Film series to explore outer limits of music

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Grounds for Thoughts has hosted a variety of musical acts over the years, and now a
new monthly film series at the downtown Bowing Green coffee shop will stretch
those boundaries even further.
"Other Musics: Four Free Films on Free Sounds" will begin with a screening
of "Rising Tones Cross," a 1985 documentary by Ebba Jahn about free
jazz in New York City, Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Three more showings are planned: on Feb. 21; a double bill of "Between the
Notes: A Portrait of Pandit Pran Nath" and "Ravi Shankar: Between Two
Worlds" on March 20; and "Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey" on
April 24. All shows at 7 p.m.
The series is the collective effort of Phil Dickinson, associate chair of the English
Department at Bowling Green State University, and Rob Wallace, who also teaches
English at BGSU.
Wallace said the initial impetus for the series came when he and Dickinson, both of
whom play drums, realized they had similar tastes in music.
Dickinson said the series was prompted by a desire to spread the word about music not
often heard in these parts in a time when one can hear the "same 200
songs" on any radio station.
Dickinson said the organizers wants to "let people know there’s a wonderful
world of sound out there."
While the music, free-form rock and jazz, classical Indian music and early electronic
sounds is "underexposed," it has had a greater resonance through
society. "These films together will show that influence," Wallace
said.
The first offering explores the free jazz scene in New York in the 1980s.
While it features performances, it also involves commentary. Saxophonist Charles
Gayle is especially articulate talking both about the music and engaging in a
dialogue about race with German bassist Peter Kowald, Wallace said.
The second film in the series, "Krautrock: The Rebirth of Germany" from
2009, explores the avant rock scene in Germany in the late 1960s and 1970s, when
Germany was struggling to secure a post-World War II identity.
"Krautrock," Wallace said, is actually derogatory term coined by the
English, who doubted the Germans ability to create their own genre of rock
music.
Dickinson said the Germans employed the open-ended improvisational ethos of free jazz
to the music.
The double feature on March 20 shows the wide-ranging influence of music that to some
can seem marginal.
"Between the Notes" is a half-hour portrait of Indian singer Pandit Pran
Nath. Through his students LaMonte Young and Terry Riley he had a far-reaching
impact on those American composers known as the minimalists.
A longer portrait of Indian master Ravi Shankar, the musician most responsible for
popularizing Indian music in the West, will also be shown that night.
The final film scheduled showcases the theremin, an early electronic instrument. The
theremin’s eerie swoon gave the Beach Boys’ "Good Vibrations," its
signature sound.
The story shows how music can be entwined in a broader narrative. The inventor, Leon
Theremin, was a spy, and there’s even a love story.
Wallace said: "It invokes science and technology and the Space Age."

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