Ben Makinen
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Ben Makinen
Ben Makinen is an American filmmaker, music producer, composer, and drummer best known for the award-winning films ''JazzTown'' (2021) and ''Who Killed Jazz'' (2022). Biography Ben Makinen was born in Maine and grew up in California, Washington, Oklahoma, and Colorado."Ben Makinen". ''Art Unknown Podcast''. Episode 34. September 17, 2019, retrieved 5 May 2024Link/ref> Living in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1982, he was cast as an extra in Francis Ford Coppola’s movie ''The Outsiders''. Makinen's family moved to Aurora, Colorado the following year where he attended high school. Makinen attended the University of Miami in 1986 as a drum set major. Makinen attended the University of Colorado at Denver in 1987 and soon dropped out of school to begin playing drums regularly with pianist Billy Wallace at the Denver jazz club El Chapultepec. Throughout the late 1980s and early 90s Makinen performed and recorded with other up-and-coming jazz musicians including Javon Jackson, Brad Leali, Pat ...
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JazzTown
''JazzTown'' is a 2021 American documentary film by director and musician Ben Makinen. Through spontaneous conversations and performances, the film highlights the jazz scene of Denver, Colorado and considers jazz as a dynamic art form. Synopsis ''JazzTown'' features interviews with over 50 Colorado jazz musicians, including Freddy Rodriguez Sr., Charles Burrell, Dianne Reeves, and Ron Miles. U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, a fan of the genre, also appears in the film.Solomon, Jon (14 February 2020), "Ben Makinen on ''JazzTown'', a Documentary About Denver Jazz", ''Westword'': retrieved 5 May 2024Link/ref> Conversations span a wide variety of topics, including the history of jazz in Denver and the role of mentorship in jazz communities. Makinen’s informal approach to interviewing was inspired by Art Taylor’s book ''Notes and Tones: Musician-to-Musician Interviews''. Production Ben Makinen, who attended high school in Colorado, produced ''JazzTown'' over the course of twelve ...
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Who Killed Jazz
''Who Killed Jazz'' is a 2021 documentary short film by director and musician Ben Makinen. Summary The film delves into the systemic challenges faced by jazz musicians, exploring the dynamics between artists, club owners, and music distributors. Production With a runtime of 22 minutes, ''Who Killed Jazz'' utilizes unused footage from Makinen's 2021 feature-length documentary ''JazzTown''. In May 2021, Makinen sold his home in Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ... to help finance the film's completion while living in Bali, Indonesia. His video files were damaged during heavy rains, but he was able to recover them. Accolades * Best Editing: Short Film, October 2021 Onkyo Film Awards * Gold Award: Short Documentary, October 2021 Hollywood Gold Awards * Bes ...
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The Outsiders (film)
''The Outsiders'' is a 1983 American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton and was released on March 25, 1983, in the United States. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, and her students were responsible for inspiring Coppola to make the film. The film is notable for its then up-and-coming cast members, including C. Thomas Howell (who garnered a Young Artist Award), Rob Lowe in his feature film debut, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, and Diane Lane. It would also spark the Brat Pack genre of the 1980s, while Dillon himself starred in two more films based on Hinton novels: ''Tex'' (1982), with Estevez, and Coppola's ''Rumble Fish'' (1983), with Lane. Estevez also wrote and starred in the Hinton adaptation '' That Was Then... This Is Now'' (1985). The film received mostly positive re ...
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Aurora, Colorado
Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, counties, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 386,261 at the 2020 United States census with 336,035 residing in Arapahoe County, 47,720 residing in Adams County, and 2,506 residing in Douglas County. Aurora is the List of municipalities in Colorado, third-most-populous city in the State of Colorado and the List of United States cities by population, 51st-most-populous city in the United States. Aurora is a principal city of the Denver–Aurora–Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area, and a major city of the Front Range Urban Corridor. History Before European settlement, the land that now makes up Aurora was the territory of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (U ...
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Javon Jackson
Javon Anthony Jackson (born June 16, 1965) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and educator. He first became known as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1987 until Blakey's death in 1990. and went on to release 22 recordings as a bandleader and tour and record on over 150 CDs with jazz greats including Elvin Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Charlie Haden, Betty Carter, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Stanley Turrentine and Ben E. King. In his solo career, his music has been a mix of tradition and neo-jazz, mixing hard bop with soul and funk influences. Recognized for those diverse styles, he was tapped by producers Lea Reis, Bryant "Moe Doe" Johnson to play on Tupac Shakur's ''Keep Ya Head Up / Madukey Remix'' in 1993. In 1992, Javon played saxophonist Illinois Jacquet in Spike Lee's ''Malcolm X''. He is featured in the film playing the Lionel Hampton/Benny Goodman standard, "Flying Home". He became chair of the University of Hartford's Jackie ...
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Pat Bianchi
Pat Bianchi is an American jazz organist from New York, known for playing the Hammond B-3 organ.Gilbert, Andrew (2018)B-3 organ star Pat Bianchi heads to SF Bay Area for 2 shows, mercurynews.com, August 1, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2020 Career A modern ambassador of the mighty Hammond B3, organist Pat Bianchi demonstrates a deep knowledge of jazz-organ history yet draws from a wide range of other musical influences. The result is a unique and creative voice that acknowledges the tradition while looking beyond at the same moment. To date Bianchi has 9 CD releases as a leader, extensive tours throughout the United States and Europe, appearances at numerous jazz festivals and most recently opening for Steely Dan for 3 consecutive east coast tours. In addition to being a prolific bandleader Bianchi has appeared as a guest on over 30 recordings. The award winning organist has also enjoyed tenured membership in the bands of some of the most highly revered artists in jazz including; ...
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Greg Gisbert
Gregory Lyle Gisbert (born February 2, 1966, in Mobile, Alabama) is an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist.Gary W. Kennedy, ''"Greg Gisbert''. '' Grove Jazz'' online Early years and school Gisbert played drums with his father as a child. He moved with his family to Denver in 1971. Whilst in the fourth grade at Walt Whitman Elementary, his drumming could be heard throughout the school grounds during recess which he sometimes skipped to practice in the hall. Later he picked up the Flugelhorn. During high school in Colorado Gisbert auditioned for and played with the 1983/84 McDonald's All-American High School Jazz Band; he toured and recorded with the group. Coast to Coast LP, McDonald's MDC 91884, 1984 After high school he attended the Berklee College of Music in 1984-85, where he recorded with Cyrus Chestnut as part of Phil Wilson's Rainbow Band. Professional work During his brief time in school at Berklee, Gisbert was offered to go on the road with Buddy Rich as a c ...
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The Recording Academy
National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely known for its Grammy Awards, which recognize achievements in the music industry of songs and music which are popular worldwide. The Recording Academy is a founding partner of the Grammy Museum, a non-profit organization whose stated mission is preserving and educating about music history and significance. The Recording Academy also founded MusiCares, a charity with the stated goal of impacting the health and welfare of the music community. The Recording Academy's advocacy team lobbies for music creators' rights at the local, state, and federal levels. History The origin of the academy dates back to the beginning of the 1950s Hollywood Walk of Fame project. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce asked the help of major recording industry executive ...
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Filmmakers From Colorado
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwriting, casting, pre-production, shooting, sound recording, post-production, and screening the finished product before an audience, which may result in a film release and exhibition. The process is nonlinear, in that the filmmaker typically shoots the script out of sequence, repeats shots as needed, and puts them together through editing later. Filmmaking occurs in a variety of economic, social, and political contexts around the world, and uses a variety of technologies and cinematic techniques to make theatrical films, episodic films for television and streaming platforms, music videos, and promotional and educational films. Although filmmaking originally involved the use of film, most film productions are now digital. Today, filmmaking refer ...
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American Record Producers
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label that was previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports tea ...
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