Free Jazz - "Imagine the Sound"

Josef Braun reports about the documentary "Imagine the Sound" which Ron Mann directed in 1981 and which is revived and thrown back into circulation these days ( Vue Weekly ). The film addresses a part of jazz history mostly neglected by Ken Burns' monumental PBS series: free jazz. The film revolves entirely around interviews and performances from Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, Paul Bley and Bill Dixon. Taylor, writes Braun, seems like the "purest embodiment of the music in question" when he "dances with his piano"; Shepp "is more astute in commentary and accessible in performance"; Bley "tells the best stories" in the film; Dixon delivered the most startling performances.