Jazz and Film
Posted on April 19, 2008
Jazz and film were lovers, because they were growing through a lot of the same experiences. Jazz had trouble making friends in gym class, and Film lacked a sense of family history. The country itself was an accordion pulsating from puritanism to Id-tastic anarchy like a pubescent teenager on a field trip to the Hershey’s Factory.
A lot of folks picture Armstrong smiling on that big screen, or others might imagine the long flowing hair of Rippington’s finest Yanni playing on daytime talk television, but for me it was Gene Kruppa who gave an animated face to the music. He had already managed to push the drum set to the forefront of the big band, but he continued to contribute to the genre with his physical performance and overt expression. He did no less in Great Ball of Fire.
The movie follows a number of lexicographers finishing up their historic volume of encyclopedias, but after a trip to the speak easy they find that they have far from completed their project. At one point Gene steps away from his kit, and leads a chorus of drum boogie with a single matchbook.
Fantastic.
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Now Gene was something else, but far as cool factors, Cab Calloway has no match. Not even the Bill Cosby shuffle or the Fred Astaire anything holds a candle to the Calloway stroll. Just as incredible, Max Fleischer was able to catch that flow in perfect step.
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