JTB Cross Pollination

JACKIN' THE BALL will depart from the standard music documentary fare of live performance and interviews by staging a collaborative, fishbowl-style experiment with several of the film's participants. The experiment is designed to challenge the musicians' perspectives on the creative process by having them participate in a three-week composition workshop in San Francisco. This style of collaboration has been a fundamental part of jazz sets for years, but JACKIN' THE BALL will take it to another level by mixing musicians from different generations and musical genres.

Live recordings from Jackin' the Ball are presented in a variety of formats. Download either MediaPlayer , or RealPlayer for free.

The film will not attempt to cover up the creative differences or personality conflicts that will inevitably arise during such an event. Rather, these generational, professional, and stylistic differences will be among the challenges the musicians face as they create music in an experimental, free-flowing, collaborative environment. Given the dexterity and flexibility that these musicians have shown in the past -- and the diverse communities from which they come -- the outcome is sure to be fascinating.

Morning
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The Emperor -
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Steve Turre recently assembled some of New York's finest musicians, including Pharoh Sanders and John Faddis, to perform over the New Year at Yoshis in Oakland, California.

Turre's Sanctified Shells orchestra is a 12-piece group featuring five trombone players who perform double duty on the conch shell, an instrument Turre introduced to the world of jazz. Also featured were Manny Oquendo (timbales), who led an superstar Afro-Cuban rhythm section which included Andy Gonzales, Horacio "el negro" Hernandez (kit) and Giovanni Hildalgo (congas). Abdul Rahman (gourd harp) from Senegal and Steve Scotts (keys) filled out the line-up.

Although all of these artists were seasoned professionals, it was nonetheless extraordinary to see players like Pharoh Sanders and John Faddis -- who thrive in very different ends of the jazz spectrum -- take the bandstand together. Pharoh is known more in avant garde and experimental world music circles, while John has been the musical director for the Carnegie Hall Jazz orchestra for many years.

The New Years eve show was broadcast nationwide live on NPR. We were also on location and filmed a compostion called "the Emperor". After we finished the shoot, I regretted not filming the entire show.