Documentary Educational Resources - Subject / Music, Dance & Theater / Musical Instruments / All Films

Cool Running

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 16:12:20 GMT

In Accra, Ghana, por por (pronounced paw paw) is a unique music made from squeeze-bulb honk horns. Originally a fixture on colonial-era wooden lorries, these horns were subsequently repurposed by drivers in the township of La as musical instruments for union driver funerals.

Drawing from five years of research and work with the Drivers Union, filmmaker Steven Feld and photographer/oral historian Nii Yemo Nunu take readers into the stories of the drivers, their vehicles and the invention of por por music through photographs and text, including complementary historical essays and a classic black and white photograph section by German photographer Hannah Schreckenbach. Additionally, Nunu and Feld collected, transcribed, and translated twenty-five video interviews with elder drivers. These interviews formed the basis of The Story of Por Por, one of five films in Feld’s Jazz Cosmopolitanism series.

The deluxe, hardback edition of Cool Running features over two hundred captioned photographs, a CD titled Klebo! that features the La Drivers Union por por Group performing their songs, and a DVD with two documentary films: The Story of Por Por and M.V. Labadi.

“In all, this package offers a captivating introduction to por por and its cultural context of driving in Accra…On its own, it stands as a testament to the dynamic interplay of Ga drivers and musicians in La, including the ways in which foreign technologies become integrated into local cultural practice…will be a valuable resource for educators as well as scholars of Ghana, Africa, music, sound studies, technology and society, labor, and transportation.” - Paul Schauert, The Journal of African History

Praise for Jazz Cosmopolitanism:

“The chapters in which Feld listens and retells the stories of these mercurial musicians are compelling, and throw up original and profound material. Feld is brilliant at articulating the multiple overlapping narratives and experiences that both obfuscate and animate diasporic dialogues, and in that process his book attains its own world-historical significance.” – Tony Herrington, The Wire

“[A] vital statement about the infinitely nuanced nature of cultural exchange between Africa and America, and how our fullest understanding of jazz history might be furthered by enquiries like this.” – Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise

“Jazz Cosmopolitanism is a lively and important book, one that uses the vehicles of dialogue and sound to unearth the complex cultural and political dynamics that connect a group of urban Africans to the diaspora and wider world. It is a fun, invigorating, and worthwhile read that continues to resonate when finally put down. I highly recommend picking it up.” – Nate Plageman, Journal of African History

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A Por Por Funeral for Ashirifie

Tue, 9 Oct 2018 15:11:00 GMT

A Por Por Funeral for Ashirifie
Buy Now: $320.00

Por Por music (pronounced “paw paw”) is named for the honking sound of antique squeeze-bulb car horns, ubiquitous on the wooden lorries of Ghana's early transport history. After electric horns arrived in West Africa a union of bus and truck drivers in the Accra township of La kept the por por horn and invented a jazzy honking. The La drivers only perform Por Por at funerals of their fellow union transport workers.

In March 2008 the La Drivers Union Por Por Group lost one of its key members, Nelson Ashirifie Mensah. This film documents the funeral performed in his memory and discusses Por Por's relation to the New Orleans jazz funeral.

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Prix Bartok, Jean Rouch Film Festival, 2010

Films in the Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Accra series:

Hallelujah! (60 min, 2009)

Accra Trane Station: The Music and Art of Nii Noi Nortey (60 min, 2009)

Includes the short film From Accra to Santa Fe (18 min, 2009)

A Por Por Funeral for Ashirifie (60 min, 2009)

The Story of Por-Por (60 min, 2013)

Includes the short film M.V. Labadi (20 min, 2013)

J.C. Abbey, Ghana's Puppeteer (55 min, 2016)

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Claude Lebet, Luthier

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 08:16:00 GMT

Claude Lebet, Luthier
Buy Now: $295.00

Claude Lebet, luthier, had originally wanted to be a parson, like his father before him. However, after one year in theological school, he left to study violin making in Cremona, Italy. Later, he returned to Switzerland, where he founded his workshop at La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Jura mountains. The "Musici di Roma" launched his career by buying the first violin he made, then helping him acquire his house. For Lebet, a violin takes a month and a half to make, and requires the smoothest maple and spruce, which he selects himself, along with the finest shellacs. In the film, we watch as he makes a violin for a musician who comes to try it out and to choose from various woods. It takes but six weeks for Lebet to fashion the violin, but the relationship of musician and luthier lasts a lifetime.

Films in the Wood Crafts series

Armand Rouiller, Sledge-maker
Arnold Golay, Toy-maker

The Bapst Brothers, Carriers

Claude Lebet, Luthier

François Pernet, Carpenter and Sculptor
Joseph Doutaz & Olivier Veuve, Shingle-makers

A Little Corner of Paradise

Marcellin Babey, Turner
Michel Marlétaz, Cooper

Pink Mountain Sand

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Duduki of Tbilisi

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:05:00 GMT

Duduki of Tbilisi
Buy Now: $295.00

While the rural polyphonic songs of Georgia (Caucasus) are internationally appreciated and have become a national symbol, the urban instrumental music of the eastern part of the country is less well known. The Georgian duduki, a double-reed wind instrument of the oboe family, is known by different names in neighboring countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey.

In the 19th century Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, had a large multi-lingual population composed mainly of Georgians, Armenians, Azeri and Kurds, who practised and listened to duduki music. Traditional duduki music, performed by a soloist, a drone player, and a doli drummer who is also a singer, is derived from Middle Eastern styles and repertoires. Georgian musicians in the 20th century developed westernized local styles recalling the famous three-part polyphonic rural singing. At a rehearsal for an upcoming concert, master musician Eldar Shoshitashvili and his students perform traditional oriental repertoires as well as modern westernized songs.

Films in the Music of Georgia (Caucasus) series

The Feast-Day of Tamar and Lashari

Funeral Chants from the Georgian Caucasus

Duduki of Tbilisi: Eldar Shoshitashvili and His Students

About the Music of Georgia (Caucasus) series

Traditional music of Georgia (the Caucasus) is now internationally renowned and appreciated for the richness and beauty of its polyphonies. While concerts and studio recordings have revealed the diversity of local musical traditions, the films in this series show, for the first time, the performance of three different music styles in the context of rituals and learning.

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Friend, Well Come!

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 14:53:00 GMT

Friend, Well Come!
Buy Now: $295.00

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument.

Returning to Senufo country 40 years after his first encounter with balafon music in 1958, ethnomusicologist Hugo Zemp recalls memories of this and subsequent visits in the early 60s, before participating in a musical event of startling impact. Six orchestras, playing simultaneously but independently, circle with the dancers around the deceased person, who is swathed in fabric by the men before being buried.

The subjective camerawork of this first-person documentary shows us little by little the slow and irresistible build-up in the intensity of the event. An 18-minute sequence-shot allows us to live this unforgettable experience in real time without any interruption.

This DVD includes the extra features:
Senufo Balafons from Burkina Faso (4 min)
Siaka Plays the Maninka Balafon (3 min)
Xylophones Without Resonators (8 min)
Music Class in Abidjan (6 min)

Films in the Masters of the Balafon series

Friend, Well Come! (with 21 minutes of extras)

Funeral Festivities (with 24 minutes of extras)

The Joy of Youth (with 9 minutes of extras)

The Wood and the Calabash

About the Masters of the Balafon series

Balafon is the name given in French-speaking West Africa to a xylophone with calabash resonators. This instrument is emblematic of the Senufo people of the Côte d'Ivoire (the former Ivory Coast). The balafon is played under differing circumstances and in combination with different groups of instruments. Not for nothing do the peoples of the Côte d'Ivoire call the northern part of their country "the land of the balafon."

Filmed in long sequences to preserve the integrity of the music and speech of the musicians, this series of four documentaries introduces the audience to the fascinating world of a living musical tradition. Each documentary can be viewed independently, as a whole, or in sections indicated by chapter titles. The complete series lasts nearly 4 ½ hours (including extras), providing a full account of a sophisticated African musical tradition.

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Funeral Festivities

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 14:53:00 GMT

Funeral Festivities
Buy Now: $320.00

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument.

This film shows balafon orchestras playing in five villages during the two principal days of funeral festivities, celebrations that include the most important rites, ceremonies and rejoicings in the life of the Senufo. During dialogues with Sikaman, a young musician who acted as research assistant for this film series, the master balafonist Nahoua gives the key to understanding how this marvelous music comes into being, and what it means.

This DVD includes the extra features:

Blacksmith's Music and Masks (10 min)

"La Clé" Balafon Music (15 min)

Films in the Masters of the Balafon series

Friend, Well Come! (with 21 minutes of extras)

Funeral Festivities (with 24 minutes of extras)

The Joy of Youth (with 9 minutes of extras)

The Wood and the Calabash

About the Masters of the Balafon series

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The Joy of Youth

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 11:13:00 GMT

The Joy of Youth
Buy Now: $320.00

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument.

The music of the balafon is a source of joy while the young men are doing collective work in the fields, at age-group ceremonies, for the poro initiatory society, for the catholic mass and during young people's dance evenings. Musicians and non-musicians, young and old, talk about the different occasions for which this instrument is an indispensable presence marking the rhythms of life for this agricultural people. Traditional balafon music is far from dying out, and its extraordinary vitality and importance are evident in the activities of the younger generations.

This DVD includes the extra feature:
Friendly Hoeing Competition (9 min)

Films in the Masters of the Balafon series

Friend, Well Come! (with 21 minutes of extras)

Funeral Festivities (with 24 minutes of extras)

The Joy of Youth (with 9 minutes of extras)

The Wood and the Calabash

About the Masters of the Balafon series

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Lessons from Gulam

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 06:41:00 GMT

Lessons from Gulam
Buy Now: $320.00

Bradford is a mill town in the north of England with a population of around 60,000 Muslims from South Asia. Muslim values are strongly maintained. This film studies Asian music within the community and contrasts music education in the schools with the very different kind of music enculturation in the family.

Gulam Musa is from Gujerat (India), from a Muslim sub-caste whose members are traditionally barbers and musicians. He specializes in singing qawwali, a genre of Muslim devotional music found in India and Pakistan. He runs his own qawwali group and takes part in Asian music workshops in the Bradford schools.

This film is more ethnomusicological than AMIR, examining in greater detail the music itself and what people have to say about it. The film is of special interest to music educators involved with the multi-cultural school curriculum.

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Musafir

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 14:50:00 GMT

Musafir
Buy Now: $320.00

Musafir is the name given to a group of folk musicians from different castes and religions in Rajasthan, India. Hameed Khan, a tabla player who divides his time between Paris and Jaipur, is constantly searching for the best musicians who he then takes under his wing and teaches them the Musafir repertoire. Each cast of musicians has its own repertoire, instruments and particular style. Hammed's role is to harmonize and unite them all. The collaboration not only produces new music - unlike the traditional music most of the musicians play in their communities - it produces new friendships - breaking through the social conflicts that plague India.

Musafir means "nomad." This name represents the philosophy of the group: the discovery of others through a journey in which music is the common language. The documentary features the journey of the musical group through three main stages - their training session in Jaipur, the story of each musician's life, and finally, the group's tour of Europe.

"Musafir (Nomad) treads a very difficult path, and in the face of an ethical demand that popular culture can choose to ignore, narrates an insightful story of folk artists centered around the travelling music group Musafir... As the film cuts between explorations of the musafir (the traveller) and the journey of the group, it is evident that there is much more to folk artistes than the tokenist parading during republic day or the eroticised representations in Hindi films. Reality is not what is out there but what we know, understand, and share with each other of what is out there." — Kishore Budha, widescreenjournal.org

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

International Asian Film Festival, Vesoul, 2005

Fatumbi Award - Best First Film, 25th Ethnographic Film Festival, Musée de l'Homme, Paris, 2006

Beeld voor Beeld Film Festival, Amsterdam, 2006

Festival Étonnants Voyageurs St. Malo, France, 2006

Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival, 2006

International Ethnographic Film Festival, Sardinia, 2006

Sole e Luna, Mediterranean and Islamic International Documentary Film Festival, Palermo, 2006

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The Mandolin King

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 14:50:00 GMT

The Mandolin King
Buy Now: $295.00

Cruz Quinal, "the mandolin king," lives near Cumana in a mountain valley surrounded by sugarcane fields. Perpetuating 16th century Spanish traditions of guitar-making, Cruz fashions such musical instruments as cuatros, marimba, escarpandola, and his own creation, a mandolin with two fretboards. He is an accomplished musician as well. In this moving portrait, Cruz compares himself to a decaying colonial church across the street: revered yet neglected, the village altar stands, paint peeling, under the open sky.

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