Review of a music documentary
A middle class boy born in Israel, Gilad Atzmon had been brought up to believe that the Jews were the supreme people, so he was baffled when he first heard Bird with Strings.
He was seventeen and had never heard Israelis play anything as beautiful as Charlie Parker.
Enthralled, he got into Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane, and started to learn the saxaphone. There is footage of a skinny teenager performing in an Israeli army band. As a soldier, he went into Lebanon and was shocked to see a concrete concentration camp containing thousands of Palestinians : “In this war, Palestinians were the Jews and I was the Nazis.”
Refusing to buy into the Zionist narrative, he married actress Tali in1987, and went into exile.
Jokingly, he says, “I knew she’d still be beautiful in 25 years time, so it was a good investment.” He’s not joking when he says, “Judaism doesn’t kill.” And he’s not joking when he says, “Israel spreads very successfully the fantasy of homecoming.”
It’s obviously not easy being married to a jazz musician, especially this one, but Tali says, “I slowly learned to see through his eyes things that I couldn’t see through mine.”
After working in the USA, Gilad struggled to understand the level of viciousness that country could produce, but he eventually realised that jazz was a profoundly anti-American art form.
The people at Contraimage have made an accomplished documentary that captures the two most fundamental qualities of its subject: Gilad is a tremendously soulful musician and also a phenomenal personality, a very engaging, charismatic character.
This 65-minute film has a lovely rhythm, a good sense of humour, and former Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt is especially eloquent as he explains why Gilad is an important artist.
Personally, I admire Gilad Atzmon’s volcanic spirit and courage as much as his artistry. When we had a chat before the screening, I said, ” I know Ian Dury’s bass player, he’s a massive Charlie Parker fan.”
Gilad’s face lit up.
“Norman ! I’ve just produced his new album.”
My friend Chris had phoned last night at 5pm with an invitation to a test screening at The Lexi, a little cinema where all the profits go to a South African village. We both love the film and feel it is a true portrait.
As Chris drove us home, he said, “That’s the Gilad I know.”