{"id":5613,"date":"2016-01-22T20:45:15","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T20:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.artinfo.com\/blunotes\/?p=5613"},"modified":"2016-01-22T20:45:15","modified_gmt":"2016-01-22T20:45:15","slug":"night-bird-song-thomas-chapin-doc-completed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/2016\/01\/22\/night-bird-song-thomas-chapin-doc-completed\/","title":{"rendered":"Night Bird Song Sung Soon: Thomas Chapin Documentary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Chapin+orange+500_72dpi\"<\/a>
photo by Alex Lopez<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nA few years ago, I wrote the following about saxophonist Thomas Chapin in a\u00a0Wall Street Journal piece<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The standard bird’s-eye view of New York’s jazz scene in the 1980s and ’90s depicts a mainstream revival of 1960s tradition, a wild and woolly downtown, and nothing in between. The truth on the ground was more fluid. There were musicians\u2014some experienced, others on the rise\u2014whose deep knowledge of tradition, engaging manner, exalted skills and adventurous spirit naturally bridged such divides.
\nThomas Chapin fit that bill.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But Chapin died of leukemia on Feb. 13, 1998, three weeks shy of his 41st birthday. We\u2019ll never know quite where his music was headed. Still, we can learn more about what gave rise to Chapin’s artistry and what it suggests for the future.
\nIn that regard, I’ve been following the development of Stephanie Castillo’s documentary, “Night Bird Song: The Thomas Chapin Story.<\/strong>” (You can see some of it here<\/a>.)\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The Hawaii-based filmmaker and the sister of Thomas’s wife, Stephanie traveled to New York City\/Brooklyn several times to film interviews with musicians and critics (including me). She also filmed in Hartford, Conn., Washington D.C., Phoenix, Tucson, and 5 countries in Europe (Thomas played all over Europe and is best known there.)\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
According to Castillo, a\u00a0premiere is set for Sunday March 6 at Real Art Ways in Hartford, Connecticut where Thomas Chapin grew up and cut his teeth in music. Thomas Chapin Trio bassist Mario Pavone and other fellow musicians are providing a music performance.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The film’s New York City premiere is still in the works and will be announced soon.\u00a0Screening invitations are welcomed,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0castillosj@aol.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The following, from Castillo’s website:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
Chapin was admired for his exuberance as a multi-instrumentalist, band leader and composer. Once a musical director for the legendary Lionel Hampton, he was one of the few artists of his generation to exist in both the worlds of the New York City’s downtown, experimentalist scene and the uptown scene of mainstream jazz. The saxophonist-flautist was just making his mark when his life was cut short when died from leukemia in 1998 at age 40.<\/span><\/div>\n

\nYou will meet a passionate soul who lived like there was no tomorrow\u00a0in\u00a0tireless pursuit of doing what he loved. In the face of\u00a0a childhood condition that left him aware\u00a0every day that life was fragile, Thomas Chapin soared and gained altitude, living out his dream of making edgy, engaging, exhilarating music that pushed jazz forward.<\/span><\/span>Though he passed 15 years ago, his music lives on. And through the film,\u00a0an unforgettable tale of\u00a0love and passion, courage and boldness will unfold. NIGHT BIRD SONG is a tragic yet triumphant story of one artist who took the road less traveled, who faced its end much too soon when dreams still burned.Before he passed, Thomas Chapin had come into his own:\u00a0having\u00a0realized his own signature sound, having released numerous important albums, having gained a reputation for many outstanding live performances, and he was on the cusp of wide-audience recognition when he died.\u00a0Thomas Chapin continues to be highly regarded as an influential and inspirational force to those who knew him and to those who continue to discover him.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few years ago, I wrote the following about saxophonist Thomas Chapin in a\u00a0Wall Street Journal piece: The standard bird’s-eye view of New York’s jazz scene in the 1980s and ’90s depicts a mainstream revival of 1960s tradition, a wild and woolly downtown, and nothing in between. The truth on the ground was more fluid. … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Night Bird Song Sung Soon: Thomas Chapin Documentary”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[370],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5613"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}