|
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC Language: English Number of discs: 1 Rated: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Ruby Star DVD Release Date: June 19, 2012 Watch the trailer: jacquinaylor.com Tour Dates
06/16/12 San Francisco, CA - Legion of Honor
06/19/12 Lucky Girl Documentary 08/11/12 New Orleans, LA - Snug Harbor 08/22/12 Hollywood, CA - Catalina Bar & Grill 09/14/12 Vancouver, BC - The Cellar 09/15/12 Vancouver, BC - The Cellar 09/19/12 Seattle, WA - The Triple Door 09/20/12 Portland, OR - Jimmy Mak's 09/22/12 Seattle, WA Ð Private Event 10/03/12 Alexandria, VA - The Birchmere 10/06/12 Piermont, NY - Turning Point 10/12/12 Lucklum, Germany - Wegwarte 10/26/12 Winston-Salem, NC - Private Event 03/27/13 San Francisco, CA - Rrazz Room 03/28/13 San Francisco, CA - Rrazz Room 03/29/13 San Francisco, CA - Rrazz Room 03/30/13 San Francisco, CA - Rrazz Room |
I got a chance to watch a preview of a new music documentary called "Lucky Girl - A Portrait of Jacqui Naylor" over the weekend. The DVD gets a national release on June 19th.
In a good traditional documentary, you would be set up a question and, through the course of the film, the filmmaker try to answer the question. Unfortunately, this ArtiDocs documentary doesn't seem to have any goals to its latest film. What it does really well is to bring attention to the jazz-styling of Jacqui Naylor, and ultimately, that's a good thing for everyone involved.
From a viewer's perspective, I did wonder where this is going when it opens with scenes of Istanbul and a full rendition of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion". Is this going to be about Naylor's journey through Istanbul? No, instead, you're brought back to the beginning with Naylor explaining how she got started in music. Her instructors at A.C.T. told her she wouldn't make it as a Shakespearian stage actor because of her lisp, or be a comic because she said "not really all that funny". So she took up singing.
What follows are interviews with various people close to Naylor. Her music coach Faith Winthrop, her musician husband Art Khu, her neighbor and friend Beverly Upton, record/tape studio owner Michael Romanowski, upright bassist Jon Evans, 11 year old pianist and guitarist Matt Wong, and percussionist Josh Jones.
The second part of the documentary is about the music writing process, some behind-the-scene rehearsals, and their little tour to San Francisco's Rrazz Room, Seattle's Jazz Alley, and the Istanbul Jazz Center in Turkey (now the Istanbul intro starts to make sense).
You're going to think I'm harsh, but I wish they could've edited this down some more. Too many footage of pets, scenery, glasses on table, coffee cups, restaurant owners, random people at a party (the party was never explained in the documentary - perhaps it was an after show celebration), etc. At the end, the Turkey footage went overboard, turning the film into a family tourist film. Which is fine for home video, but I thought it lost focus because the context was never clear; it was just random footage to me.
The film is best summed up with this quote:
Like I said, it seems to me this is clearly a documentary designed to bring awareness to Jacqui Naylor's music. And it works, but it's not a really compelling documentary. If you're already a fan of pop jazz or Naylor's work, this is a DVD that you should own.
"Lucky Girl - A Portrait of Jacqui Naylor" will be out on DVD on June 19th. You can pre-order a copy at Amazon.com.
In a good traditional documentary, you would be set up a question and, through the course of the film, the filmmaker try to answer the question. Unfortunately, this ArtiDocs documentary doesn't seem to have any goals to its latest film. What it does really well is to bring attention to the jazz-styling of Jacqui Naylor, and ultimately, that's a good thing for everyone involved.
From a viewer's perspective, I did wonder where this is going when it opens with scenes of Istanbul and a full rendition of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion". Is this going to be about Naylor's journey through Istanbul? No, instead, you're brought back to the beginning with Naylor explaining how she got started in music. Her instructors at A.C.T. told her she wouldn't make it as a Shakespearian stage actor because of her lisp, or be a comic because she said "not really all that funny". So she took up singing.
What follows are interviews with various people close to Naylor. Her music coach Faith Winthrop, her musician husband Art Khu, her neighbor and friend Beverly Upton, record/tape studio owner Michael Romanowski, upright bassist Jon Evans, 11 year old pianist and guitarist Matt Wong, and percussionist Josh Jones.
The second part of the documentary is about the music writing process, some behind-the-scene rehearsals, and their little tour to San Francisco's Rrazz Room, Seattle's Jazz Alley, and the Istanbul Jazz Center in Turkey (now the Istanbul intro starts to make sense).
You're going to think I'm harsh, but I wish they could've edited this down some more. Too many footage of pets, scenery, glasses on table, coffee cups, restaurant owners, random people at a party (the party was never explained in the documentary - perhaps it was an after show celebration), etc. At the end, the Turkey footage went overboard, turning the film into a family tourist film. Which is fine for home video, but I thought it lost focus because the context was never clear; it was just random footage to me.
The film is best summed up with this quote:
The end of my day, if I die tomorrow, I would look back at my life and say, 'that was a good gig'.- Jacqui Naylor
Like I said, it seems to me this is clearly a documentary designed to bring awareness to Jacqui Naylor's music. And it works, but it's not a really compelling documentary. If you're already a fan of pop jazz or Naylor's work, this is a DVD that you should own.
"Lucky Girl - A Portrait of Jacqui Naylor" will be out on DVD on June 19th. You can pre-order a copy at Amazon.com.
Jacqui Naylor at her home in "Lucky Girl - A Portrait of Jacqui Naylor" |
)
Comments