Harlem Soul

We recently got Disney+, so we could watch Summer of Soul (2021) - OK, not the main reason, but a nice benefit.

In the summer of 1969, the same year as Woodstock, when whitey walked on the moon, there was a huge outdoor free music festival in Harlem. But because it was Harlem, it went largely unnoticed by the outside world. It had been taped, and some of the tapes had been shown on TV that year, but it was mostly forgotten. Then Questlove heard about it, got his hands on the footage, and made this movie.

It's mostly a documentary, not a concert film. They interview people who attended and talk about the times and the context. But there is also a lot of music. It starts with an outrageous Stevie Wonder drum solo. There was a lot of gospel: Edward Hawkins Singers, Staples Singers, Mahalia Jackson, who invited Mavis Staples to join with her, a great honor and a thrill for the audience. The Fifth Dimension showed that blacks could be pop, Chambers Brothers were psychedlicized, Sly and the Family Stone were integrated - and wild. B.B. King played the blues. David Ruffin showed off his solo chops and an amazing falsetto range - sounded like Minnie Ripperton! Africa was represented by Hugh Masakela, and a troupe of dancers. Mongo Santamaria showed black and brown solidarity. Herbie Mann and Max Roach played jazz, and Nina Simone was Nina Simone. Wow!

So you can guess my complaint: not enough music. Very few songs played in their entirety. Most acts only got a few minutes. I think there are music clearance issues - there are bound to be. But mostly this made me want to see the reported 40 hours of tape. OK, maybe whittle it down to 4 hours. Special features!