[Dixielandjazz] Woody's "Wild Man Blues".

[Fr M J (Mike) Logsdon]

I finally finished watching the entire film the other day (only available on
VHS, most affordably via Amazon), and I can now utter my opinion, of both
the film, and Mr Allen.

First, I've always known Woody is not a great musician, but he is a good
one.  He carries his part, not spectacularly, but ably, and how do I know?
There hasn't been much discussion here about his cohorts in crime:
particularly Misters Gill, Davis, and Ms Sayer (I'm not too familiar with
the others to comment).  Instead of worrying about Woody, I paid attention
to them.  They all appear to enjoy playing with Woody.  Their faces
definitely express an enjoyment of what they are doing.  And if playing with
Woody were a chore, I think their faces would show it.  So, part of my
enjoyment of both the film and the music was the corroboration of his fellow
musicians, all of whom appear to not think what they are doing is a waste of
time.

Second, the film, itself.  Fact:  there MIGHT be one, maybe two COMPLETE
tunes.  So, that criticism is valid.  But full concert tunes is not the
point of the film.  The point of the film was Woody taking the band to
Europe and experiencing the reaction, which was wildly ecstatic, to say the
least.  (The Italian audience, I believe, was the most reserved, giving
Woody the most humor fodder, audiencely-speaking; maybe my memory is faulty
on this point -- the locale, that is.)

Third, Woody and his life.  Now, it's been how many years since the
Allen-Farrow debacle, resulting in Woody marrying Soon-Yi?  Unless the film
is a complete sham, and it's hard to believe that such a film in Woody's
hands could be, I have to believe that those two are happy.  Plain, ol'
happy.  And said happiness blends throughout the film.

So, musically, filmographically, and personal-life-ishly, I can't imagine
why anyone would say this film isn't exactly what it is:  a relatively
enjoyable (I enjoy it, anyway) tour-de-force of Woody and the band (I almost
said "his" band, but we all know Mr Davis is the "director", whatever that
means!) in Europe.  Only legitimate reason for criticism?  Not liking
Woody's particular brand of humor.  That, I believe, is the only grounds for
saying the film isn't worthwhile.  I like his humor (if not his attitude
toward the eternal verities...), so I say the film is a must for jazz fans.

And it's cheap, too (see Amazon comment above),
----
Etc,

Fr M J (Mike) Logsdon, Vicar-general
North American Old Roman Catholic Church (Utrecht Succession)
Archdiocese of California
www.naorc.org