Trio of Documentaries Offer True Sparks

News, From the Magazine, Omar Sosa, Eddie Henderson

By Yoshi Kato I May. 21, 2024

Omar Sosa
(Photo: Courtesy Omar Sosa)
Director Fernando Trueba (left) and artist Javier Marical teamed up for They Shot The Piano Player.
(Photo: Elena Claverol)
Dr. Eddie Henderson
(Photo: Courtesy Smoke Sessionss)

Music documentaries can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, as confirmed by this trio of highly inspired — and inspiring — projects. Whether it’s the feature documentary Omar Sosa’s 88 Well-Tuned Drums, the animated docudrama They Shot the Piano Player or the documentary short Dr. Eddie Henderson: Uncommon Genius, the genre remains in very capable hands.

Omar Sosa’s 88 Well-Tuned Drums

The title Omar Sosa’s 88 Well-Tuned Drums (Soren Sorensen, 1:38) can have two different interpretations: It may indirectly reference the pianist’s own origins as a European classical percussion student at the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Música conservatory in his native Cuba. But it’s equally applicable to how he describes his playing style, with echoes of minimalism or R&B accents infusing his alternately propulsive and reflective jazz and Afro-Cuban explorations.

Sosa’s instantly identifiable piano and keyboard and bold compositional approaches have become hallmarks of his artistry since the mid-’80s, as have his visual identifiers — flowing outfits, distinct eyewear and facial hair. What’s lesser known is his backstory, including a stint in the military serving in Angola in 1986 during its deadly civil war, which is explored in this feature-length documentary.

Experts and collaborators ranging from fellow pianist Chucho Valdés and kora player Seckou Keita to journalist/DownBeat contributor Ted Panken and Jazz at Lincoln Center Vice President of Programming Jason Olaine offer their analysis and recollections of Sosa. The man himself is represented through extensive interview clips, and concert video, tour footage and animated segments that further illuminate his artistic development and personal beliefs.

Sosa’s story also reveals how a Gen X artist was able to expand his musical palate through hearing popular hits via FM radio from Miami and delving into other genres through just two physical recordings. (His later-in-life connection with a player from a group heard on one of those albums offers a poignant full-circle moment.)

As much a spiritual thinker as a gifted musician, Sosa’s thoughtfulness adds another level to his story. “I’m a lucky man. Even the trouble I have in my life, there are no really troubles. They are a process,” he said, when discussing a time in 1990 when he was unhoused in Havana, living on the street and crashing in a rehearsal studio and even a funeral home.

“Omar Sosa has been a person who has changed the trajectory of my career,” percussionist Gustavo Ovalles stated in the film. “Because it was the first time I was able to put to practice my knowledge in a broad way. Usually playing with a group, you are told, ‘I need this, I need this.’ This is the first time I have been with a musician who has said, ‘Play whatever you know how, whatever you feel like.’”

They Shot the Piano Player

While portions of 88 Well-Tuned Drums are animated, They Shot the Piano Player (Fernando Trueba & Javier Mariscal, 1:43) successfully goes all-in on the format. Co-director Trueba, who won the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award in 1993 for the live action Belle Epoque, has experience with both musical subjects (2000’s Calle 54) and animation (Chico & Rita, 2010).

He based They Shot the Piano Player on his own experience learning about Tenório Jr., the late Brazilian titular character who was disappeared at age 34 while touring Argentina with Vinicius de Moraes and Toquinho in 1976. Described early in the film as “one of the top figures of samba jazz during the bossa nova years,” Tenório Jr. is largely unknown outside of Brazilian circles.

Trueba interviewed musicians who had played with the mysterious-but-heralded pianist. His trek is taken in the film by Jeff Harris, a journalist voiced by Jeff Goldblum. A pianist himself, the famed actor is an inspired choice who infuses a sound of wonder into Harris’ discoveries.

The decision to present the uncovering of Tenório Jr.’s story through an animated format and a fictionalized narrative allows for They Shot the Piano Player to revisit Brazil in both the present and from the era of the ’50s through the ’70s as well as Argentina in the mid-’70s. The flashbacks allow the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Astor Piazzolla and Bill Evans to make welcome cameos.

Trueba re-teamed here with Spanish artist and designer Javier Mariscal, his Chico & Rito collaborator and the creator of Cobi, the mascot for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. To the untrained eye, Mariscal’s bright style is vaguely reminiscent of pop art icon Peter Max, but with a more subdued-yet-bright color palette and less exaggeration.

The number of sources with whom Harris/Trueba spoke is staggering, ranging from Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento to Bud Shank, Bebe Valdés and members of Tenório Jr.’s family and professional circle. There are also historical geopolitical lessons about South American coups and dictatorships from 1964 to 1978 amid the exploration of Tenório Jr.’s artistry. And by presenting it as a whodunnit, Trueba and Mariscal are able to give audiences additional intrigue along with ample historical enlightenment and music education.

Dr. Eddie Henderson: Uncommon Genius

Warm and engaging, Dr. Eddie Henderson is a natural born storyteller. An extended interview with the trumpeter and flugelhorn player is at the heart of Dr. Eddie Henderson: Uncommon Genius (Michelle Bauer Carpenter, 00:27) with family photos, talking heads and vintage and contemporary performance clips coloring in the details.

At under a half hour, it’s more of an EP-length documentary, but makes perfect use of each moment recounting the surprising life story of Henderson. Many are aware Henderson’s time a member of Herbie Hancock’s “Mwandishi” sextet in the ’70s or currently as co-founder of the all-star group The Cookers. Some may even know of his disco hits in England. What may not be as well known is the nature of his title — he’s a medical doctor who’s practiced psychiatry — and his remarkable family lineage. (Viewers learn that his father was a singer with the Charioteers, which had a regular gig on The Bing Crosby Show. His mother, in turn, was a dancer at the Cotton Club who can be seen in Fats Waller video shorts.)

Now in his mid-80s, Henderson reveals how an early encounter with Louis Armstrong at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem and hearing Miles Davis at the Blackhawk in San Francisco while he was a teenager both influenced his playing and changed the course of his career.

Uncommon Genius takes its audience through Henderson’s time as a young figure skater, a classical instrumentalist at San Francisco Conservatory and a medical student at Howard University. Insights are included from former and current bandmates such as pianist George Cables and drummers Billy Hart and Mike Clark.

Henderson shared stories that one imagines hearing hanging out with him in the green room or parking lot of a venue after a show. A particularly fascinating one is about how touring with Hancock’s band was like being a sports team playing on the road. Another was how he was able to put his medical degree to use in an emergency situation while on tour.

He frequently can’t believe the twists and turns of his own life as he tells his stories. And Uncommon Genius viewers won’t, either.

After taking in these three documentaries, viewers will likely want to seek out as many recordings featuring Sosa, Tenório Jr. and Henderson as possible. It’s one of the highest compliments that can be paid to a music documentary and, in all three cases, wholly deserved. DB