Shades of Jazz on Noir
Wednesday, April 23
 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Herb Robertson, trumpet
Avery Sharpe, bass
Bob Weiner, drums
Marty Ehrlich, saxophone

Shades of Jazz on Noir is an adventurous project combining excerpts from classic Film Noir in a 60 minute showing, accompanied by live improvised music. This project, was conceived by Association La Belle Usine a.s.b.l. in Luxembourg and borrows scenes from familiar, much-loved films of the 1940s and 1950s. It features the work of great filmmakers such as Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, and Michael Curtiz, who pioneered signature lighting techniques alongside a psychological drama of fatality and danger.

Combining the despondency of classic Film Noir with the texture and dynamism of improvised music requires great skill. For this feat, New Jersey trumpeter and innovator Herb Robertson will be in residence, organizing and leading the music-making! Music improvisation requires intuitive action and reaction to the ear’s surroundings in each moment. Every improvisation can be considered an invention on new patterns, structures, forms, or concepts. Most noteworthy is that the skills required to improvise compliments Film Noir’s crude and joyful reality in an exciting way. Herb Robertson will lead the Freak Lip Kill Band, an ensemble comprised of dynamic local master players that certainly matches the strength of its visual counterpart.

Despite the overwhelming popularity of avant-garde jazz at the time, the link between improvisation and film noir is absent as Hollywood studios imposed traditional romantic scores that didn’t fit the angular depiction of these stylish Hollywood crime dramas.
However, When paired with the vitality of live improvised jazz, the updated and revived alchemy in this documentary provides an exciting experience for the musicians and viewers alike, and promises to deliver a night of surprises.

SCREENPLAY, SCREEN BOARD, WRITINGS AND MONTAGE FILM SEQUENCE BY Ana Isabel Ordonez DIGITAL FILM EDITED BY Auke Dijkstra