Independent Spirit Rises with ITVS
Indie Lens Pop-Up returns this month with a preview of CHASING TRANE: The John Coltrane Documentary followed by a panel featuring artist/illustrator Rudy Gutierrez –whose paintings of jazz legend John Coltrane are featured in John Scheinfeld’s acclaimed documentary — and radio host Miyuki Williams who’s lifted many spirits on Sunday afternoons with a “A Sunday Kind of Love” jazz on WPFW FM.
ITVS produces the Indie Lens Pop-Up national neighborhood screening series for community conversations around documentaries from the “Independent Lens” series. DC’s Indie Lens Pop-Up is presented with WHUT Howard University Television which broadcasts “Independent Lens” on Thursdays, at 8 pm. Busboys and Poets has been a venue partner for the film series for over 10 years.
CHASING TRANE brings saxophone great John Coltrane to life, as a man and an artist. The documentary is one of the few films on the subject of John Coltrane that will give both the fan and the reluctant listener an appreciation of the musician’s life, struggles, and aspirations in creating original music.
After enjoying its feature run CHASING TRANE will have its television premiere November 6 (check local listings) on the weekly PBS documentary series “Independent Lens” presented by ITVS. This year ITVS (Independent Television Service) received the Governors Award from the Television Academy aka Emmys in recognition of its 25 years of service to co-producing and funding 1400 documentaries by independent producers. ITVS has supported documentaries that have been featured on signature PBS series including “Frontline,” “American Masters,” “POV,” and “American Experience.”
The Television Academy presents the Governors Award annually to “an individual, company or organization or project for outstanding achievement in the arts and sciences or management of television, which is either of a cumulative nature or so extraordinary and universal in nature as to go beyond the scope of the Emmy Awards presented in the categories and areas of the competition.”
It’s with great pleasure to kick off the new season of Indie Lens Pop-Up with a cultural, arts documentary like CHASING TRANE. The Busboys and Poets’ 14th & V venue is in the heart of DC’s “Black Broadway” and Shaw neighborhoods home to DC’s jazz legends and legacies. This is the neighborhood where Duke Ellington embraced syncopated rhythms and created a new American music. Where drummer Jimmy Cobb’s first beats became stepping stones to a studio session with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans that changed the world of jazz forever with the release of “Kind of Blue.”
Rudy Gutierrez
Through the magic world of Facebook, I connected with Rudy Gutierrez and invited him to share his interpretations of John Coltrane’s life and music in painting at the ITVS/WHUT Indie Lens Pop-Up event October 22nd. Gutierrez has created many works featuring John Coltrane’s image. They’re featured in a children’s (adult appreciation) book by Gary Galio, Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey. That’s where filmmaker John Scheinfeld found the artwork for his documentary.
Gutierrez designs CD covers for major labels. His artwork is featured on the cover for Carlos Santana “Shaman” CD. And in case you missed it, that’s Gutierrez’s artwork on the Jimi Hendrix Forever stamp that was released by the United States Postal Service in 2014.
Rudy Gutierrez currently teaches at the Pratt Institute (and is an alumni) and FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York. His “Love Supreme” painting is the movie poster for CHASING TRANE. “Love Supreme” and “A Sunday Kind of Love” on a Sunday afternoon – it doesn’t get better than that this. But season has just begun.
More information and reservations for the Indie Lens Pop-Up CHASING TRANE screening is available on Eventbrite.