What I've learned about making documentaries--RESEARCH

RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH.

When I started A Zest for Life, I made it like the other documentaries I produced-directed about world music and dance:  we set up three cameras and the rest of the equipment in a television studio, invited a performing group to come and give us 45 minutes worth of performance, and filled the rest with interviews.  Yes, we had some stage decoration, specifically, some banners made in the youth art program I ran for a non-profit a few years back.

The performers were good, the interviews were interesting, the TV station was happy (it was a cable station and this gave them some programming that was a bit different from what they usually have).  I was happy, at least at first.  Plenty of cable stations in the San Francisco Bay Area were very pleased to air the documentary.  Obviously, our host station (who donated their facilities) got to air it first.

Lalo Izquierdo with some Afro-Peruvian percussion instruments.

And let me thank that station here, plus the commission which supported us:  CCTV (Contra Costa Television) and AC5 (Arts and Culture Commission of Contra Costa County).

But then I started learning Spanish, and realized in listening to the songs that there was a lot going on that I had earlier missed.  My next step, then, was to do in-depth interviews of four people, three of whom were in the documentary:  Lalo Izquierdo (the doc´s star), Javier Nuntón (one of the musicians), Gabriela Shiroma (lead female dancer) and Marina laValle (up from Peru).

Javier Nuntón

 I added portions of the interviews of Lalo and Javier to the show, especially Lalo.  He, after all, is the lead dancer, lead percussionist, the folklorist, and is Afro-Peruvian.

I did NOT use either Gabriela Shiroma´s or Marina laValle´s interviews, for reasons of length, but I DID use the information they provided in their interviews.

I now had a better documentary.  But as I learned more about Afro-Peruvian music and dance, and the history and culture of the Afro-Peruvian community, I became more and more interested.  I began doing some serious research, primarily on the internet.  That also allowed me to discover the connection with Latin jazz.

Rosa los Santos (here) and Jorge Luis Jasso are our two main singers.

 An aside:  Emmy-award winning documentarian David L. Brown, from whom I took a class and who since then has given me advice and encouragement, was instrumental in consistently encouraging me to do more research, more research, more research.  And I thank him for that, as well as other, advice.

The results of my research allowed me to add some really good footage of Afro-Peruvian celebrations as well as some very fine photos.  I also completely re-wrote and re-shot my narration, incorporating the new things I´d learned.



(NOTE:  we just added the above trailer to the web site.  It gives an example of what I learned by researching.)

SO--what have I learned about making documentaries?  Well, first and foremost, you really should research your topic.  You will find out fascinating things which will allow you to present something much more interesting to your audience.  Of course, normally the research should come first, and I´m planning to make use of this lesson.  But even if it comes last, it does need to be done, and it is well worth the effort.

OUR NEXT POST will be about some OTHER things I´ve learned about making documentaries.

Afro-Peruvian jazz, Latin jazz and what´s in a name

Afro-Peruvian jazz...the child of Afro-Peruvian traditional music and New York jazz.  In a nutshell, it's what happens when a musician who plays Afro-Peruvian traditional music goes to New York and gets caught up in the jazz scene there.  Or the other way around, when a New York jazz artist goes to Peru....

The best-known musician of Afro-Peruvian jazz is Daniel Alegria, who is not Afro-Peruvian (although he is Peruvian).  Daniel Alegria currently spends his time going back and forth between New York and Peru, and plays in both countries with his sextet.  He also has a night-club in New York which features not only his own sextet, but also other practitioners of Afro-Peruvian jazz, and sometimes of Afro-Peruvian traditional music.



Other musicians of the genre Afro-Peruvian jazz include the guitarist Richie Zellon and the singer-songwriter Corina Bartra.

What, then, IS Afro-Peruvian jazz.  What's the mix?

Well, the text book definition is A "fusion of jazz with Afro-Peruvian rhythms."

Ok, so some of these artists really stick to the rhythms found in the music developed by the Afro-Peruvian community.  Many even make some use of Afro-Peruvian percussion instruments, especially the cajón.  But the sound?  Well, it doesn't really have all that much to do with Afro-Peruvian music.




There is, first of all, a lot of brass in Afro-Peruvian jazz.  There is NO brass in any Afro-Peruvian music that I´ve ever heard. Next, some of it uses big bands...again, not something you´d exactly expect to find in Afro-Peruvian traditional music.

The songs, if there´s singing, doesn´t normally relate to the Afro-Peruvian community or its history and traditions.  Not all that surprising if the artists don´t in fact come out of the Afro-Peruvian tradition.  These people are NOT black Latinos, which as it turns out, really makes a difference.  So why are we calling this music "Afro-Peruvian jazz?"

Then, there´s Latin jazz.  Afro-Peruvian jazz is said to be part of Latin jazz.  Several people have pointed out that there really is no such animal as "Latin jazz."  I agree.



Unfortunately, we´re in the misty realm of communication.  "People" are familiar with the term "Latin jazz" and to a lesser extent, "Afro-Peruvian jazz."  It may be that neither one means much, but people THINK they mean something.  People THINK they understand what it means and that they either like, or don´t like what they think it means.

To get right down to the point, the term "classical music" doesn´t really mean anything, either.

So we´re left in the fog of non-communication, believing we´re saying something when really, all we´re doing is saying "hey, you might like this and since you won´t check it out unless it has a name you´re familiar with, the closest I can come is THIS name."

(Compare the "Afro-Peruvian jazz" musicians above with Afro-Peruvian traditional music from our CD and our documentary, below.)



Nothing new under the sun here.

(NOTE:  if you like this rendition of Zamacueca, you might want to check out our CD on CDBaby LINK.)

OUR NEXT POST will be about the song "el negrito Chinchivi" and its composer, José Alberto (Pepe) Villalobos Cavero.

Gabriel Alegria, and my article about Afro-Peruvian jazz

Thought you might be interested in my recently published article about Afro-Peruvian jazz.

LINK.   It's on EZines.
 

Afro-Peruvian jazz is the "new kid on the block" of Latin jazz.  It's foundation is Afro-Peruvian traditional music and New York jazz.  If you want to know more about Afro-Peruvian traditional music, one source is our documentary A Zest for Life:  Afro-Peruvian Rhythms, a Source of Latin Jazz.  We also have a CD of the sound track.  We're in the process of placing the CD in Bay Area stores;  more on this when we've done it.

As for Afro-Peruvian jazz, currently the most famous musician and group leader is Gabriel Alegria.  He not only has a great combo but also a nightclub in New York called the Tutuma Social Club where he brings in all kinds of good performers.  Here's a LINK.

He goes back and forth between New York and Peru, so he doesn't lose his roots by spending too much time in the U.S..  He´s got a nice web site as well as a great group.  Check him out.

In addition, he played a concert in el Carmen, Peru, in 2009.  Now, el Carmen is one of the centers of Afro-Peruvian traditional music and he put a lot of that music into the concert, especially by using Huevito Lobaton on the quintessential Afro-Peruvian instrument, the cajita.  AND just to make the connection completely clear, there´s this number from the concert in which it starts and ends with Huevito playing the cajita while Gabriel Alegria plays the quijada de burro, another percussion instrument that Afro-Peruvians have given to the world.  Check out the video below.



OUR NEXT BLOG will be about our CD and our release party at la Peña (Berkeley, CA).