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Shirley Clarke's Documentary "Ornette Made in America" Available as Video on Demand

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ORNETTE: MADE IN AMERICA is the last film by the great American independent filmmaker Shirley Clarke. She portrays Ornette Coleman, one of the most influential and controversial musicians in jazz. Clarke uses performances of Coleman's ”Skies of America”, a composition for symphonic orchestra and jazz combo, as her point of departure. She kicks off in Coleman's birthplace with a performance by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, then zigzags back to Berkeley before moving on to Morocco and Italy.



Credits

Original Title: Ornette: Made in America
Language: English
Country of Origin: USA
Year : 1985
Duration: 76 Min.
Color


Director: Shirley Clarke
Camera: Edward Lachman
Editing: Shirley Clarke
Sound Mix: Will Lashley, David Rogow
Music: Ornette Coleman
Starring/Featuring: William S. Burroughs, Ornette Coleman, Brion Gysin, Demon Marshall, Eugene Tatum
Production: Caravan of Dreams Productions, Kathelin Hoffmann, Robert Neal Marshall
Festivals: 1986: Toronto Film Festival
This is a very rare film, available now to general audiences and, for the first time ever, online at realeyz.tv. The film material is very old, and the playback quality is not comparable to that of other films here at realeyz.tv. Nonetheless, we wish you an enjoyable viewing experience!


About the Film

Ornette Coleman's impressive musical arrangement also weaves its way through Clarke's (fortunately for us) sparsely interspersed impressional fiction sequences. The concert footage is complemented by interviews with Coleman, his associates and friends, as well as his admirers such as Buckminster Fuller and William Burroughs. Inspired by the creative spirit of free jazz, Shirley Clarke breaks from the conventional documentary form in an--ahem--unorthodox manner. These visual improvisations can't hold a candle though to the imposing intensity of Coleman's compositions or to his unpretentious aura. And why should they?

Shirley Clarke's film works as evidenced by the fact that viewers are apt to check if ”Skies of America” is available on disc, which it is. A CD reissue with a 1972 recording with the London Symphony Orchestra was issued in 2006 and a version on vinyl was released in 2008.

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