INDEPENDENT LENS: BILLY STRAYHORN: LUSH LIFE will premiere on Thirteen/WNET Tuesday, February 6 at 10 p.m. As part of UMOJA!, the station’s annual on-air celebration of Black History Month.
The Blue Note soundtrack album, which will be released Tuesday, January 23, will feature new performances of Strayhorn compositions by Bill Charlap, Elvis Costello, Hank Jones, Joe Lovano, and Dianne Reeves.
A few spots remain for the screening. If you would like to attend, please email your name and total number of persons to carol@encoremag.com, no later than noon on Jan 23. A return email will confirm that you will be admitted.
The screening starts promptly at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 23 at BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY. A Q&A with director Robert Levi will follow, moderated by Blue Note Records CEO Bruce Lundvall.
This event has been made possible by Blue Note Records, Thirteen/WNET, ITVS/Independent Lens, Washington Square Films, Robert Levi Films and ENCORE Magazine.
Thanks to OTBKB and Carol Eicher at Encore Magazine, I was able to attend this screening. This film is a triumph. It exposes Billy Strayhorn, an extremely gifted musician and writer who is not all that well known, to the world. It also tells of his complex relationship with Duke Ellington in a way that is both straight forward and unjudgmental. And this film also lets the audience hear Strayhorn’s work. It will be broadcast here in NYC on Channel 13 on Feb. 6 at 10 pm. You own it to yourself to see this.