When it comes to European jazz musicians, the immortal Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt might come to mind, and perhaps Austrian keyboardist-composer Joe Zawinul (cofounder of Weather Report), but beyond that…well, consider yourself an expert if you're familiar with the likes of Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, Palle Mikkelborg, Jan Garbarek, Enrico Rava, Martial Solal, or Christian Wallumrod. Combining interviews and performance footage, director Julian Benedikt's documentary covers all of the aforementioned and a great many more, including musicians from France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, England, and elsewhere. Many talk about the influence of American masters such as Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie (and viewers will see some astonishing rare footage of same), noting that in Europe, racial prejudice was not the factor it was stateside, which led to wider acceptance of the musicians and an appreciation of their work as a genuine art form. But as the title implies, the real focus of this film is the quest to not merely respect jazz's American origins but also find one's own voice. As German trumpeter Till Brönner puts it, "At some point I asked myself, must I be black and American to be allowed to play jazz?" The answer offered here is a resounding no (in fact, one listen to any number of titles released by Manfred Eicher's ECM imprint, perhaps the most important European jazz and new music label, offers evidence enough), an argument well made in Play Your Own Thing, which artfully juxtaposes words, images, and sounds, presented in DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, and PCM stereo. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Graham)
Play Your Own Thing
(2006) 90 min. DVD: $28.98. EuroArts (dist. by Naxos of America). Volume 23, Issue 3
Play Your Own Thing
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