I was out, but I taped it. Unfortunately (IMO) this is one of those miniseries that they are running on consecutive nights, so I am already 2 hours behind, and will be unable to catch the ep
tonight.
Classic blues is about my favorite music style, so I really wanted to watch this, but it looks unlikely unless I buy some more tapes and just tape them all for future viewing.
Was last night’s ep worthwhile? What were some highlights? Anything interesting and new covered, or just the same old/same old Delta 101 Blues primer?
I’d appreciate it if folks would share their opinions on what was and wasn’t interesting about each ep (Scorsese assigned a different director to each ep.)
If your “market” is like ours, there are at least two reruns per episode. Ours broadcast at 8 PM and was replayed at midnight and again at 2 AM. I assume it will all be available eventually on DVD, but the wait may be long.
The concept for this series seems a bit courageous, with 7 directors instead of just one, each with his/her own personal slant.
The first episode was quite effective in showing the African connection. The issue of the old blues dying out with the players who made them is well drawn and made especially poignant with a cane flute (fife) player and his young granddaughter (I think). Being able to hear the music as we see old photos and film footage makes a big improvement over how books have to treat things. And it could just be that Scorsese’s approach works for me, but this seems to be a vast improvement over Ken Burns and the Jazz series. At least we haven’t been exposed to the talking heads yet like Wynton and Stanley.
I agree with Zeldar. The constant editorializing in the Jazz series was distracting and annoying. The story of slavery and civil rights has its part in jazz, but much of the talk could have been edited.
As a big fan of Ali Farka Toure and Salif Keita, it was gratifying for me to see and hear them. We saw Toure play when we were living in Mali, and saw Habib Koite play here in Anchorage. Koite is blending traditional African music with reggae, and throwing in some American jazz/blues licks to boot. His band is very talented and I expect to see more of him in future Grammy nominations. What wasn’t brought out very well is the traditional “call and response” format of African music that is repeated in American blues. I highly recommend “Talking Timbuktu” (by Toure) for Americans unfamiliar with West African music.
I thought Scorsese’s approach was to assume that the viewer has some knowledge of the roots of blues, so the film doesn’t come across as patronizing. The greats are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve; hearing parts of the original recordings by Alan Lomax was a real treat.