The Edification of Weldon Irvine (Documentary)

fishmongerfunk

just stumbled across this one hour documentary (someone's master's thesis actually) about the man done in 1975. thinking about ordering it and was wondering if anyone here had seen it and could recommend it or not.





here is some crumby review i found:

"Davis interviews a number of people [...] A theater???s artistic director discusses how she views the pianist's artistry and temperament. His grandmother recalls his childhood, which was spent on the lush campus of the Hampton Institute in Virginia. His martial arts instructor explains the nature of the discipline Irvine has chosen to learn, and how its practitioners undergo internal, spiritual development. The most revealing interviewee is of course, Irvine himself. Davis' questions bring out a number of issues, which Irvine tackles in a particularly articulate manner. Here, he discusses his struggle as an artist trying to find a place in the music industry; his work as a musical playwright, his work with jazz singer, Nina Simone, as well as non-musical elements of his life such as his interests in martial arts, weapons, and his use of horse race betting as a source of income."

wyzewayz

that was dope! where can i cop from?

TomO

I've seen it, and I've got a copy somewhere - you need to contact the guy who actually made the film I seem to remember. It was very interesting - it had all sorts of bits of footage including Weldon going to the dog races. It came across as a very sad, recluse existence actually. Weldon did so much for other young musicians - he was involved in some community projects in Queen's - Don Blackman said that he played on the back of this flat bed lorry with other jazz musicians, and they'd travel round neighbourhood getting kids involved. The director lives in the Phillippines and will send out a copy of the DVD if you send him payment by Paypal. I can't remember how I found his address but I'm sure you can google for it.