Ernie Andrews: Blues For Central Avenue; George Crumb: Voice Of The Whale

Ernie Andrews, a notable black teenage crooner during the 40's, tells his story in Lois Shelton's visually and aurally impressive Ernie Andrews: Blues for Central Avenue. It is a archetypal story of a man who had it all early on, and lost it all shortly thereafter. Andrews had his first hit in high school, and his last "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin"' while still in his teens. The victim of a bad contract, he consulted a lawyer, and was immediately blackballed by the music industry. Today, in night clubs and juke joints, Ernie Andrews continues to do what he's always done: sing the blues. Andrews' misfortunes as a young man are not revealed until the end of the film--most of the hour is devoted to reminiscing about the long nights of hot jazz on Central Avenue at places like the Club Alabam and The Jungle Room (where there are now vacant lots or, in the case of the Musician's Union building, new owners: Discount Women's Apparel). Although Andrews sang with bands led by Benny Carter and Harry James, he never regained his early popularity--but he never succumbed to bitterness or gave up: "The record shows I stood the blows." George Crumb: Voice of the Whale is an earlier film from filmmaker Robert Mugge. Crumb, a Pulitzer-Prize winning American composer, is shown in a 1963 interview with Richard Wernick, talking about his upbringing, the influence of spiritual revival music on his own work, the day-to-day life of being a composer, and his quest for new sounds. Crumb's composition "Vox Balanae for Three Masked Players" which utilizes such diverse musical instruments as glass rods, paper clips, and chisels, applied to piano strings, is an offbeat composition to say the least. But, taken in conjunction with Crumb's home life, it seems almost schizophrenic. The music may be weird, but Crumb is, himself, a soft-spoken family man, whose idea of relaxing is throwing a Frisbee with his son, or skipping stones across a pond. And his wife Elizabeth, quiet and unassuming like her husband, says she occasionally hears strange sounds coming from the basement when George is busy composing. A bizarre little nugget of a film. Both films are highly recommended, though Ernie Andrews may be more accessible to general audiences. (See ART BLAKEY: THE JAZZ MESSENGER for availability.)