Been meaning to post this. There’ve been a number of interesting music doc’s lately - Muscles Shoals, 20 Feet From Stardom, etc. but here are a couple more:
Mr. Dynamite - this James Brown doc was exec-produced by Mick Jagger, and came out around the same time as the JB movie starring Chadwick Boseman. This is much better - a truly excellent bio of a brilliant musician and deeply complex man. Hearing about the man, the music and the birth of Funk, the bandleader and Black role model was all fascinating. Essential viewing that couldn’t be more entertaining. Hearing Maceo Parker’s brother Marvin discuss being strapped and pulling a fully-cocked automatic on James Brown is worth the price of admission alone. And hearing Mick navigate the TAMI show incident - no the Stones didn’t have to follow Brown immediately after he tore the place up with energy, but yes, Brown wanted to go on last, and yes, the Stones looked like weak tea in the final version where they are edited in right after Brown - is cool, too.
Chasing Trane - an excellent, thoughtful look at the life and impact of John Coltrane on music. I am a Miles Davis guy more than a Trane guy, so getting this overview was really interesting. Denzel Washington reads Coltrane’s quotes, and there are wonderful comments from Sonny Rollins, Jimmy Heath, family, Musician’s like Santana and John Densmore. A great way to learn about the man and his music. And there’s a photo of Coltrane as a maybe 10-year-old boy that I am still thinking about - he looks so thoughtful, like an old soul waiting to become who he did.