Eastwood combines passions - jazz and film
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Posted by: editoron Wednesday, March 14, 2007 - 09:31 PM |
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YORK: Clint Eastwood is combining two of his passions, jazz and film, by taking a lead role in producing a new documentary about US jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck.
Eastwood also will chair a new honorary board set up to preserve and continue the legacy of Brubeck, 86, according to the Brubeck Institute at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.
Other members on the board include trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis, film director George Lucas, recording artist Al Jarreau, record producer Quincy Jones, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
"Dave Brubeck is an American legend," said Eastwood, himself a jazz pianist and composer, in a statement released by the University of the Pacific. "He is an American original who continues to make significant contributions to music, introduced a whole new generation to the world of jazz, and continues to explore the international language of music."
The documentary, to be directed and produced by Bruce Ricker, is tentatively titled Dave Brubeck - In His Own Sweet Way, and will track Brubeck's career to his latest work, the jazz opera Cannery Row Suite, which made its premiere at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 2006.
Eastwood and Ricker, whose previous film credits include the Thelonious Monk, Straight No Chaser and The Last of the Blue Devils, also are making a documentary about Tony Bennett titled The Music Never Ends.
In 1988 Eastwood directed a film about the troubled life and career of jazz musician Charlie Parker called Bird, and recently he composed the music for his films Flags of Our Fathers and Mystic River.
Eastwood has served as the honorary chairman of the Brubeck Institute since its inception in 2000 and is a member of the board of directors for the Monterey Jazz Festival.
The Brubeck Institute was established after the donation of an extensive collection of Brubeck's materials to the University of the Pacific's library for research and archival purposes and now offers various jazz educational programs.
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