Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Southern California Fires Hit the Jazz Community
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
TC3, the Todd Cochran Trio: Michael Carvin (left), Todd Cochran and John Leftwich
(Photo: Courtesy of toddcochran.com)Pianist Todd Cochran wasn’t satisfied with simply making a video as an extension of his new recording with TC3, Then And Again, Here And Now. He decided to create a short film to capture a piece of his jazz life with trio mates bassist John Leftwich and drummer Michael Carvin.
“I crafted my short film Three Days Before to expand and elaborate on the musical concept of the album Then And Again, Here And Now,” Cochran said. “It is a high-concept film constructed to communicate the story visually, rather than tell it with conversation. The narrative unfolds with music and sound design in conjunction with mixed-media elements. The only voices/spoken words we hear are those of the three band members at the edge of the piece in lively conversation — heard but unseen — in the composited setting of the symbolic train arriving and TC3 in route to a concert performance site. The representation of migration, a central aspect of America’s story and inseparably tied to the evolution of jazz, is on display here, which subliminally establishes the first of a series of double allegories that occur throughout the film.”
For Cochran, music is everywhere and “largely too abundant to expect a wide range of listeners to discern and distinguish” without some help. That’s where the film comes in.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been conscious of the significance of jazz as a matchlessly sublime musical art form and its impact when the messaging is clear and understood,” he said. “My longtime friend [producer] Michael Cuscuna had seen my trio perform live and viewed several of my conceptual music-centered films, and over lunch one afternoon suggested that I give some thought to making a film about my trio. In the blink, he’d sprinkled an idea that soon after took root.”
He invites jazz fans to listen and watch for themselves with Three Days Before. DB
Gerald and John Clayton at the family home in Altadena during a photo shoot for the June 2022 cover of DownBeat. The house was lost during the Los Angeles fires.
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