Australian filmmaker Amiel Courtin-Wilson came to New York a few years ago to haunt the city’s bars and jazz clubs. His particular focus was on Cecil Taylor (1929), revolutionary jazz pianist and one of the pioneers of free jazz. Taylor used to play with a propulsive intensity, but nowadays he brings a more serene energy to his instrument.
In the private setting of his loft, Taylor’s piano improvisations are echoed in the corporeal movements of Tanaka Min (1945), a Japanese dance pioneer who has collaborated with the likes of Luciano Berio, John Cale, Karel Appel, Richard Serra and Susan Sontag. The camera captures an elegant, non-verbal conversation between two masters, both meditative and highly emotional. “Rhythm is life… the space of time danced through. The root of rhythm is its central unit of change.” (C.T.) This film is also a forerunner to Amiel’s upcoming sci-fi time-travel biopic feature about Cecil Taylor.
Film details
- Countries of production
- Australia, USA
- Year
- 2016
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2017
- Length
- 70'
- Medium/Format
- DCP
