BAYOU MAHARAJA

Bayou Maharaja the life and music of New Orleans piano legend James Booker.

Description:

"Three and a half minutes into his rendition the live recording of his microcosmically titled composition, "Life," James Booker throws an astonishing run across the piano keys that tells us, in a handful of musical measures, how unfathomable and incalculable his talent was. He knows it, too, letting out the smallest, self-satisfied utterance -- "Hah" -- at the solo's end. Do not, he seems to be warn his audience, try that if you are not Booker. And no one else ever or hence will be Booker.

Lily Keber's insightful documentary into the life of this great New Orleans pianist and one of the world's finest musicians is in real respects a similar high-wire act. It celebrates the astonishing genius and virtuosity of the man, but also reflects on a short life of pain, isolation and disconnection that was also Booker's to endure. Nothing is overstated or made lurid here, nor is this beautiful filmic reflection of a deeply talented and troubled man a romanticized account. Instead, to the extent possible with such an enigmatic artist, the great James Booker is instead found, studied and deeply respected in a careful, wonderful film." -David Simon

A brilliant pianist, his eccentricities and showmanship belied a life of struggle, prejudice, and isolation. A wild genius with a style that combined elements of rhythm-and-blues, jazz, ragtime and classical music, he gained the nicknames "Piano Prince of New Orleans", "Black Liberace" and "Bayou Maharajah". Illustrated with never-before-seen concert footage, rare personal photos and exclusive interviews, the film paints a portrait of this overlooked genius.

TAKE ME TO FENDIKA

Q & A with director Cisco Bradley after the screening.

$5 suggested donation to cover refreshments and consideration for visiting director.

Description

Take Me to Fendika illuminates the traditional and innovative musical culture of Ethiopia at what has been called “the best venue in Africa” through its founder, world-renowned dancer, Melaku Belay.

Fendika Cultural Center is a dynamic art space that draws artists from across Africa and the world to present music, dance, poetry, and visual art. This film tells the story of how this vital space came into being and how it continues to serve as a place for artists to invent and reinvent Ethiopian modernity and place it in dialogue with global culture.

Come print your own Stonykill Coffee Club Card in the shop with the Prixel printing press system!

Prixel inventor and all-around amazing human, Brandon Gamm, will be in the shop with his Prixel kits leading people in printing Coffee Club Cards, Holiday prints, or whatever you can come up with.

With the Prixel-printed Stonykill Coffee Club Card you get a free drip coffee, americano, or hot tea after purchasing 10 drinks. Cards only available to people who attend the workshop and print their own!

Prixel is an innovative modular printing system designed right here in Columbia County. Great for kids, adults, and all beings seeking a creative and fun outlet for their printing dreams!

THIS IS NATIONAL WAKE

Rebellious multiracial punk from apartheid-era South Africa.

Q+A with director Mirissa Neff after the showing.

$5 suggested donation to cover refreshments and consideration to visiting director.

Description:

Rebellious multiracial punk from apartheid-era South Africa.

This is National Wake traces the wild rise and tragic fall of a multiracial South African punk band, dubbed “the band that defied apartheid,” whose members risked everything to taste freedom. This debut feature, steeped in previously unseen footage of a 1970s anti-racist counterculture that few know existed, reveals a band whose music and memories comprise a profound meditation on how history is lived through art and in our minds.

In 1979, South Africa’s fascist regime kept blacks and whites separate and unequal. But three young men — Ivan Kadey, a white guitarist from Johannesburg’s Jewish side, and Gary and Punka Khoza, black sibling musicians from Soweto — dared to launch National Wake. In a time and place where it was illegal for them to play or live together, their band and its fans fought back with music, smashing every law to rebel — and were filmed, with remarkable foresight and nerve by photographer Robin Muir and This is National Wake’s Co-Producer Nadine Kadey, in astonishing Super 8.

Forty years after National Wake was shut down by South Africa’s racist regime, veteran New York music journalist Mirissa Neff embarked on telling their story. Relying on the band’s brilliant archival footage, and audio-only interviews, Neff eschews “talking heads” to expertly weave her subjects’ voices into a grainy Super 8 tapestry. The result is a dreamlike immersion into a utopian journey, whose lasting lessons about imagining an anti-racist world resound as loudly today as this historic band’s rollicking sound.

This is National Wake is a Near Odessa Production in association with XTR, with support from ITVS.

Listen live on www.em-radio.com

Listen live on www.em-radio.com