NUBLU : Music of Now / The Sun Ra Arkestra, Juini Booth, Ronald Jean-Gilles, Jojo Mayer, Graham Haynes, Tomango, Hess Is More, Brazilian Girls, Calibro 35, Butch Moriris, Brooklyn Gypsies, Nublu Orchestra, Ilhan Ersahin, On Ka'a Davis, Henry Threadgill, Low Mentality, Roy Ayers, Love Trio, Francisco Mora, Robert Glasper Experiment, Jesse Murphy, Erik Truffaz.

[Place of publication not identified] : INSTITUTE OF TIME, [2017]

1 streaming video file (70 min.) : sound

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Title from video title screen (viewed July 17, 2023).

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"In the golden age of New York underground clubs in the '50s and '60s, the classic artists of the future gigged and jammed into the wee hours of the morning. The Lower East Side was Ground Zero for the adventurous truth seekers ranging from Eric Dolphy to John Cage, from Bob Dylan to Jimi Hendrix. On the jazz front, long-gone clubs such as Slugs and the Five Spot were packed with music adventure-seekers eager to see all the upcomers from Monk and Mingus exploring the new sounds of the day. But it seemed to those who lived during that period, the scene flared then burned. Other venues that offered off-the beaten-path music eventually rose, including such now-shuttered west side clubs as the jazz hang Sweet Basil and the eclectic Knitting Factory. But the East Village still holds a magic standing from the past and into the future when the forward-looking club Nublu opened in 2002, with its moniker as viewed on the space's walls: "The Music of Now." In this documentary there is ample archival black-and-white footage of the old Lower East Side that included protests, unrest and yet the brilliance of conductor, composer and cornetist Butch Morris leading his improvisational orchestra in Tompkins Square Park. The color archival footage catches such snippets of music in Nublu by experimental bands including the Sun Ra Arkestra, Henry Threadgill and Graham Haynes, among many others including the Brooklyn Gypsies and the racially diverse Tamango's Urban Tap. Composer and cornetist Haynes talked about the old days and commented, "Nublu is an updated version of that." The film interviews the founder/music curator Ilhan Ersatin, the Swedish-Turkish saxophonist who moved to New York in 1989 and worked in the various clubs in the city. He eventually realized that the jazz scene in New York was not as harmonious as he was hoping, divided among various factions of the genre's sound. He set out to break down the boundaries by forming Nublu, the rough-hewn, 75-person-capacity club with high-ceilings His goal: to make Nublu a solace for underground creativity that welcomed marginal music exhibited. The film captures the variety but focuses in one section on Butch Morris who, at Ersatin's suggestion, formed a new style orchestra that incorporated the late-night sounds of Nublu- the electronics, DJs, rappers, beats, jazz and improvisation with the club acting as its home base. The film also explores how Ersatin exported the brand name to present "in-between" music festivals in Istanbul and Sao Paulo. The end features the Nublu Orchestra performing a heartfelt send-off to Morris who passed away in 2013. The film captures how Nublu is the last hold-out for the free-wheeling spirit of creative music in the Lower East Side. At the end, the film notes that Ilhan sprouted a new Nublu a few blocks away from Nublu Classic on Avenue C. Dan Ouellette".

Qwest TV.

Images / Online / Video & Film

English

August 11, 2023

Concert films.