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Tom Surgal

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In today’s episode, Film Forum presents a lively Q&amp;A from the opening night of FIRE MUSIC, an engrossing chronicle of the free jazz movement. Joining us for the Q&amp;A were FIRE MUSIC director Tom Surgal, executive producer Thurston Moore--best known as founder of the iconic band Sonic Youth--and legendary jazz drummer Warren Smith, who has played with a wide array of artists, including Sam Rivers, Charles Mingus, Janis Joplin, Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin, and Nat King Cole. In addition to his work in feature films, Tom Surgal is a celebrated music video director, jazz curator, and musician in his own right, serving as co-leader of the improvisational band White Out. Photo by Nivia Hernandez

<p>In today’s episode, Film Forum presents a lively Q&amp;A from the opening night of FIRE MUSIC, an engrossing chronicle of the free jazz movement. Joining us for the Q&amp;A were FIRE MUSIC director Tom Surgal, executive producer Thurston Moore--best known as founder of the iconic band Sonic Youth--and legendary jazz drummer Warren Smith, who has played with a wide array of artists, including Sam Rivers, Charles Mingus, Janis Joplin, Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin, and Nat King Cole. In addition to his work in feature films, Tom Surgal is a celebrated music video director, jazz curator, and musician in his own right, serving as co-leader of the improvisational band White Out. Photo by Nivia Hernandez</p>

FIRE MUSIC – Tom Surgal, Thurston Moore, Warren Smith

Although the free jazz movement of the 1960s and ‘70s was much maligned in some jazz circles, its pioneers – brilliant talents like Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, and John Coltrane – are today acknowledged as central to the evolution of jazz as America’s most innovative art form. FIRE MUSIC showcases the architects of a movement whose radical brand of improvisation pushed harmonic and rhythmic boundaries, and produced landmark albums like Coleman’s Free Jazz: A Collective Inspiration and Coltrane’s Ascension. A rich trove of archival footage conjures the 1960s jazz scene along with incisive reflections by critic Gary Giddins and a number of the movement’s key players. FIRE MUSIC tells the exciting history behind the free jazz movement. This incredible music documentary focuses on a new form of jazz that began in the late 1950s. This new jazz was separate from the happy sounding commercial jazz music that made jazz a well known music genre all over the world. This free jazz was angrier and more emotional because the music reflected the turbulent times. The musicians behind this free jazz sound were ignored by mainstream media and as a result created their own subculture. Today free jazz has the largest audience in its 50 year plus history. FIRE MUSIC will stand as the first serious attempt to capture the sights and sounds of one of the most innovative movements in music history. Director Tom Surgal joins us for a conversation on the contentious birth and begrudging acceptance that has morphed into a celebration of the musicians who pushed the boundaries of America’s greatest contribution to the world of music. For news, screenings and updatesfiremusic.org

Although the free jazz movement of the 1960s and ‘70s was much maligned in some jazz circles, its pioneers – brilliant talents like Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, and John Coltrane – are today acknowledged as central to the evolution of jazz as America’s most innovative art form. FIRE MUSIC showcases the architects of a movement whose radical brand of improvisation pushed harmonic and rhythmic boundaries, and produced landmark albums like Coleman’s Free Jazz: A Collective Inspiration and Coltrane’s Ascension. A rich trove of archival footage conjures the 1960s jazz scene along with incisive reflections by critic Gary Giddins and a number of the movement’s key players. FIRE MUSIC tells the exciting history behind the free jazz movement. This incredible music documentary focuses on a new form of jazz that began in the late 1950s. This new jazz was separate from the happy sounding commercial jazz music that made jazz a well known music genre all over the world. This free jazz was angrier and more emotional because the music reflected the turbulent times. The musicians behind this free jazz sound were ignored by mainstream media and as a result created their own subculture. Today free jazz has the largest audience in its 50 year plus history. FIRE MUSIC will stand as the first serious attempt to capture the sights and sounds of one of the most innovative movements in music history. Director Tom Surgal joins us for a conversation on the contentious birth and begrudging acceptance that has morphed into a celebration of the musicians who pushed the boundaries of America’s greatest contribution to the world of music. <br><br>For news, screenings and <a href="http://updatesfiremusic.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">updatesfiremusic.org</a>

Fire Music / Film School Radio interview with Director Tom Surgal

(9/7/21)Although the free jazz movement of the 1960s and ‘70s was much maligned in some jazz circles, its pioneers—Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler and John Coltrane—are now acknowledged as central to the evolution of jazz as one of America’s greatest art forms. Documentarian and drummer Tom Surgal’s new film Fire Music examines what free jazz was (to the music scene then) and what it is. Join us for a look at the architects of a movement whose radical brand of improvisation pushed harmonic and rhythmic boundaries way beyond the formal confines of bebop in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Tom Surgal on his new free jazz documentary Fire Music