Étiquette : Soul Music

The summer of 1969, Summer of Soul
Neil Armstrong walks on the Moon. Woodstock becomes the defining moment of the counterculture movement. And Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson and BB King play to a combined crowd of more than 300,000 people at The Harlem Cultural Festival.

Update 04/03/22

GRAMMY for Best Music Film
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, video director; David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent & Joseph Patel, video producers.

Update 03/28/22:
OSCAR WINNER!
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Summer of Soul (Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein)

In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary—part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was never seen and largely forgotten–until now. Summer of Soul shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past and present. The feature includes never-before-seen concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Ray Baretto, Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach and more.

See also on BBC

Billed as the Black Woodstock, Summer of Soul is actually far better than that description might suggest. In fact it’s a more well-constructed, more satisfying film than the baggy, rambling one Michael Wadleigh made about Woodstock – not least for placing the events in a powerful, though not overwhelming, social context.

Peter Jones

Summer of Soul – Trailer via BBC

« The Harlem Cultural Festival was an event thrown by two gentlemen, Tony Lawrence [who booked the acts] and Hal Tulchin [who filmed it]. »

« The event is preserved professionally on tape and not one producer or outlet is interested in seeing the footage or making it worldwide-known or distributing. »

« So, what winds up happening is that this film just sits in the basement for 50 years. »