Summer Of Soul/ Concert documentary

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Film and OST: Summer Of Soul (... Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Director: Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson 

Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar

Duration: 1 hour 58 minutes

Rating: ***** (both film and OST)

It was 1969, the year of Woodstock and the historic moon landing. Around the same time, over six Sundays in July and August, a similar music festival took place not too far away. And though the Harlem Cultural Festival attracted thousands of blacks, it was quickly forgotten. Footage of the concert lay in the cupboards for 50 years.

Held at the Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey) in Harlem, New York, the festival attracted the biggest names in black music. There were people of the calibre of BB King, Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson and the 19-year-old Stevie Wonder. It was shot by television producer Hal Tulchin but after a couple of relays, it disappeared till filmmaker Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson decided to convert it into a documentary.

Summer Of Soul (... or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) had its festival premiere a year ago and theatrical and OTT platform release in July. Again, there was little buzz, and this writer heard about it after the release of its soundtrack album last week. Luckily, one found the film on Disney+ Hotstar.

This is more than just a concert documentary. It talks of a community, of racism, of oppression, of civil rights. It's the description of black pride and unity, of a time when the term 'negro' was on its way out. It talks of revolt, with Nina Simone singing, "You raise my taxes, freeze my wages, send my only son to Vietnam" and Puerto Rican percussionist-singer Ray Barretto singing that "blacks and whites got to get together". And there is also mention of the sartorial tastes and contributions of blacks.

The festival was organised and hosted by the exuberant Tony Lawrence. It began when the media was abuzz with stories of man's landing on the moon. Yet, at the show, nobody bothered about the scientific landmark, with show attendees describing it as a waste of money at a time when the US had more immediate priorities.

The music is phenomenal all through. In a theme song reminiscent of 'Woodstock', the Chamber Brothers sing their older hit 'Uptown', with the lines, "I'm going uptown to Harlem, gonna let my hair down in Harlem, if a taxi won't take me, I'll catch a train, I'll go underground, I'll get there just the same."

For whatever reason, Stevie Wonder's marvellous performance in the film doesn't get featured in the album soundtrack. And while Sly & The Family Stone's other songs appear in the album, 'Higher' (also performed at Woodstock) appears only in the concert footage, almost closing out the film.

Though the film is called Summer Of Soul, the actual music is an assortment of soul, rhythm n' blues, jazz, blues, gospel and Latino. Many songs reflect the black community sentiment of the time, and the orchestration has marvellous percussion and horns.

Blues great BB King begins with 'Why I Sing The Blues', and the 5th Dimension sing their popular 'Aquarius/ Let The Sunshine In' dual medley. The Staples Singers, featuring Pops Staples and.the brilliant Mavis Staples, talk of a bright future on 'It's Been A Change', and Mahalia Jackson displays her enormous high-pitched reach on 'Precious Lord, Take My Hand', where she joins the keyboard-heavy Operation Breadbasket Orchestra.

There are a few intricate covers. Rhythm n' blues outfit Gladys Knight & The Pips render Marvin Gaye's 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' and Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria is joined by a horn section on a version of Herbie Hancock's 'Watermelon Man'. Singer Abbey Lincoln and drummer Max Roach do their take on jazz legend John Coltrane's 'Africa'.

A highlight is flautist Herbie Mann's 'Hold On I'm Coming', which moves from a flute melody into psychedelic space. Yet, the clear star of the show is Nina Simone, whose rabble-rousing performance on 'Backlash Blues' is followed by a semi-sung recitation of David Nelson's protest poem 'Are You Ready'.

For its part, the film uses bytes from concert attendees, who were in their 20s then, besides some of the musicians. Over nearly two hours, everything has been pieced very well. There are references to cultural events like the 1967 Summer Of Love festival in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, and political events like the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in 1968.

In recent interviews, filmmaker Questlove has described Summer Of Soul as a film about black joy.  "This was really just the break that people needed in the summer of 1969 in the borough of Harlem," he has said.

There have been some references and footage of the festival in certain documentaries on Nina Simone. But barring that little is known about this remarkable event. It's to Questlove's credit that he's given us this precious gem.