontinuing DVD sales

urlBlack February is now streaming on Amazon Instant Video. The film is available to view on your computer and mobile device.

Streaming also means that we’ll be discontinuing DVD sales at the end of September. 

If you’d like a DVD copy of the film, please visit our online store. There are only a few copies left, so buy them soon!

 

 

Black February at MICA on March 11

Poster_FINAL_outlinesA very exciting announcement:  On March 11, 2014, Black February director Vipal Monga and Paul Miller, aka DJ Spooky, that Subliminal Kid will co-host a screening of the documentary in Baltimore at the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Brown Center Falvey Hall. The two will hold a post-screening conversation about Butch, his role in the evolution of jazz, and his influence on other musical styles, from big band jazz to funk to electronic and symphonic works.

Butch appears on the Stuzzicadenti record, an album of experimental works by Diego Cortez, produced by DJ Spooky. He convinced Butch to play Cornet on one of the tracks, and one of the famed wind-up music boxes also appears on the record.

searchThe screening is part of Paul Miller’s Music + Art film series,  which looks at music, art, nature, drugs and how it plays it part in our culture. The series continues every Tuesday until March 11, and includes such stunning works as Wild Style, Slam, and How to Make Money Selling Drugs.

The screening will begin at 7:30 pm and 10 pm and admission is free to the general public. For more details, please visit the MICA website.

Goya Time, Conduction No. 3

What a find!

imgresButch once told me about an amazing project which featured a roaming opera based on Goya’s paintings while he conducted a band of musicians from room to room in an abandoned East Village warehouse.

As it turns out, there’s a video of the performance, called “Goya Time.” The footage below has some rare video of Butch from that era.

David Dann has published a review of the project on his Gems of Jazz blog.

 Declaiming actors wandered in and out of the gymnasium where Butch’s musicians were creating a soundscape of melody, poly-rhythms and spiky cacophony. Dancers flitted by, appearing in the doorways one moment, on balconies the next. Interpretations of Goya’s paintings hung on the walls and – if I remember correctly – an artist was on stage painting on a huge canvas and on a naked woman’s body.

It was one whacky scene, and in the midst of it all was Butch and his musicians.

Read the entire post. It also features some priceless photos of a young Butch Morris in L.A. and in the army.

Dann also provides a link to a eulogy written by Butch’s dear friend Don Heffington. 

There’s also a description of the event on the Plexus International website.

Here, for your pleasure, is a short film of Goya Time.

Screening at the Library of Congress on Friday, Jan. 24

Just a reminder that Black February will be screening at the Library of Congress in Washington on Friday, Jan. 24, at 7 pm.

458529_10151045510947000_1124958245_oLarry Appelbaum, curator of the Jazz film series at the LOC, tells the Washington City Paper he wanted to pay tribute to Butch near the anniversary of his passing.

“Morris was a brilliant cornettist and theorist who developed his own language and process to express his vision. He passed one year ago and I wanted to pay tribute and let people know there is something that now exists beyond just the recordings.”

The film will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the Library of Congress James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. Doors open 30 minutes before screening. No tickets required. For information call (202) 707-5502.

Screening in Takoma Park

ImageBlack February will be screening in Takoma Park, just outside Washington D.C., on Feb. 2.

The screening at the Takoma Park Community Center, 7500 Maple Avenue, at 5 pm, and will be followed by a performance of Butch’s piece, “Black February” by Lewis “Flip” Barnes.

Thanks to Bobby Hill, one of the founders of Transparent Productions, for setting up the screening.

More details about the show are at Transparent Productions’ website.

Howard Mandel on Henry Threadgill’s Tribute to Butch

By all accounts, Henry Threadgill’s tribute to Butch at WinterJazz Fest 10 on Saturday was a resounding success.

Threagill PicHoward Mandel tries to capture something of the feeling the nearly hour-long piece evoked at Judson Church.

“Some wept openly, and at the end everyone cheered the uncompromised intensity of feeling Henry Threadgill evoked, simultaneously mourning and celebrating a man whose memory sustains artistic ambitions, and whose legacy of Conduction, songs and his tender cornet playing should not be forgotten.”

It’s hard to believe that almost a full year has passed since Butch passed on, but there’s something beautiful in the way his spirit still reverberates through the air, a note that continues to linger.

Read Howard’s review of the piece, here: http://www.artsjournal.com/jazzbeyondjazz/2014/01/henry-threadgills-tribute-to-butch-morris-winterjazz-fest-10.html

Henry Threadgill pays tribute to Butch

I can’t think of a better way to pay tribute to Butch.

Henry ThreadgillHere’s Henry Threadgill in a Wall Street Journal article, describing “Old Locks and Irregular Verbs,” his musical tribute to the Maestro:

“I knew at some point I’d find a way, through music, to take my hat off properly to Butch,” Mr. Threadgill said recently at an East Village pastry shop. An invitation to do so came from the Winter Jazzfest, where Mr. Morris memorably performed in 2011, and so Mr. Threadgill set about composing “Old Locks and Irregular Verbs,” a piece that will have its premiere at Judson Church on Jan. 11.

Black February at the Library of Congress

Black February will be screening at the Library of Congress on January 24, 2014. The showing is part of the Jazz Film Fridays series, curated by Larry Appelbaum, and will be introduced by WPFW radio’s Rusty Hassan.

The date will also mark almost exactly one year since Butch’s passage, and I’m grateful to be able to honor his legacy with a showing of the film at one of the United States’ most important institutions.

Please come if you’re in the D.C. area.

The movie will be shown at the Mary Pickford Theater, 3rd floor of the Library of Congress James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E.

Doors open 30 minutes before screening. No tickets required. For information: call (202) 707-5502.

Black February Screening in Minneapolis on Sept. 13 and 14

Black February will be playing at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis on Sept. 13 and 14.

f3LJSS2012The screening is part of a tribute to Butch by the Ballet of the Dolls, Ritz Theater and Open Door Music, featuring four Twin Cities-based large improvising ensembles, which have direct and indirect connections to Butch Morris’ work.

The screening on Friday, September 13 will feature performances by IMP ORK. On Saturday, September 14, the Black February screening will follow performances by Cherry Spoon Collective, Improvestra and Coloring Time.

Tickets are $15 or $25 for a two day festival pass.

You can find more information at: http://www.ritz-theater.org/