Ana-Isabel Ordonez
Shades Of Jazz On Noir
Artist Interview by: Susan Frances
Film noir is a unique class of cinematography developed during World War II, whereby filmmakers made human emotions palpable on screen by manipulating the lighting and camera angles of the actors and actresses on film. The genre of film noir is based on German Expressionism and became popular in Hollywood during the 1940's and 1950's. Dr. Ana-Isabel Ordonez, co-founder of Ruby Flower Records, is an avid fan of film noir. Her latest project Shades of Jazz on Noir is a film documentary that shows how the femme-fatale figure portrayed by actresses in film noir made a powerful impact on audiences. Shades of Jazz on Noir is currently on tour being shown in select theaters throughout the United States and Europe, accompanied by an ensemble of avant-garde jazz musicians who furnish improvised scores tailored to the images and facial expressions shown in the documentary. Ordonez’s goal is to show audiences that improvised music and film noir compliment one another, and offer a new dimension of reinforcing characterization.
She explains, "Shades of Jazz on Noir is the second installment of a film noir and jazz series created for the Luxembourg European Cultural Capital 2007. The film presents excerpts from the classic film noir works of the 1940s and 1950s crafted to express the fatality, passion, and danger created by directors who pioneered the lively lighting techniques and psychologically expressive approach to classic noir. Shades of Jazz on Noir is offered as a silent documentary; the music is performed live by musicians who are improvising with the film."
She beams, "Film noir is one of my favorite cinematographic genres," and outlines, "Almost every film noir features men who often function as the typical female archetypes. Like the femme fatale, the hard-boiled protagonist wants more than he should...more money and often a dangerous dame, too. Neither character can resist society's demands, yet both have a cynical perspective on life. The femme fatale is not always the only woman in the life of the male main character. There is often a balance of the evil femme fatale with another pure and virtuous woman who only wishes the best for the protagonist, but he is often powerless to make the choice of the woman who is best for him.
She discerns, "The femme fatale's resistance is fatal, sometimes to the men who fall for her and almost always to herself. Therefore, the character of the femme -fatale narrator is very important."
In Shades of Jazz on Noir, Ordonez documents the femme-fatale figure in film noir. She defines the female figure in film noir by using a narrator in the documentary who will embody the femme-fatale persona. She demonstrates, "For Shades of Jazz on Noir I conceived a dangerous female who lures, tempts, and seduces the protagonist with her glamorous, sensual allure, and is able to quiet men with a stern glance." She discusses, "I wanted different versions and voices of this character. Two artists were chosen for this interpretation: Canadian singer Yoon Sun Choi, her amazing and expressive voice has the capacity to transform intense feelings into words and Hungarian actress Evelin Tóth, for her grace and femme-fatal acting presence. When the performances include Evelin Tóth, acting and narration intermingle together."
Ordonez expresses about the actress Evelin Tóth, "In my eyes, Evelin Tóth possesses not only the allure but also the fazing and colorful character of a femme fatal personage. Come to think of it, Evelin is my femme fatale, which makes her my heroine."
The leeway into Shades of Jazz on Noir was Ordonez’s first project with cultural animator Francois Olivieri for the Luxembourg European Cultural Capital 2007 entitled A Touch of Noir. Ordonez details, "A Touch of Noir depicts the best moments of film noir as viewed from the wounded male perspective, a la James Dean, and has been performed with great success in Europe - Luxembourg, Netherlands. This new addition, Shades of Jazz on Noir, shows the antagonistic character of film noir, which is the femme fatale. Shades of Jazz on Noir is like the isomer of A Touch of Noir.
The two projects were dreams of Ordonez's before the Luxembourg European Cultural Capital 2007 made them a reality for her. "I have been living in Luxembourg for nine years, so when the Luxembourg European Capital 2007 was going to be launched, I had the idea to do a project which combined my passion for film noir and jazz. The project was entirely in my hands. Through our local non-profit association La Belle Usine a.s.b.l., I contacted Francois Olivieri, cultural animator at Dudelange town hall, and invited him to join me in the adventure."
She computes, "Together we built up the first film noir installment called A Touch of Noir." She encapsulates, "For A Touch of Noir, Francois Olivieri created a loner, introverted, troubled, hard-boiled, pessimistic protagonist trapped in the hands of his own destiny. Herb Robertson possesses an enigmatic speaking voice, and Francois Olivieri and I chose him for narrating the monologue."
She addresses, "As I'm neither a cinematographer nor a film editor, I searched for a film editor, whom I met at a jazz festival in Groningen, Netherlands, and sought advice from people who work in theatre and cinema."
She reveals about the two installments, "To assemble the films I first dug in and enlarged my own collection. We also used material from Francois Olivieri's personal collection and from local film forums. For both installments, classic film noir excerpts were organized following the screen-board."
She emphasizes, "The excerpts used for both film projects come from film noir that are now in the public domain. The film is a documentary not a commercial project (DVD). It is used as a tool for improvisers and aimed to be shown in schools, festivals, jazz clubs, which occurred in Luxembourg and Bimhuis, Amsterdam."
Both A Touch of Noir and Shades of Jazz on Noir feature an ensemble of avant-garde jazz musicians who perform improvised music during the film’s showings in theaters. Ordonez was in charge of finding the musicians for each showing, whose improvisations act in re-enforce the expressions being presented in the documentaries. "A Touch of Noir and Shades of Jazz on Noir were conceived to combine the passion and despondency of classic film noir with the texture and dynamism of modern improvisation. Adding a big band - Bad Big City Band, and a combo - Freak Lip Kill Band, to play the music results in a unique, growth-oriented experience for fans of jazz and film as well." She alludes, "Audiences will experience the music with film noir as it could have been."
She intones, "Film Noir's aesthetics are deeply influenced by German expressionism, but despite the overwhelming presence of avant-garde jazz at the time (of the 1940‘s and 1950‘s), the link between improvisation and film noir is absent, as Hollywood studios imposed traditional romantic scores, which didn't fit the angular depiction of these stylish crime dramas."
Ordonez tells, "I tailored Shades of Jazz on Noir thinking of violinist Terry Jenoure. Her artistry and achievements in music, the visual arts, and craft are amazing, as are her strong will-power and sensitivity. I admire Terry, very much indeed." Ordonez subscribes, "My deep wish was that Terry Jenuoure would lead and perform in it, but unfortunately she will be on the road in April, so Herb Robertson will become the leader."
Ordonez lists, "Herb Robertson settled in for doing the workshop; The Freak Lip Kill Band will assemble local musicians/improvisers; hence there will be different leaders in every country and venue where the project will be performed."
She conveys, "For the premiere, I always had in mind this wonderful duo of Matt Darriau and Herb Robertson. Both are great artists and very sensitive human beings. Herb and Matt were born on the same day, both are kind of space cadets, yet their music and characters are crafted in different cultural roots."
She notes, "We had this idea of duo in mind for more than a year, but we have also worked and have been trying to do something unique with the Danish saxophonist Lotte Anker. Her intensity of playing and glottal punctuation as well as her vast knowledge of improvisation is just amazing. Angelica Sanchez has a radiance about her that everyone can detect. She also plays great classical piano along with her ability as an improviser. I love her work, and we all agreed to invite her as our very special guest for the premiere."
For the presentation of Shades of Jazz on Noir in New York City on April 6, 2008 at the Roulette Performance Center, Ordonez feels extremely confident in the musicians who will be in attendance. She documents, "Trumpeter Herb Robertson, reedists Matt Darriau and Lotte Anker, as well as pianist Angelica Sanchez will combine free improvisation and some written excerpts from Matt and Herb with the film 'Shades of Jazz on Noir' simultaneously. The effect of this live performance will instantly create a score for the film. The musicians can react to the images on the screen or, if they so desire, they can ignore the images altogether. Any one of the musicians can each become musical directors themselves and give cues and/or cut-offs at any moment. Their aim is to express a new musical approach to classic film noir history, which modifies the disembodiment that existed in the original scores, making a dark and ominous dramatic effect. Everything at these performances is as it is: a unique new experience each and every time it is performed and viewed."
She expresses, "Shades of Jazz on Noir's musician choice was based on the need for getting new ways to express our avant-garde style. For European venues with the project, Evelin Tóth and I tailored the femme-fatale and the music performance in a different way. Evelin has worked in the past with Chicago based drummer and percussionist Hamid Drake. His music always mesmerized me for his capacity to transform it into new ethno sounds while keeping the listening melodic structures. When Evelin suggested to me Hamid Drake for the Gyor Film-Jazz Festival I was very pleased and extremely happy to be able to work with a special character such as Hamid. It's kind of useless to say that when Evelin and I composed our line-up for the Gyor Jazz Festival, Frank Gratkowski arose in my mind as the inspired reedist and wonderful human being I consider he is. Frank and Hamid worked together in the past and for me this was a new opportunity to make the musical meeting happen."
She reflects, "Working with special people like this makes things run very smoothly and effortlessly. All of the ensemble players are strong in their personal approaches to improvisation and they have unique voices on their instruments that can really sing!." She conveys, "Confidence and a searching ability add distinct personalities in each of these musicians' correspondence with each other. 'Shades of Jazz on Noir' is only used for academic and pedagogic purposes. It's a sole digital DVD."
"Since this documentary is a silent film," she conceives, "the improvised music brings another art form and dimension to the experience and adds to it the musical score, which will create the intangible feeling that those film noir represented visually. The history of film and music combined has always existed. The element of original improvised 'jazz' adds the sense of hearing to the visual, to which the audience members can respond as a collective or individually. The audience can interpret this experience as they individually or collectively feel. There is no right or wrong in the interpretations. Every interpretation and experience will be sole and subjective to the participants, performers and observers alike."
"This is my first experience in this field," she admits. "It is an amazingly blessed opportunity that I treasure and hope to share with many artists."
Her projects demonstrates that partnering avant-garde jazz with film noir is a complementing union. "Music is a universal language that breaks all barriers and that everyone can love and understand. Just as the mode of the rational mind is words, the modes of the emotions are not verbal. This opportunity confirmed to me that emotions are put into words far more often than they are expressed through other key means. In most cultures the origin of stories includes musical and written traditions. Hearing and learning is more sensitive at birth than it will be for the remainder of our lives. On the other hand, the visual arts create stories and present images. Cinema and music are art forms, and all art utilizes expressions of emotions. Actors and musicians are artists of an emotional display because their expressiveness is what evokes a response in their audience. The synchrony between visual art stimulus and improvised music indicates how much feelings and emotions interact. It is reflected and also reflects the depth of the engagement of musicians, so the moods will eventually mesh. You need to have compatible timing to coordinate your movements. Improvisers can bring others under the sway of their own. In this project every musician is a leader and the mark of a powerful leader or performer is being able to move audiences in this way."
"Overall," she gleans, "I realized that rhythmic structure through visual images provides necessary timing cues to aid in expression and intelligibility. Images and music can be used as motivational tools to elicit eye contact, cause/effect skills, and peer interaction. For musicians, the access to a repertoire of media resources significantly enhances the abilities to communicate. Expressiveness and receptive language are approached by imbedding the desired response into music as a way of providing a syncopation and breaking in the unexpected!"
Ana-Isabel Ordonez takes enormous pride in the work she has put into Shades of Jazz on Noir and A Touch of Noir. Her work ethics are also evident in her role as co-owner of Ruby Flower Records. "Ruby Flower Records was founded in 2005," she furnishes. "Ever since I met bassist Joe Fonda and trumpeter Herb Robertson, I wanted to be more involved directly with the art form instead of just being a listener and fan. My passion and love of it was too strong for only that, so I asked Herb Robertson to get involved as artistic director and music consultant, and I could do the administrative side since I believe my science background gave me that strength. We are a small independent label just willing to put out great avant-garde music, so we never had the inclination toward big business and making tons of money. Our love is in the art and for being a part of it, to get some of the music to people who are interested in this music and its artists. There are a lot of struggling artists who never receive the attention they deserve. Imagining that every artist can get a big record contract and become a millionaire is just not reality, but you can always keep your message real."
Keeping her message real has been the driving force that stokes Shades of Jazz on Noir‘s fodder. The musicians whom Ordonez has chosen for the showing of the documentary in various theaters around the world embrace this project with open arms. Shades of Jazz on Noir has been a fulfilling project for Ana-Isabel Ordonez who hopes that others will see the beauty of film noir and the ability that improvised music has to intensify film noir's potency. Joining these two artistic expressions create a sensory experience which will form a complementing union that re-enforces the characterization represented in film noir’s portraits. The improvised music scores deepen the emotions and intensity reflected in film noir’s characters, and thereby, deepens the audiences connection to its characters.
Tour Schedule for Shades of Jazz on Noir:
April 6, 2008 @ Roulette Performance Center in New York, New York
April 15, 2008 @ Southern Connecticut State University in
April 16, 2008 @ Towson State University in Towson, Maryland
April 18, 2008 @ Monkey Town Club in Brooklyn, New York
April 22 & 23, 2008 @ Augusta Savage Gallery, University of Massachusetts
April 30 - May 2, 2008 @ Gyor Film Festival in Gyor, Hungary
May 9, 2008 @ Ring-Ring Festival in Jevrejska, Serbia
Tour Schedule for A Touch of Noir:
April 9, 2008 @ The Stone in New York, New York
April 20, 2008 @ Barbes in Brooklyn, New York
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