[Dixielandjazz] For Duke Ellington Fans

[Steve Barbone]

MOVIE REVIEW | 'REMINISCING IN TEMPO'

A Journey Through the Years With Duke Ellington
NY TIMES - By NEIL GENZLINGER - December 15, 2006

³You¹ve got to find some way of saying it without saying it,² Duke Ellington
once advised, and Gary Keys seems to have taken that as his template for
³Reminiscing in Tempo,² a meandering documentary about Ellington that mixes
the then and the now. What is Mr. Keys trying to say with this film? He
doesn¹t say. But Ellington fans will certainly relish the many vintage clips
scattered throughout.

The film starts by dropping in on the birthday parties Ellington¹s sister,
Ruth Ellington Boatwright, used to hold in his memory after his death in
1974. (She died in 2004.) Friends and admirers like Bobby Short and the jazz
historian Ira Gitler toss in comments. Most of these folks are not very
compelling; one exception is Al Hibbler, who tells of deciding as a child ‹
though he was blind from birth ‹ that he would one day be Ellington¹s
vocalist, a goal he eventually achieved. His lovely baritone was long gone
by whenever the clip was shot (he died in 2001), but he even sings a little.

>From there the film jumps all over the place in time and subject, Mr. Keys
tossing together interviews, performance footage, still photographs and
more; in the musical segments, which are extensive, it¹s often unclear if
we¹re hearing the performers on the screen or if a collage technique is
being used. The main destination, though, is unambiguous: it¹s the Olympics
in Mexico in 1968, where Ellington played his ³Mexican Suite.²

Mr. Keys provides a generous helping of the performance, which he produced.
The film quality of this segment isn¹t great, but other performance clips
are, especially Ellington playing ³The Single Petal of a Rose² and the
trumpeter Cootie Williams taking a solo.

REMINISCING IN TEMPO

Opens today in Manhattan.

Written, produced and directed by Gary Keys; edited by Jessica Schoen and
Judi Stroh; released by Gary Keys Films. At the Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th
Street, Greenwich Village. Running time: 90 minutes. This film is not rated.