My favorite part about Christmas is the tree.  I love the smell of pine, homemade ornaments and the way the tree twinkles in the evening light.  My mom’s tree is always my favorite as she’s kept so many interesting ornaments over the years.  The funniest ones are from when we were kids…the best were the cookies that eventually dwindled down to crumbs dangling from a hook.  At least I think they were once cookies, I guess it could have been something else that lost complete recognition.  When I was a kid I would just sit under the tree and stare at it for hours.  It was a symbol of magic and happiness for me.  Still is to this day, actually.

This past weekend James and I worked on our first collaborative pieces together for a We&Co holiday project that they plan to give to their employees as end of the year gifts.  Our word assignment was service, which is an important concept to remember during the holiday season.  James was nice enough to include me in the project, because honestly his word art can stand alone.  I did a watercolor base in the company colors with a distressed texture, then he did his xerox transfers on top.  We spent the better part of Sunday creating 35 unique pieces for them, which I was really proud of in the end.  I think they all turned out beautiful.  We are going to put the money we earned into our travel jar which will hopefully help fund our big trip  next fall to Portland and Seattle.  It was so much fun to pick up a paintbrush again, I’m looking forward to doing more projects like this one in the future.

The concept of collaboration is an interesting one.  I am usually super protective of my personal creative work until it is close to being finished.  The idea of a first impression was always really important to me…so if someone saw my work incomplete it made me feel very vulnerable.  That’s one amazing thing that I’ve learned from James, the concept of letting another person in on the process.  To let them see my mistakes as I go along and be ok with it.  He has been very open with me from the very beginning, and it’s one of the things I love most about him.  Crush was also a successful collaboration between me and another director – Rebecca Pugh.  Working intimately with another person isn’t without it’s own unique challenges, but the rewards are two-fold when you get to share the success with a partner who has been along for the same journey.

Carrie Beth & Charles at his book signing for Fading Ads of Birmingham!

Fading Ads of Birmingham book signing!

Lily watching me paint.

A sneak peek at one of our finished pieces…

Here’s her review (interspersed with clips from THE SAVOY KING).  I can’t wait to see the film for myself!

Spirits haunt the Harvard Exit Theatre, some Seattleites say.  I do know that the spirit of Swing era drummer and band leader William Henry “Chick” Webb visited this 1925 building recently and played to a packed house.  While there for the Seattle International Film Festival (http://siff.net), I felt surrounded by his presence, his zest for life, and his passion for the music on which he left his mark, as I watched the world premiere of a film called “The Savoy King: Chick Webb and The Music That Changed America.”

The film’s writer, director and producer, Jeff Kaufman, described that music as “incredibly hot”during an interview on KUOW radio. “The music was made to light a fire inside of people and to charge a dance floor,” Kaufman remarked.  Chick Webb, as much as anyone, struck the match that lit that fire.  No wonder drummer Louie Bellson called him “the Louis Armstrong of drums.”

The film begins with the words “Giants come in all sizes.”  Chick Webb was indeed small.  He broke his back in a fall during childhood and never grew any taller, remaining under five feet. Compounding the crippling aftermath of his accident, he developed tuberculosis of the spine, which caused him to have a hunched back, limited use of his legs, and chronic pain.  Advised to take up drumming as a form of therapy, Webb found his life’s passion.  Then the world of Swing found him. Soon Louis Armstrong heard, and hired, the sensational young drummer, and they toured together with the musical HOT CHOCOLATES.

During a life that would last not much more than three decades, Webb came to be the father of modern jazz drumming.  He mentored Ella Fitzgerald.  He led the first black band to play in a number of white hotels, the first black band to host a national radio show.  He earned the title “King of the Savoy Ballroom” with his steady gig there leading the house band.

The story of this “King” and his ballroom go hand in hand and the film weaves the two together with a firm grip.  On opposing stages, bands battled in popular “cutting contests.” Webb’s band beat, among many others, those of Count Basie and Benny Goodman, defeated only by Duke Ellington.  And it was here that drummer Gene Krupa bowed to the “King” and told him, “I was never cut by a better man.”

The Savoy Ballroom, the first integrated music venue in America, opened in Harlem in 1926.  Reputed to be the world’s best, it attracted crowds of 5,000 to 6,000 dancers.  Kaufman recreates that scene through vintage film footage, computer wizardry, and quotes.  A Jewish man, Moe Gale, owned it and a black man, Charles Buchanan, ran it. Kaufman said, “It was sort of the Rosa Parks bus of music of the 1930s, and you can’t underestimate the impact that had.”  His amazement over how the Savoy brought people together helped drive the project.

Because so little footage of Webb exists, “The Savoy King” tells its story mostly through countless photos, filmed interviews, and old clips backed with narration, sometimes in the form of voice-overs by several of today’s celebrities reading quotes from Webb’s contemporaries.  Janet Jackson speaks the words of Ella Fitzgerald, Ron Perlman reads Gene Krupa, and Bill Cosby gives voice to Webb himself.  Kaufman included filmed interviews with several people who knew Webb personally, such as Louie Bellson, Lindy Hop dancers Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, playwright and actress Gertrude Jeanette, and others.  Fitzgerald’s son, Ray Brown Jr., shares his mother’s memories of Webb.

Kaufman devoted months, sometimes years, to finding and connecting with his interviewees and he has my gratitude. Priceless film footage of Gale’s son, Dr. Richard Gale, recalling stories and describing the intensity of his father’s grief over Webb’s death, underscores one of the major points of this film, that whatever degree of racial equality we now have in America was hard won, and music played a part.  The blunt portrayal of racial prejudice, through eyewitness accounts, could shock even those who consider themselves aware.  But that prejudice ended at the edge of the dance floor, where all that mattered was the feeling of swing.

“The Savoy King” should go down on record as one of the most important films shown at the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival because of its significance to not only music history, but American history.  It goes far beyond documenting the life of one musician—no matter how influential he was.  The film offers lessons and inspiration.  It shows how America has changed, how a person can overcome incredible hurdles to reach their dreams, how one person can make a difference.

In his radio interview, Kaufman described Chick Webb as “the first drummer to drum with emotion.”  Webb died 73 years ago, on June 16, 1939, but that emotion lives on.  I heard it in the music and in the voices of those who knew him, and I felt it when the film’s audience gave a standing ovation.  I hope the presence of Chick Webb’s spirit added to the vibe at the Harvard Exit.  Maybe late at night, when the lights go out, the ghosts dance the jitterbug.  And I hope that vibrant energy will reverberate in my own soul forever.

The film’s website can be found here.

May your happiness increase.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

went to Nuneaton abt. Mrs Horners’s Business and Mr Chas. Buchanan to Hartshill and Ansley to look over Wm Topps Houses and Give them notice not to pay any more Rent to Mr Topp

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Paid Mr R Stratton Taxes

my Tax 4 ~ 10 ~ 1½

Supplementary d. 3 ~ 5 ~ 0

£ s d

Mr Hake 2 ~ 17 ~ 6

Di. Land Tax 11 ~ 11

Di. Supplementary 2 ~ 10 ~ 6 } 5 ~ 19 ~ 11

Mr Craddocks 5 ~ 8

Tompson Proprietor 1 ~ 6½

Paid R:S £ 14 ~ 2 ~ 3

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 went to Mr Hakes Farm

I used to want to desperately move away from Birmingham… I felt like my opportunities and passion would surface in a city like New York or LA.  But surprisingly enough, I have found that all of my dreams are possible… HERE.  I have grown to love Birmingham.

In Birmingham, I have found a job that I love.  In Birmingham, I have found friends that are like soul mates.  In Birmingham, I can make the feature film that I know I will be very proud of.   In Birmingham, I can be with my family.  In Birmingham, my dreams will come true.  In Birmingham, I will discover the new, healthy, sexy, awesome ME.

I would like to thank Wade Kwon for the great blog advice given to me last night. You truly are a diamond in the rough, and I am grateful to call you my friend. 

Now… off to run in the windy weather!  Should be a nice time to think about the week ahead and all of the opportunities in store.

Special thanks to my uber-talented printmaker friend- Charles Buchanan, whose artwork I stole for my post today.    You can find his pieces for sale in Naked Art, as well as other local establishments.

Print by my friend Charles Buchanan - http://www.cbuchanan.net/