MONROE - The 2001 documentary film "Swing: The Velocity of Celebration" by Ken Burns will be presented at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 11 at the Monroe Public Library, 925 16th Ave. The film is the fourth in a series of seven film screenings being presented as a partnership between the Monroe Arts Center and the Monroe Public Library.
Each of the films focus on a different genre of American music, with each genre represented in an upcoming Monroe Arts Center 2013-14 performance. The series uses documentary film and a brief post-film discussion, led by a music authority, to engage the public in a study of some of America's most enduring popular music. Films will be shown about a week prior to a corresponding MAC performance. "Swing: The Velocity of Celebration" precedes the MAC presentation of the jazz music group, Harmonious Wail, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 15.
"Swing: The Velocity of Celebration" tells the story of how the Kansas City sound of Count Basie's band came to New York and quickly reignited the spirit of jazz and swing music. Soon Basie's lead saxophonist, Lester Young, challenges Coleman Hawkins for supremacy, matching the old sax-master's muscular sound with a lighter, laid-back style of his own. Young teams with Billie Holiday for a series of masterful recordings. By the end of the decade, Chick Webb has achieved national fame by taking a chance on a teenage singer named Ella Fitzgerald. Running time of the film is about 90 minutes.
Following the film, an audience discussion led by Madison musician and jazz authority Sims Delaney-Potthoff, will take place from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Delaney-Potthoff is the founder, leader and mandolinist for the Madison group, Harmonious Wail. Delaney-Potthoff studied for seven years with Burns, the legendary jazz mandolinist, laying the foundation for Harmonious Wail's acoustic string sound.
All film screenings and discussions are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact MAC at 608-325-5700, 888-596-1249, or visit www.monroeartscenter.com.
Each of the films focus on a different genre of American music, with each genre represented in an upcoming Monroe Arts Center 2013-14 performance. The series uses documentary film and a brief post-film discussion, led by a music authority, to engage the public in a study of some of America's most enduring popular music. Films will be shown about a week prior to a corresponding MAC performance. "Swing: The Velocity of Celebration" precedes the MAC presentation of the jazz music group, Harmonious Wail, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 15.
"Swing: The Velocity of Celebration" tells the story of how the Kansas City sound of Count Basie's band came to New York and quickly reignited the spirit of jazz and swing music. Soon Basie's lead saxophonist, Lester Young, challenges Coleman Hawkins for supremacy, matching the old sax-master's muscular sound with a lighter, laid-back style of his own. Young teams with Billie Holiday for a series of masterful recordings. By the end of the decade, Chick Webb has achieved national fame by taking a chance on a teenage singer named Ella Fitzgerald. Running time of the film is about 90 minutes.
Following the film, an audience discussion led by Madison musician and jazz authority Sims Delaney-Potthoff, will take place from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Delaney-Potthoff is the founder, leader and mandolinist for the Madison group, Harmonious Wail. Delaney-Potthoff studied for seven years with Burns, the legendary jazz mandolinist, laying the foundation for Harmonious Wail's acoustic string sound.
All film screenings and discussions are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact MAC at 608-325-5700, 888-596-1249, or visit www.monroeartscenter.com.