See “The Good Night” in English; James Spaulding Quartet to play some cool jazz
Debutant feature director Jake Paltrow explores the line between dreams and reality in “The Good Night,” which had its premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. “The Good Night” tells the story of Gary (Martin Freeman), once a moderately successful musician who fell on hard times. Although he has a beautiful girlfriend Dora (played by Jake Paltrow’s famous sister Gwyneth) and a steady, if unexciting, career, something is missing… Until he meets Anna (Penelope Cruz), a breathtaking, exotic, intelligent woman who happens to love Gary. However, the problem is that she is quite literally his dream girl. Gary can only see Anna in his dreams, and his quest for lucid dreaming techniques introduces Gary to some crazy characters, who ultimately give him a new perspective on life.
The first attempt of Jake Paltrow at feature films – previously he directed the TV-series “NYPD blue” and some others – looks quite promising so far. A part of it is exploring a topic which, perhaps, is not completely new, but presented from an unexpected point of view. And an impressive cast of actors certainly does a lot to make the film work. Martin Freeman, who has had a long career on TV, but just recently managed to escape to feature films, has already delivered a few decent performances, Penelope Cruz who once again demonstrates her chameleon abilities to play very different women, and Gwyneth Paltrow whose appearance in the film is hardly surprising – due to her brother’s role as director. What’s surprising, however, is the heroine she plays – she’s more commonly seen as the object of desire of the main character and not vice versa. And of course Denni DeVito and Simon Pegg are sure to provide their share of intellectual laughs.
Kyiv(19 Chervonoarmiyska, 234-7381). Sept. 20, Tickets: Hr 10 to Hr 40. In English with Russian subtitles
For three years now, the Kyiv audience has had the opportunity to see masters of world jazz thanks to the project called International Jazz Seasons. The new season of the International Jazz Subscription project runs from Sept. 17 through Sept. 23. and this time will host a concert by leading American jazz performers, devoted to the Third Anniversary of International Jazz Seasons, will showcase the James Spaulding Quintet (James Spaulding – saxophone, Ronny Burrage – drums, vocals, Marek Balata – vocals, Frank Lacy – vocals, trombone and Arkadiy Ovrutskiy – bass).
James Spaulding has established a reputation as a masterful soloist for ensemble performances, and for many years was among the busier sidemen for Blue Note Records. James has worked with Sun Ra, Freddie Hubbard, Max Roach and more. He is a modernist, with solid roots in classical jazz; his saxophone style is an extension of the Charlie Parker influence, but his overall concept incorporates much of the broad jazz saxophone heritage.
Spaulding’s range of performance experiences extends nationally and internationally, from the concert stage to jazz clubs, to colleges and street fairs and he has performed as a sideman and been recorded on over 100 recordings.
Marek Balata is probably the premier male vocalist in all of Eastern Europe in the realm of improvised music. His wide ranging creativity has also engaged him deeply in visual arts (graphic design) and theater. He has performed and recorded with the great Polish jazz musicians Tomasz Stanko and Zbigniew Namyslowski, and has also performed in Poland with Cantable in Jazz featuring Urszula Dudziak, Michele Hendricks, Judy Niemack and Anthony Jackson. Ronnie Burrage is an extremely engaged and popular drummer, multi-percussionist, keyboardist, vocalist and producer. A versatile drummer who also plays vibes and marimba, Burrage has forged a style as much at home with the bristling pace of hard bop and bebop as with the heavy backbeats of funk, soul and r’n’b.
Besides Jazz Seasons, every six months Arcady Ovrutskiy, one of the creators of the project, organizes intensive jazz courses for youngsters at the Kyiv International Jazz Academy. This is the third intensive course supported by the US Embassy in Ukraine and the Polish Institute in Kyiv, which are absolutely free of charge.
National Music Academy (11 Khreshchatyk, 279-1242). Sept. 23, 8 p.m. Tickets: Hr 50 to Hr 100, with Afisha card – 20 percent discount
