Westport Public Library MOVIE & MUSIC Blog

September 29, 1912 - July 30, 2007

It is being reported today that Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni passed away Monday at the age of 94. Much can be made of the coincidence that he succumbed the same day as Ingmar Bergman. According to news reports, Rome officials are making plans for his body to lie in state; such is the stature of this director in Italy.

On their website today, the New York Times notes, Tall, cerebral and resolutely serious, Mr. Antonioni harkens back to a time in the middle of the last century when cinema-going was an intellectual pursuit, when purposely opaque passages in famously difficult films spurred long nights of smoky argument at sidewalk cafes, and when fashionable directors like Mr. Antonioni.... were chased down the Cannes waterfront by camera-wielding cinephiles demanding to know what on earth they meant by their latest outrage.

Mr. Antonini is perhaps best known in this country for the film Blow Up. The Westport Library numbers many of his films among our collection.

"The Spirit of Django Reinhardt" will pulsate throughout the Rose Theater as part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center concert series on Wednesday, August 1, 2007. Reinhardt, the famous gypsy guitarist, composer, and improviser, was known for his unique fingerings due to the loss of the use of his fourth and fifth digits of his left hand in a fire. His 1934 chance meeting with the jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli led to the creation of the ensemble that became known as the Quintet of the Hot Club of France; this group gained notoriety in the years before World War II through its numerous recordings, and Reinhardt became an international star.

In 1946 he performed in England and Switzerland, toured the USA as a soloist with Duke Ellington’s band where he used an amplified guitar for the first time, worked in New York, and returned to France. He eventually retired to Samois in 1951 and died two years later at the age of 43.

The John Jorgenson quintet, gypsy legend Dorado Schmitt, Samson Schmitt, accordionist Ludovic Beier, French violinist Pierre Blanchard, Grappelli’s bassist Brian Torff , and Colombian jazz harpist Edmar Castaneda will pay homage to Reinhardt and his music.

If you wish to learn more about this extraordinary musician and his work, feel free to read Michael Dregni's Django: the Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend or listen to The Best of Django, Reinhardt Django in Rome 1949/1950, and Rare Django (1928-1938).

The Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts has provided free, outdoor entertainment for the past 33 summers in Westport. From mid-June through August, the musical offerings encompass big-band, children's, classical, jazz, pop, rock, showtunes, and world music. There is always something on the calendar for everyone's taste.

The Crawdaddies, a young, eclectic band, whose music derives from Louisiana's Blues, Cajun, and Zydeco as well as the Northeast's Roots and Rock, will perform on Saturday night July 28, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. This group has appeared with such notable artists as Etta James, Charlie Daniels, Buddy Guy, C. J. Chenier, Joan Jett, The Spinners, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Buckwheat Zydeco, etc. and is a regular fixture on the national college and festival circuits.

Cajun is the traditional folk music of the French-speaking Acadians who migrated to Louisiana after 1755 from what is now known as Nova Scotia. These French ballads and drinking songs soon took on the musical characteristics, expressions and instruments from various immigrant and native peoples including Indians, Blacks, British, Caribbean, Spanish and German Americans. As Cajun music absorbed other traditions, it spread throughout Louisiana and into Texas.

Zydeco, a popular music genre of Louisiana, features the accordion, drums, electric bass, and guitar, and may include brass instruments and the frottoir (metal washboard). Zydeco developed after World War II and is an amalgam of other American genres like blues and jazz.

Rick Koster's Louisiana Music: A Journey from R & B to Zydeco, Jazz to Country, Blues to Gospel, Cajun Music to Swamp Pop to Carnival Music and Beyond, provides a comprehensive overview of the disparate nature of Louisiana's music. The video Let the Good times Roll: A Celebration of New Orleans Music and Its Heritage Festival has a wide array of performers from the 1990's. Clifton Chenier's Zydeco Dynamite, Michael Doucet's Le Hoogie Boogie: Louisiana French Music for Children, and Buckwheat Zydeco's Menagerie demonstrate the diversity and uniqueness of these various styles of music.

As I had mentioned in my previous blog, the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship took place this past weekend at the Natchitoches-Northwestern State University Folk Festival. Fiddling is not just a southern avocation. I have to share this short video from the Fiddlers Contest in Newbury, Vermont on Friday, July 20. The fiddler, Scott Campbell, is playing "The Orange Blossom Special".... "On the Roof".

If this video whets your appetite, you may want to travel to Barre, Vermont on Saturday, September 29. On that day, the Northeast Fiddlers Association will sponsor their 41st Annual Northeast Regional Old Time Fiddlers’ Contest and Festival.

It’s a great month to be a cowboy or love Westerns. No less than a Senate resolution has declared July 28th as National Day of the American Cowboy. And, July 24th marks the 55th anniversary of the premier of the movie High Noon starring Gary Cooper. If you like Westerns, the Westport Public Library’s collection will have your ridin’ high. One thing that’s long been true of Westerns, they often feature a stellar cast of amazing talent.

So mosey on over to the Western selection and take a gander at the extensive selection featuring such greats as John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Jimmy Stewart. Among the gems you’ll find She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and My Darling Clementine.
The tradition of a great cast lives on in such modern classics as Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven and the award winning TV series Lonesome Dove.

Who is your favorite movie cowboy?

One of the highlights of this weekend's Natchitoches-Northwestern State University Folk Festival is the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship. The purpose of this fiddling competition is to develop an awareness and appreciation of the genre, to encourage children to study the instrument, and to ensure the continuance of traditional, homespun music.

Although fiddling can trace its origins to Western European dance music, it owes its popularity to the emergence of country music as a commercial musical endeavor. According to The Encyclopedia of Country Music, the fiddle has always been a major component of country music performance. One of the first recordings of it occurred in 1922 by the Texas fiddler A. C. "Eck" Robertson; with the success of the 1923 recording by artist John Carson of Atlanta, the fledgling phonograph industry took notice of southern, white music. During the next two decades, recordings by Charlie Bowman, Clark Kessinger, Clayton McMichen and Doc Roberts aided and influenced future players and proponents of fiddle music. The evolving nature of fiddling can be traced to elements emanating from blues, cajun, classical, jazz, rock, etc. as well as the inherent diversity of the United States.

Many of us may recall the oldtime fiddler tune Turkey in the Straw. Other examples of fiddling include Joshua Bell's Short Trip Home, Bill Keith's Beating Around the Bush, Alison Krauss' So Long: So Wrong, and Violin, Sing the Blues For Me: African-american Fiddlers, 1926-1949.

Where do composers and songwriters get the inspiration for their craft? How do they find the right word or chord to illustrate a mood or feeling? What is the secret behind a contemplative lyric that captures the magic and serenity of a musical phrase?

Composers and songwriters have been grappling with these issues throughout time. According to Grove Music Online, Stephen Foster is considered to be the first successful American songwriter. As the popular song market grew concomitant to the genesis of musical comedy, the process of writing and selling songs became standardized. How did Irving Berlin with a rudimentary knowledge of musical notation and arrangement manage to write such memorable songs? How did the teams of Rodgers & Hammerstein or Lerner & Lowe create such timeless, vibrant masterpieces?

For those individuals seeking assistance in this matter, the Library has several books that discuss, dissect, and demonstrate the art and technique of songwriting. Molly-Ann Leikin's How to Write a Hit Song : The Complete Guide to Writing and Marketing Chart-Topping Lyrics & Music is a practical guide for the popular music novice. Michael Pollock's How to Write Funny Lyrics: The Comedy Songwriting Manual delves into this often overlooked niche. Rikky Rooksby's Lyrics : Writing Better Words For Your Songs will help songwriters improve their lyrics and develop their own style and ideas.

Once you have written your song, feel free to come into the library to peruse the latest edition of Songwriter's Market, a tool that encompasses all types of music, provides guidance and advice and describes the numerous resources available for launching a productive and triumphant songwriting career.

In her Sunday, June 24, 2007, New York Times Arts & Leisure article "Music That Thinks Outside the Chamber", columnist Anne Midgette pondered the death of traditional chamber music. Big concert hall performances do not seem to bring in the audiences since many people prefer hearing this music in a small, intimate space. I do not think we are witnessing the end of small group performances; instead, we are flocking to different, unusual venues like a bar, an individual's house, a playground, or a small theater for this experience. Composers and musicians will never stop creating and playing duets, trios, quartets, etc. It is up to the public to respond and reflect on these diverse efforts.

Children in this community are exposed to chamber music via concerts, private lessons, and the schools. One of the components of the Norwalk Youth Symphony is their chamber music program. Student ensembles, which are coached by professional chamber musicians, not only perform in a formal recital, but have the opportunity to perform at other prestigious engagements as well. This endeavor currently consists of mixed groups of strings with winds and/or piano, a flute ensemble, and a brass ensemble.

One of the newest chamber music organizations in this area is the Unquowa Ensemble. This group which includes flutist Jane Shelly and violinist Nina Crothers, is flexible in its outlook, personnel, and repertory. For their concert at the Fairfield Theatre on Sunday, July 15 at 7:00 p.m., they will be joined by violist Jody Rowitsch and cellist Tom Hudson in a program of Devienne, Joplin, Mozart, Rossini, and Johann Strauss. These freelance artists regularly perform in local Connecticut orchestras including the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, the Hartford Symphony, the New Haven Symphony, the Norwalk Symphony, and the Wallingford Symphony.

Examples of chamber music in the Library's collection include Ludwig van Beethoven's Complete String Quartets, Johannes Brahms' The Piano Quartets, Astor Piazzolla's Five Tango Sensations, and Franz Schubert's Trout Quintet and Death and the Maiden Quartet.