Special to The Plain Dealer,
Cleveland Ohio
Even after three decades, the
music known as free jazz hasn't been graciously welcomed
into the membership of popular American music. Many find
its avant-garde sense of composition and reliance upon improvisation
noisy and nonsensical. Yet free jazz touches those who find
self-expression by transcending musical and sociocultural
barriers.
One such advocate is former Clevelander
Alan Roth, whose debut film, "Inside Out in the Open," attempts
to explain this American musical movement in the words of
the genre's pioneers and practitioners. It's being shown
at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and 9:30 p.m. Sunday at the Cinematheque
in the Cleveland Institute of Art.
The culmination of a lifelong
love of music and Roth's studies at the New School for Social
Research in New York City, "Inside Out in the Open" features
interviews and performances by Sun Ra and his Arkestra, Matthew
Shipp, Peter Brotzmann, William Parker, Susie Ibarra and
additional music by jazz giant John Coltrane and late ex-Clevelander
Albert Ayler.
"I was helped by growing up in
a household that listened to jazz," said Roth, calling from
his home in Brooklyn, N.Y.He said his exposure to Case Western
Reserve University's radio station, WRUW FM/91.1, also helped
to nurture his budding musical sensibilities.
"In high school, I was very much
into music from around the world and experimental composers
like John Cage. But listening to WRUW play records by improvisers
like Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor helped me to connect
emotionally with this music." To
Roth, that bond is both elusive and powerful. "It's hard
to put into words. Even though you can't define it, the openness
of the music and the surprise of improvisation can draw you
in. Traveling is a good example. I like those unconventional,
less-than-obvious destinations. I think that free jazz parallels
that."
"Inside Out in the Open" is itself
a journey. Roth's film spans the 1960s to the present day,
and documents the musicians both at their homes and at performance
venues such as Cleveland's Speak in Tongues.
Their interviews are much like
the music: both expansive and deeply exploratory. "Their
journey, musically speaking, isn't just based on spontaneity," Roth
said.
"These musicians are all extremely knowledgeable and studied
without being locked into a rigid system. While that approach
makes their artistry sometimes difficult to understand, it
also lets the individual or collective reach a new level of
expression."
The emotion behind such expression
is what gives meaning to both free jazz and "Inside Out in
the Open." It comes down
to issues of emotions and feeling and the ability to communicate
that with an audience. It requires the listener to think
and pay attention. It's not always an easy ride. What's important
to remember, though, is that this music is conversational
- between the musicians playing it, and the audience listening."
Published
November 14 - 20, 2001
THINGS
TO DO THROUGH NOVEMBER 20TH |
FRIDAY
16
In the wake of Ken Burns broad
jazz documentary, in which he made it perfectly clear that
he didn't much dig "free jazz," former Clevelander Alan Roth
has produced and directed an outstanding hour-long film that
takes on the history and meanings of the free-jazz form.
Assisted by Cleveland State University
Professor of Film Communications Austin Allen, Inside Out
in the Open is at once an intelligent and emotional exploration
of the jazz world's most controversial outgrowth. Not only
does the film explore the function and the key players of
free jazz, but its cinematography impressively imitates the
musical form as well.
Roth will appear to discuss the
film. Inside Out in the Open debuts tonight at 7:30 pm at
the Cinematheque, with an encore showing on Sunday at 9:30
pm. $6.
reviews
November
15, 2001
