University of South Carolina Libraries
cr ' 'Darlings' By David Baker p Entertainment Editor J Ron Maxwell is one of movie S: making's most highly-touted t iT/% u r:i c iiewcuincis>. lie Hd& nu ifdiuie lixiii i to his credit, but his recent special r for the Public Broadcasting s System, Vera, USO Girl, won I Emmys for both Maxwell's f direction and for Sissy Spacek's t performance in the title role. { Vera's critical reception I ::^itf^WH^B^^^ ~ %i ;~xj ' -f^iv;Tg ,^r ?M O'Neal, Abby Bluesi ua^?. By Date Smoa Gamecock Staff Wr A few years ago, the Spotlight 1; fho ^>nnfiicinn r?f Pharlio Parlrnr'c tiiv- VV/lllUOlV/ll V/i V/IIU1 AIV A U1 I\V/? ?J , six record collection. More recenl their Parker material, and Warnei the act by obtaining rights for the I only 1,200 copies, for whatever ret bavoy, owned oy Arista, nas reissi Studio Sessions, a five-record box take, including false starts and bi recorded tor me iar>ei between ltm Parker is generally considered provisational performers in all c Kansas City, the city of Count Basil began playing alto saxophone in New York, and in the early forties 1 avant-garde jazz, a style known a 1955 at the age of thirty-four. The n times overshadowed the music h< today one of the most innovative i Willi liUUia m man uii(^ ma wiu_y |w?a The Savoy set is a real feast. Witl it is a treat to be able to sit down compare them, one is able to disci and retake and follow the develop each session. A booklet provides n< transcriptions of passages and a Reig, producer of all but one of the nuHnHnmmm New film stars H ' marks A prompted producer Steven Friedman (Slap Shot and Bloodirothers) and Paramount Pictures 0 put up the money for Maxwell to ilm Little Darlings, a slightly laughty comedy about rivalries at 1 young girls' summer camp. -? > i u:?u ~aictiuuuui litis 111511 nupca iui uic ilm, and is giving it a form of )lessing by making it the com>any's major release for the 1980 faster season. tone and McNicho! greats fe ,k PAKK from th< FarKer! abel (English) clarified Birdapf Dial sessions with their it is eas tly, Verve has reissued fluence. * Brothers even got into Davis, v )ial sessions and issuing a techn ?son, of the Dials. Now, Parker': iod Thi? rmrmletp Savov nrovf?m< ed set containing every familiar -eakdowns, that Parker date as and 1948. organize one of the greatest im- Most >f jazz. He grew up in designa e and Lester Young, and release. his teens. He moved to the besl ie was in the forefront of finally < s bebop. Parker died in general lotoriety of his life has at presum 3 made, but he remains Miles, v nusician in jazz history, Thefi ,ihlf? rival a trans ri a musician like Parker, outlook .. 'IL ~ 11 41 t ? l ^1 wiin an 01 nit; laKes anu crimes [>ver the reasons for take five tak >ment and refinement of for the [)tes on each session, spot vocal, n interview with Teddy The r sessions. Gillespi Lristy McNichol an fnvnigll Maxwell is currently on location in Madison, Georgia, winding up the film's principal photography. The cast and crew have been there for more than eight weeks, but Maxwell has been involved with the film for more than eight months. "Steven Friedman sent me the script in late October 1978," he said, "and I thought it had potential to be something special. I 'irn li'iH on oKiHind intoroct in 1 TV liUU UI1 UUlUlllg III W1 VkJt AAA stories and films about young people and I liked the treatment their problems were given in the script." When Maxwell began working on Little Darlings, he knew he wanted Kristy McNichol and Tatum O'Neal for the leads. "Before you do anything else, you have to decide on me iook you warn uie film to have. That includes the cast, the sets, the shots, and even the colors you want to use." Maxwell's look for Little Darlings includes the use of many pastels and of slightly hazy backgrounds. The end results, he hopes, will be a fantasy-like quality reminiscent of the rosy way in which young people At.* . _ sec mings. As he finishes shooting this, his first feature, Maxwell has found himself to be in a bit of a rut. "I guess I've fallen into a pattern," he said. "Technically, the craft of filmmaking dictates a kind of routine, which you can vary slightly one way or the other to suit your own personality and idiosyncracies. But basically there's one method that's followed in filmmaking as far as the procedure of pre-production, production, and shooting goes." "A director's individuality really comes in the area of how he uses his actors," Maxwell said. ri ucvauot IIIUDl V/i U1V VUOt members of Little Darlings are minors, they are subject to California's strict child labor laws attired in i ER'S DEVELOPMENT as an improvi: e Tiny Grimes date in 1944, a swing ? peak in the 1947-48 sessions. On the ears on tenor sax, a Miles Davis sessic y to hear the Lester Young/Coleman One is also able to hear some developn /ho appears in all but the first session, ically inept trumpet player who is < 5 brisk tempos, but by the last d inf to nnf innoKln onsi t Yi cs Knrtmninrfc :iu 10 i iuLiv.^auiL-, auu uiv, ^iniini^o style becomes more apparent. This is a leader, and his session here is one ?d of the collection. tunes recorded required several take Led as the "master" are the ones These "masters" are not necessarily t ; improvisations; but the one in whic :ame together, in both style and contei ly better on me earner laKes (Deiore r ably) with the rest of the group, an 'as still struggling with the theme, rst session features guitarist Tiny Grin itional date, stylistically, but Park* proved compatible with the other recorded two vocal numbers, and lis es of "Romance Without Finance" is a wonderful, swooping lines Bird playe ext date was Parker s. l his 1945 daK e subbing on piano, was an unusual sef d Tatum O'Neal directorial Ron Ma, and can work only a few hours i each day. Another problem with i such a young cast, Maxwell said, is < their inexperience in front of the I cameras. "There's no writing off I those long years of experience," he < said. i Maxwell said he likes to rehearse each scene as much as possible and he also tries to shoot < in sequence. "Most times, ] however, it's not possible to shoot in sequence," he said. "What dictates the shooting schedule is I money. The director must ask i himself : What is the most efficient i npii7 rnllpr ser is traced was having mechanics I session, to Davis was having prot session that Bird's squeaks flaw the in from 1947, on "Thriving From a F Hnu/lrinc in. roirimnar tr> nlaim JKnt < ttMfTmuu ill I VTIVTTVi vvr V1HU11 111(41 1 lent in Miles in. Gillespie did play tr He starts as one of the greatest solos )ften lost in THE OTHER FIVi ate his im- Parker's solos here arc of his now- seems tentative and ur ? Davis' first with Bird on tenor. Dav i of the best before and Parker's ten work, still good, thoui is. The ones gurgled. selected for The last three session: he ones with thematic material and i h the theme takes omitted theme st nt. Parker is studio on time or to be ? 4 n l? ni/i A ic gin uuicu, umes, rviaunsiance, J id especially from the start, and his My other favorites fror les. This was and the superlative "Pc er's modern blues. musicians'. This set partially doc tening to the creative periods in CI chore except reason it is one of the a i>emna me released. The master ta Master Takes on Savo; i, with Dizzy solos and an idea of the ;sion. Parker the musicians. And mor I debut # .:-;;:>^r >? :< . .y -3gy<jBfc^ :MB^9TO8Bg^^ 4*,^^ w I ll KWtfll and least costly way to shoot this movie? Then you weigh the competing factors and you line them up in order of priority. Within that framework, if you have the apportunity to schedule something in sequence, then you do it," "Basically," Maxwell sums up, "directing is getting the job done and the people properly motivated." We'll know for sure if Maxwell can do that next April when Little Darlings is released, but if the attitudes of the east and crew are an indication, Maxwell is doing it in style. lion il problems with his instrument )lems as well, and his fluffs and early takes. Davis' best effort was tiff," a fine muted solo that led a t had to have been Gillespie sitting umpet on "Koko," which contains Parker ever recorded. 5 SESSIONS are from 1947-48. i noi up 10 nis usual sianaara; ne lsure. The second date was Davis is' playing is decidedly better than or solos are less florid than his alto gh his articulation is occasionally s are first class, with fine choices of some awesome Parker solos. A few atements, either to finish with the at royalty payments. One of these las Bird taking off like a racehorse speed and invention are stunning. ^ ! i i a I. v /^1l M ii uiese sessions are ' An-i^eu-v^na irker's Mood," truly a lesson in the uments one of the most fertile and larlie Parker's life, and for that most important jazz records ever ikes are available on the two-record y, uui nure, one geis Deuer rarner development of both the music and e Parker to listen to.