Cincinnati World Cinema :: That Old Black Magic

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Essential Event Info
W H A T :

THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC
a film, discussion and live performance event.

Canada, 2003, kinoscope to DVD transfer, in color and black-and-white, running time approx. 1 hour.

Genre: Documentary - music, history, American culture.

Discussion after each screening led by Bruce Menefield and Tim Swallow.

The film is NR (not rated) but suitable for all audiences.

W H E N :

Sunday, Feb 22, 3 pm

Tuesday, Feb 24, 7 pm

Wednesday, Feb 25, 7 pm

Doors open 30 minutes before screening time.

W H E R E :

The Redmoor,
3187 Linwood Avenue., Mt. Lookout Square

FREE PARKING on the two upper levels behind the CVS drugstore next door to the Redmoor. Click for Parking Map.

T I C K E T S :

Tickets for Sunday, Feb 22 are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Tickets for Tuesday, Feb 24 and Wednesday, Feb 25 are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

No discount tickets are available for this event.

ADVANCE TICKETS:

ON-LINE

tollfree 1-877-548-3237

and at these locations ...
(click each location below for a map):

Clifton-Ludlow Ave. -
Sitwell's Coffee House
513 281 7487

Mt. Lookout Square -
Lookout Joe Coffee Roasters
513 871 8626

Northside-Hamilton Ave -
Shake It Music & Video
513 591 0123

Downtown Cincinnati -
Coffee Emporium
513 651 5483

Post-Screening Update -
More Links & Resources:

In this 1957 CBC Radio interview, Duke Ellington discusses composing, Shakespeare, and his jazz suite Such Sweet Thunder.

A fascinating 1966 CBC television interview with Sammy Davis, Jr. (Skip to time point 2:30 for Sammy's segment.)

In a 1968 CBC Television interview, Sammy Davis, Jr. talks about interracial marriage, the war in Vietnam, entertaining the troops and questions two US draft dodgers living in Canada.

Bruce Menefield's website, menefieldmusic.com. Visit for info about Cincinnati Jazz musicians and for Bruce's performance schedule.

Television & Jazz,

1957 Sound of Jazz is the high water mark of jazz on U.S. television.

Washington, DC - U Street Jazz at GWU - historic venues, performers, Jazz in the Whitehouse, 1961-1992.

Canadian Broadcasting Company website & archives, et. al.: Sources.

Local coverage of "That Old Black Magic."

"When they study our civilization two thousand years from now, there will only be three things that Americans will be known for: the Constitution, baseball and jazz music. They're the three most beautiful things Americans have ever created."
~ Eassayist Gerald Early

      >>> WVXU's Robyn Carey talks with Alpha Kappa Alpha's Pam Williams and CWC's Tim Swallow, on Around Cincinnati.
      >>> George Zahn talks with musician Bruce Menefield and CWC director Tim Swallow about "That Old Black Magic" on WMKV.
      >>> "A joy to behold ... one dazzling performance after another ... a rare opportunity to step back into unseen history ... it doesn't get much better than this." ~ Larry Thomas film review on Cincinnati Edition.
      >>> Steve Rosen reviews the film in City Beat.
      >>> "That Old Black Magic," Bruce Menefield and Eddie Brookshire covered in the Community Press.

About the Event
The big-screen premiere of "THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC" — a first for the region and most likely the U.S. — celebrates America's jazz heritage and brings an important piece of history to Cincinnati.

An accidental discovery – cans of film found behind a brick wall – ultimately led the Canadian Broadcasting Company to the creation of this entertaining and historically significant documentary. Restored by CBC archivists for the Canadian network's 50th anniversary celebration and shown in Canada, but not screened or aired in the U.S., "THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC" takes us back to 1955 - 1961, featuring performances by ten of the greatest American performers of all time. By way of introduction, the documentary starts with a narrative - from a Canadian viewpoint - of the circumstances in the U.S. that led African American artists to perform in Canada. Read more...

Those who remember "back in the day" will feel the years melt away as we revisit timeless classics, and younger audience members will marvel at the vocal stylings of artists performing works that shine as brightly now as when they were new. The playlist includes Beginning to See the Light, Lady Be Good, Lover Come Back, Gypsy in My soul, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, September Song, Imagination and many more.

LIVE MUSIC ... Highly regarded jazz saxophonist Bruce Menefield will share historical perspective with the audience after each screening and then lead his ensemble in set of period songs in tribute to the featured artists in the film. The Sunday matinee will include guest vocalist Brenda Flowers and bass player Eddie Brookshire; the Tuesday and Wednesday evening events will feature performances by Menefield on sax and pianst Erwin Stuckey. Read more...

AND MORE ... In addition to the film, discussion and live entertainment, the Sunday audience will enjoy a post-film reception and hors d'oeuvre buffet, with cash bar. Tuesday and Wednesday patrons will groove to the film, discussion and live music, with a cash bar offering your favorite beverages plus cookies and coffee.

MAX VALUE & ENJOYMENT ... We all know what it costs to go to a movie, attend a club with high quality live entertainment and attend a benefit event with catered food. And with the economy the way it is, we're sure you'll agree that unique and historically significant entertainment at a righteous price equals a terrific value: Tickets for the Sunday matinee are $20 in advance, $25 at the door; tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. So roll back the years and join us for a few hours for "THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC," an unforgettable musical interlude with some truly exceptional artists!

ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE ... Cincinnati World Cinema and the Phi Psi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority are collaborating on this multi-faceted event benefitting the PPO scholarship fund, with jazz sponsorship by WMKV 89.3 FM and support from Cincinnati City Beat Magazine and WVXU 91.7 FM. Read more...

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Post-Film: Discussion & Live Performance After the documentary, Cincinnati jazz saxophonist Bruce Menefield will share historical perspective with the audience and then lead an ensemble in a set of period songs in tribute to the featured artists in the film. Performance Lineup Sunday, February 22: Bruce Menefield, sax ... Brenda Flowers, vocals ... Eddie Brookshire, bass Tuesday, February 24 & Wednesday, February 25: Bruce Menefield, sax ... Erwin Stuckey, keyboards Bruce Menefield Bruce Menefield's unique style encompasses a variety of musical genres, including jazz, gospel, blues, R&B and world music. His career is marked by his ability to mix talented musicians into exciting ensembles. The groups he has developed are known to keep a "hard groove" and to deliver a strong musical message of hope. He has performed among some of the best in jazz such as Billy Harper, Clark Terry, Bennie Maupin, Peanuts Whalum, Ronnie Laws and John Blake. Bruce is best known for his big bluesy sound, but he has morphed into a highly spirited improviser, able to create new music on the spot and in the height of the moment. His understanding of complex jazz chords, harmony and rhythmic textures has a breadth and depth all its own. With his incredibly powerful, nimble fingers coupled with his skillful touch, he stretches the creative boundaries of his instrument. menefieldmusic.com Brenda Flowers Brenda Flowers is the featured vocalist and trombonist for the Eddie Brookshire Orchestra, and frequently leads her own group. She has toured with the Satin Dolls, on vocals and playing fender bass; and has been a featured vocalist with Slide Hampton, Johnny Lytle and Mike Allen. With a Masters in Music Education, Brenda has conducted many clinics for the University of Dayton and also Michigan State University, and currently is a teacher in the Dayton (Ohio) public school system. Other passions include composing and performance with gospel groups and appearances at jazz festivals around the country. Eddie Brookshire With a musical family heritage (father, delta blues guitar; mother, gospel choir) Eddie Brookshire started with piano and clarinet lessons in Dayton Ohio, then progressed to electric bass. After completing his military service in the mid-sixties, he toured with the Coasters and backed the Drifters, working out of Los Angeles. Returning to Dayton in the early eighties, he attended Central State University where he helped form a big band for the jazz studies department. After receiving his Bachelor of Music from Central State, he pursued graduate studies in World Music at Northern Illinois University. During and after his studies Eddie toured with Johnny Lytle and worked with Cal Collins, Elvin Jones, Benny Maupin, Roy Ayers, Wilbert Longmire and many more. In addition to a busy performance schedule with his quintet and the Eddie Brookshire Big Band, currently Eddie teaches at the University of Dayton (bass, jazz combo) and Sinclair Community College (bass, improvisation, jazz combo). Erwin Stuckey Jazz piano maestro Erwin Stuckey is a native Cincinnatian committed to nurturing the talents of young people in the tri-state area. Upon graduating from Western Hills High School in Cincinnati, he received the Kaiser Scholarship Award for classical percussion studies at the College Conservatory of Music. He earned his BME in percussion and Music Education from the Conservatory and also became the first African American student in the history of CCM to earn a Masters Degree in jazz piano performance. His continuing education includes decades of personal research into aural and written transcriptions of black music, ranging from spirituals, jazz, blues, gospel, funk, rap, Afro-Brazilian samba, and Afro-Cuban salsa. Currently, he teaches students at NKU in classical piano, jazz piano, advanced jazz chamber ensemble, and African American Music Studies. Erwin feels truly blessed to be able to share his knowledge and experience with so many musicians. Before joining the NKU faculty, he taught jazz piano, jazz percussion, jazz history and improvisation at the College Conservatory of Music, Xavier University, Central State University, and the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake Michigan. Also, one of his most inspirational teaching experiences was at Bloom Middle School in Cincinnati Public Schools. Erwin has performed extensively in the United States and South America, handling a multitude of genres ranging from traditional jazz, Afro Cuban, to contemporary gospel. When not performing or teaching at NKU, he is busy as Music Minister of the Solid Rock Baptist Fellowship of Cincinnati. PHOTO CREDITS: Bruce Menefield, Eddie Brookshire - Melvin Grier; Brenda Flowers - Eddie Brookshire/Brenda Flowers; Erwin Stuckey - NKU website.		About the Film & the CBC Archives The following information is courtesy of, and comes predominently from, the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) Digital Archives. It is the story of a monumental effort to restore and preserve the CBC's vast radio and TV heritage before many treasures were lost forever. Cincinnati World Cinema is very grateful to the CBC for the opportunity to share That Old Black Magic in conjunction with live jazz performance and discussion of the period and the art form. Background - The CBC Archives From the Digital Archives website: It makes the most sense to think of CBC Archives as one big library. But if you go looking, don't expect to find it all in one place. The CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto is a massive building - 10 stories high and another four stories below ground. It stretches across a city block and has a footprint the size of three football fields. Within that, there are at least a dozen different archive vaults, libraries and staff offices on a half-dozen floors. CBC's Toronto headquarters, which opened in 1994, is the English-language archives' main hub. Here, the vast holdings are divided among video archives, film archives, radio archives, paper records and photographs. You'll need a map to find them all. Visitors should also bring a sweater - the video, film and radio vaults in the basement are specially climate-controlled, to keep their treasures in the best possible condition. And that's just the network's national English-language holdings. The Société Radio-Canada's French-language archives consist of four vaults in the basement of Radio-Canada headquarters in Montreal. CBC also has archives in offices across the country, where most local and regional programming are stored. For good measure, more CBC material is stored in several provincial archives and at the National Archives in Ottawa. Launched in 1998, The CBC Archives Project recognized that despite the efforts of some CBC archivists and librarians, age and neglect were having a devastating effect on national broadcasting heritage. Specifically, project advocates warned that "Canada's audio-visual legacy is fading away - taking essential traces of our culture and society with it." The first phase, funded entirely by CBC, concluded in March 2002. As a result of this work, hundreds of thousands of hours of radio and television history - at both the CBC and Radio-Canada - have been restored, preserved and catalogued for safe-keeping and to make available this historical and cultural legacy to the people of Canada. The Kinescope In the days before the use of videotape, the only way to capture a TV program for archive or later retransmission was via kinescope. The kinescope recorder was a huge camera used in the pre-videotape era to record television shows to film (usually 16mm, but sometimes 35mm). It was placed directly in front of a television set broadcasting the live show and filmed what was on the screen. The films themselves are called "kinescopes" or "kines." Later, in the early sixties, kinescopes were replaced by the two-inch video recorder. As big as a refrigerator and just as noisy, this machine was used to record two-inch videotapes. Later still, came the advent of one-inch and three-quarter-inch video tape as broadcast standards. That Old Black Magic The compilation of rarely seen footage we experience in THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC is the serendipitous result of curiosity and detective work on the part of a preservationist at the Canadian Broadcasting Company. The most exhilarating aspect of archival work is the unexpected and accidental discoveries. Reviewing and replaying so much old material in the course of restoring, copying and cataloguing, CBC archives staff have turned up many treasures that no one knew existed. For really improbable finds, few can match one made by Laurie Nemetz, who oversees the TV Program Information department and much of the ongoing preservation work. "I got a call from someone who used to work here," Nemetz recalls. "When they were remodeling their house they knocked down a brick wall and behind the brick wall they found 18 cans of old kines from the Jackie Ray Show." The program in question was a late- '50s to early '60s musical variety series, produced by Norman Sedawie. Nemetz decided to probe further by looking in the National Archives of Canada. There, filed under Sedawie's name, were more kines. When Nemetz started to review them, she was amazed to find herself looking at stunning performances by many young black American singers and musicians who got their start on TV in Canada - due in large part to segregationist policies and laws in the US. "I was looking for Jackie Ray, then I found these," says Nemetz. Among the featured performers: Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Nat King Cole. Before moving to American television, Sedawie produced and/or directed several series for the CBC during the years 1954-1964. Series titles included Parade, Music Makers, Summertime and The Jackie Ray Show. "Even though they were CBC material and copyrighted, they were filed under Sedawie's name, we had no notion they were there," says Nemetz. The Sedawie archive included 79 half-hour film reels -- 39 individual shows. Having found them, she wasn't about to let them go unnoticed for long. Within a short time, a one-hour TV special had been put together using this old footage. "Buried Treasures: Black American Performers on the CBC" aired on CBC TV in March 2002 as part of the network's 50th Anniversary Celebration of TV in Canada. Then, in early 2003, the one-hour special was released in Canada on DVD, as "Buried Treasures: That Old Black Magic." SOURCES: The CBC Digital Archives, Archives Virtual Tour. ArchivesCanada.ca, Canadian National Archives, Ottawa. The University of British Columbia, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Archives: An Analysis of the Canadian Archival Program. The Canadian Government Website, Culture, Heritage and Recreation. Dayton (OH) Metro Library, Showbiz Goes to War, Norman Sedawie.

About Phi Psi Omega & Alpha Kappa Alpha Each year Phi Psi Omega Chapter provides scholarships to college bound students in the Cincinnati metropolitan area and designates a community organization to support through philanthropy. Over the past seven years, Phi Psi Omega has contributed $50,000 in scholarships to local high school students and $55,000 to local community organizations. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is one of the world's leading service organizations and is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American college-trained women, in 1908, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. Phi Psi Omega is an alumnae chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, chartered in 2002 to serve Forest Park and the surrounding communities. Phi Psi Omega serves all mankind through volunteerism, service projects and philanthropy. Robin Frazier, President, and Wiona Berry, Vice President, serve as officers of Phi Psi Omega Chapter.