A work in constant progress (and occasional regress).
Release Date:
December 31, 2007
Original Title:
Notions of Freedom
Production Countries:
United States of America
Ratings / Certifications:
N/A
Runtime: 16
Ulysses Jenkins charts the history of jazz—what he calls “the first true American art form"—from its beginnings in New Orleans and the American South to the classic work of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and through the major innovations of Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, and Miles Davis. Also included are clips of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, explicitly linking the development of jazz to the Civil Rights Movement. Motion-capture animated figures are seen dancing, superimposed, over the archival footage of the musicians. Wearing colorful costumes, they perform Jenkins’ original choreography. The dancers exert a powerful influence over the historical documentation as their movements extend across the decades and, finally, into the future.
Animation:
Mugen Suzuki
Director:
Ulysses Jenkins
Motion Capture Artist:
Lisa Naugle
Music:
Kei Akagi
Recording Supervision:
Ross Whitney
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