Directing
This warm 90 minutes documentary shows us unknown blues musicians from Mississippi. They play everywhere : on the streets, in dirty little bars, in a barber shop, in big clubs. The film really captures the true faces of blues and shows us that this music had nothing to do with nostalgia or record company hypes. Documentary on the Delta blues.
Poet, musician and activist Gil Scott-Heron reflects on race, politics, creativity and the Black experience through candid interviews and electrifying live performances. Blending spoken word, jazz, funk and soul, the film captures an artist whose voice remains as urgent as ever.
Robert Mugge filmed jazz great Sun Ra on location in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. between 1978 and 1980. The resulting 60-minute film includes multiple public and private performances, poetry readings, a band rehearsal, interviews, and extensive improvisations. Transferred to HD from the original 16mm film and lovingly restored for the best possible viewing experience.
This is the 1983 edition of Jamaica’s annual Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay, a week-long showcase for some of the greatest names in reggae, ska, funk and dub poetry.
Tenor saxophone master Sonny Rollins has long been hailed as one of the most important artists in jazz history, and still, today, he is viewed as the greatest living jazz improviser. In 1986, filmmaker Robert Mugge produced Saxophone Colossus, a feature-length portrait of Rollins, named after one of his most celebrated albums.
A documentary featuring live performance footage and interviews with eight contemporary female blues' artists including Mavis Staples, Denise LaSalle, Irma Thomas, Odetta, Deborah Coleman, Bettye LaVette, Ann Peebles and Renee Austin.
Attempting to name a new "king of zydeco" in the mid 1990s, The Kingdom of Zydeco looks at the Black Creole music scene of Southwest Louisiana.
Robert Mugge's 1986 film provides a full-blooded portrait of the Latino singer, actor, bandleader, and composer. Blades' Panama homeland, his Harvard Master's degree, and a New York performance with his band Seis de Solar all serve as stops on this biographical journey.
Documentary about Gil Scott-Heron.
A tribute to the influence of Delta Blues legend Robert Johnson and the effect that he has had on today's music. Chronicles the legacy of Robert Johnson through interviews and speeches by a number of musicologists and through the performances of Robert Johnson's work by a number of fairly popular contemporary artists. Featuring performances by Rob Wasserman and Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead; Keb' Mo; Robert Lockwood Jr.; G Love and Special Sauce; Gov't Mule; and more.
An 85-minute film on Hawaiian music. Transferred to HD from the original 16mm film and lovingly restored.
Begun as the official chronicle of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bus tour through New Orleans and southwestern Louisiana, it turns into a more informal, out-of-the-way journey to blues and zydeco clubs, gospel churches and radio stations, and musical family gatherings in backwater bayous.
The region of Bucovina is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and adjoining plains. The name came into official use in 1775 when the region was annexed from the Principality of Moldavia by the Habsburg Monarchy and then controlled by the Austrian Empire and later Austria-Hungary. But over the centuries, the region has also been subjugated by the Romans, Goths, Turks, Nazis, Russians, and others, and now is split between Northern Romania and Southern Ukraine. 'Souvenirs of Bucovina' is divided into two 80-minute acts which explore the history of the region, its enduring culture, the oppression of gypsies, the slaughtering of Jews in World War II, decades of Communist rule, and life since the democratic revolution of 1989.
Director Robert Mugge explores the rich musical history of Rounder Records.
The story of R&B singer Al Green, who gave up a successful singing career to become a gospel minister.
The meteoric rise of Frank L. Rizzo from cop on the beat, to law and order police commissioner, to controversial mayor.
An intimate musical portrait of the New Orleans roots rock band working on their 1996 album "Super Ball,” and discussing the songs’ meanings.
A film about the art of the hula explores Hawaiian dance traditions going back to 500AD when Polynesians first arrived in the islands. Those traditions have been passed along from generation to generation by kahuna (priests and sages) and kumu hula (master teachers). In this film, shot at exotic locations throughout the islands, Vicky Holt Takamine and other respected kumu hula reveal ancient traditions that have survived, flourished, and (where appropriate) evolved in spite of attempts by Nineteenth Century missionaries, plantation owners and US Marines to repress Hawai'i's indigenous culture. Together, these two films present Hawaiian art and life as few outsiders have seen it: rich, expressive, colorful and utterly unique. In 2015, both films were transferred to HD video from their original 16mm and stereo audio masters and lovingly restored.
Portrait of the January 2007 legendary rhythm & blues cruise to the Caribbean.
No description available.