La Belle Usine a.s.b.l.

Shades of Jazz on Noir

The Shades of Jazz on Noir film presents excerpts from the classic film noir works of the 1940s and 1950s crafted to express the fatality, passion, and danger created by directors who pioneered the lively lighting techniques and psychologically expressive approach to classic noir. Shades of Jazz on Noir is projected onto a large screen as documentary and is the second instalment of a film noir and jazz series created for Luxembourg European Cultural Capital 2007. The first film, A Touch of Noir was a view from the wounded male perspective ala James Dean and has been performed in Europe (Luxembourg, Netherlands). Shades of Jazz on Noir is viewed from the Femme Fatale of those classics creating a fresh and unusual media experience. Shades of Jazz on Noir will combine the passion and despondency of classic film noir with the texture and dynamism of modern improvisation, resulting in a unique, growth oriented experience for students of film, jazz
and new music. This highly original project features Herb Robertson & Matt Darriau with special guest who will literally plate jazz on Noir. Film by Ana Isabel Ordonez.

Herb Robertson is internationally renowned as an innovative instrumentalist, composer and arranger in both traditional and avant-garde jazz idioms and new music. In 1981, Robertson became one of the original members of saxophonist Tim Berne’s ensemble and shortly after joined bassist Mark Helias’s band. It is with these two artists that Robertson first began receiving enormous critical acclaim on tour throughout the United States and Europe and on subsequent recordings documenting his original brass concept incorporating extended mute technique. Herb was trained at the Berklee College of Music and has performed in many formations throughout USA, Canada and Europe. Robertson has collaborated and recorded with Paul Smoker, Tim Berne, Mark Helias, Bill Frisell, Lindsey Horner, Joey Baron, Anthony Braxton, Barry Guy, Anthony Davis, Bobby Previte, David Sanborn, George Gruntz, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Paul Motian, Evan Parker, Agustí Fernandez, Frank Gratkowski, Dominic Duval, Jay Rosen, Phil Haynes, Joe Fonda, Michael Stevens, Michael Moore, Terry Jenoure, Andy Laster, Judi Silvano, John Lindberg, Gerry Hemingway, Satoko Fujii, Marc Ducret, Simon Nabatov, Mark Feldman, Pierre Dorge, John Zorn, Roswell Rudd, Elliot Sharpe, Klaus Konig, Rashied Ali, Ray Anderson, Paul Motian, Dewey Redman, Günter Schuller, Michiel Braam, Wilbert De Joode, Wolter Wierbos, Steve Potts, Matthias Schubert, Mack Goldsbury, Ernst Bier… Robertson has released abundant music material. Since 2005 he co-owns Ruby Flower Records, record label which promotes and produces avant-garde jazz and art as well as new music in its most extreme forms.

Matt Darriau, saxophonist, clarinettist, ethnic-woodwind specialist and composer, Darriau has made several innovative contributions to the New York music scene. His background in the fertile and eclectic milieu of the New England Conservatory of Music’s Third Stream Program in the 80’s, and the continued practice of Balkan, Klezmer and Celtic folk idioms, have helped shape his aesthetic and passion for creating new and unusual music. He has been awarded grants and commissions from the NEA, Chamber Music America (2005/7) and is a Grammy winner (2007) with his Klezmatics band. He is considered as one of the 150 most influential jazz musicians of the last fifteen years, for the impact he has had in bringing Balkan and world rhythms to jazz with his band Paradox Trio. He is active as composer-musician in his band, Ballin’ the Jack, the Klezmaticks, Desastro Totale and Yo Lateef. Darriau plays with Roberto Rodriguez Septet, Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars and his recently formed and the Recycled Waltz Orchestra. He has recorded and performed with Gunther Schuller, David Byrne, Marc Ribot, Ken Butler, Ben Folds 5 and many others on the NY scene. Paradox Trio has written and performed live music scores for the silent films Battleship Potemkin (Eisenstein), Un Chien Andalou (Bunuel/Dali) and Isaac Babel’s Benya Krik.

Pianist/Composer Angelica Sanchez was born in Phoenix, Arizona. Sanchez moved to New York in 1995 and has since played with: Susie Ibarra, Tim Berne, Mario Pavone, Trevor Dunn, Mark Dresser, Ed Schuller, Judy Silvano, Greg Tardy, Reggie Nicholson, George Schuller, Jeff Williams, Daniel Carter, Mike Sarin, Tony Moreno, Ben Monder and many more. Sanchez leads her own groups, a trio with Chad Taylor & Chris Lightcap and a quintet featuring Marc Ducret, Tony Malaby, Drew Gress, and Tom Rainey. Her debut recording “Mirror Me” was chosen as one of the “Best New Releases for 2003” in All About Jazz and made the top ten JazzTimes Critics’ Picks list 2003. She is also the recipient of the 2007 Chamber Music America French/American Jazz Exchange. Her new quintet recording will be released on the Clean Feed label in the Fall of 2008.

Dr. Ana Isabel Ordonez, biologist, jazz editor, music and art promoter was born in Colombia and educated in Europe. A self-taught Victorian patchwork maker, she has worked on this art since the early 90s and has presented her craft in France and Luxembourg. She is also an accomplished scientist who began training on insect pathology and biological control research at the age of eighteen and has lectured and cooperated in miscellaneous capacities throughout South America, Europe, Africa, East- Europe, Japan, China and New Zealand. Ana Isabel Ordonez is an Agronomic Engineer with Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Genetics, Forestry and Animal Biology. She was awarded by the Colombian Society of Entomology with the national prize “Hernan
Alcaraz-Viecco”. In 2004 she published a book which enlightens integrated pest management strategies in Luxembourg and numerous articles on the value of nature. She has been a recipient of multiple grants from Ecole National des Eaux et For?ts France, Mus?e National d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris, Marie Curie European Union Research Grant, Minist?re de la Culture Luxembourg. She was recently granted by the Dutch Embassy Luxembourg, the American Embassy Luxembourg and Ville de Dudelange for her film projects on film noir and jazz. Besides her work as scientist and director of BioProDev S.C, she is Jazz Editor at Jazzreview.com, the manager of famous jazz musicians and is chairperson of a non-profit association dedicated to promote art, musicians, crafts, culture and literature-noir. Since 2005 she co-owns Ruby Flower Records, a music label based in the USA and Europe which promotes and produces avant-garde jazz, art and new music in its most extreme forms.

Lotte Anker, soprano, alto, tenor saxophone instrumentalist and composer was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark. She studied classical piano and took up the saxophone and improvised music very early, primarily influenced through the music of John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter but also the more experimental jazz scene in Scandinavia at that time. Lotte was trained at the Copenhagen University, the Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen and has participated in courses and workshops lead by Joe Henderson, David Liebman, John Tchicai, Marilyn Mazur, David Murray, Bob Brookmeyer, Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgren, Svend Hvidtfeldt-Nielsen, and Hans Abrahamsen. Lotte Anker has performed in many formations throughout the USA, Canada, Europe and Africa. She has collaborated and recorded with Two Bass-Hit, Saxmachine (saxophone quartet), Jazzgroup 90, Art-Out, “New Music Orchestra”, Pierre Dorges “SubwayMusic”, Barry Guy +Av-Art Orchestra, Composers Biennale 96, NUMUS Festival 97, Toneart Composers Biennale 2000, Peter Brotzman, Miya Masaoka, Thomas Lehn, Per Jørgensen, Michael Formanek, Tim Berne, Marc Ducret, Dylan van der Schyff , Paal Nilssen-Love, Herb Robertson, Arve Henriksen, Anders Jormin, Andrew Cyrille, Jorge Holguin Dance theatre, “Transient Minds” Ricketts Dance Co., “Roberto Zucco”, The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, “Up against the Wall”, the Copenhagen Art Ensemble, Mette Petersen, Nils-Petter Molvær, Hasse Poulsen, Peter Friis-Nielsen, Ture Larsen, The Zapolski Quartet, Mats Gustafsson, Marilyn Crispell, Anders Jormin, Arve Henriksen, Craig Taborn, Gerald Cleaver, et a… Lotte Anker is the recipient of several working grants, commissions from the State Arts Council, the DJBFA compositional prize 2002, BG-Foundation Artist in Residence 2005 (New York) and the Danish Jazz Launch 2006-8. Lotte Anker teaches arrangement, composition and improvisation at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory, Copenhagen and has released amazing musical material.

David Chevan – was musically active from an early age. Although much of his performing method on the double-bass has been self taught, Chevan credits the master bassist, Lisle Atkinson with showing him the pathway to self-education. As a composer Chevan has primarily focused on works for improvisors. He has written works for a wide range of artists and ensembles, including several collaborations with dance and film. In addition to performing regularly in a duo with pianist Warren Byrd and leading their group, The Afro-Semitic Experience, Chevan has had the opportunity to perform and record with a wide range of creative musical artists, including Ali Ryerson, Joe Beck, Jaki Byard, Harold Danko, Ellery Eskelin, Giacomo Gates, Frank London and Andrea Parkins. He is an Associate Professor of Music at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.