Silent Jazz

Celebrating Club Foot Orchestra’s pioneering concept of performing live to enduring films from the silent era, SFJAZZ presents the Jazz + Silent Film Festival, a special all-day showcase of music and motion pictures. First comes a matinee of the light-hearted Buster Keaton fantasy, Sherlock Jr., then an evening double-feature of the haunting German Expressionist masterworks, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a twisted tale of murder and madness, and F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, an iconic vampire story. As ensemble leader Richard Marriott explains on his Web site, he originally came up with the idea of interacting with old movies while searching for a visual backdrop to match the wide-roving musical vision of his ten-piece combo. In “the distorted sets and dreamlike atmosphere” of Caligari, he found a kindred artistic spirit. He even used “the shadows of the film [as] notation for a sequence of dissonant chords” in his score, which he unveiled for the first time at the Mill Valley Film Festival in 1987. Since then, the band has performed infrequently but to great acclaim with a revolving lineup, including some of the Bay Area’s most adventurous musicians, like bassist/guitarist Myles Boisen, clarinetist Beth Custer, and percussionist Gino Robair. For film and music buffs alike, tonight’s event promises classic entertainment magic.
Sat., April 12, 3, 7 & 9 p.m., 2008