Admission: $10 / $8 for students and seniors
No one turned away for lack of funds
Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis
Walter Ruttmann, 65:00, B/W, 1927, Germany
Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis or Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (German: Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt) is a 1927 German silent film directed by Walter Ruttmann, co-written by Carl Mayer and Karl Freund. Much of the motion in the film, and many of the scene transitions, are built around the motion of trains and streetcars.
Events are arranged to simulate the passage of a single day.[5] Shots and scenes are cut together based on relationships of image, motion, point of view, and thematic content.
At times, a sort of non-narrative commentary can be implied, as in edits that juxtapose workers entering a factory with cattle being beaten and driven into a corral.
The five-reel film is divided into five acts, and each act is announced through a title card at the beginning and end.
Charlie Kohlhase (Tenor Saxophone)
Eric Hofbauser (Guitar)
Tony Leva (Bass)
The Jazz trio, led by tenor saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase, will share their new improvisational score to this nearly 100 year old classical cinematic feast, Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis, on March 22nd.
Alto, tenor and baritone saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase has been a mainstay of Boston’s jazz scene for over twenty years. Whether leading his two newest bands, performing in a dozen others or writing over 50 compositions, his music spans a broad range of styles with an emphasis on the contemporary and the improvised. Born and raised in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (11/28/56), Charlie began playing saxophones at 18. After private studies with Stan Strickland and Roswell Rudd, he moved to Boston in 1980. In 1989, he formed the Charlie Kohlhase Quintet, an ongoing project that has performed locally and nationally for a decade and half. Their long-awaited live 2-CD set, “Play Free Or Die,” has been released on the Boxholder label to critical acclaim. Kohlhase also leads the CK5, a second quintet that recently released its live debut, “CK5 Live!” Charlie's two newest bands, Explorer's Club and Saxophone Support Group , are charting new territory. Explorer's Club , another quintet for Kohlhase, builds upon his long relationship with New England saxophonist Matt Langley. SSG is an ever-changing quartet to octet of local sax luminaries.
“Eric Hofbauer has become a significant force in Boston’s improvised-music scene,” declares Stereophile’s David R. Adler. “His aesthetic evokes old blues, Americana, Tin Pan Alley, bebop, and further frontiers. There’s a rule-breaking spirit but also an impeccable rigor, a foundation of sheer chops and knowledge, that put Hofbauer in the top tier of guitarists,” he writes.
Hofbauer has been an integral member of Boston’s jazz scene as a musician, bandleader, organizer and educator for the past twenty five years. He has performed and recorded alongside such notable collaborators as Han Bennink, Roy Campbell, Jr., John Tchicai, Garrison Fewell, Cecil McBee, George Garzone, Sean Jones, John Fedchock, Steve Swell and Matt Wilson.
Hofbauer, recognized in the 2024,2022, 2019 and 2017 DownBeat Critics’ Poll for Rising Star – Guitar, is perhaps best known for his solo guitar work featured in a trilogy of solo guitar recordings (American Vanity, American Fear and American Grace). Of the trilogy, Andrew Gilbert of The Boston Globe writes, “No other guitarist in jazz has developed a solo approach as rigorous, evocative, and thoughtful as Hofbauer. His 2016 solo release Ghost Frets, was described by Chris Haines of The Free Jazz Collective “as a real testament to Hofbauer’s musical style and vision…The playing is virtuosic throughout providing a real master class in creative solo performance.”
Anthony Leva is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator in Cambridge, MA. Most comfortable on upright bass, Anthony is known for his playful, responsive and supportive bass lines. He has recorded on over 30 albums to date and regularly performs with the Unima Award-winning puppetry troupe the Gottabees, as well as the Dylan Jack Quartet, Charlie Kohlhase’s Explorer’s Club, Eric Hofbauer, Brian Carpenter, Timesbold, Samodivi, and Jaggery. He is an active collaborator in the Boston arts scene where his omnivorous appetite for creativity and collaboration spans theatre, film, puppetry, folk music (Americana, African, and Balkan), as well as jazz, improvised, and classical music. In addition to bass, Anthony also plays sintir (a North African bass lute). Primarily a self-taught bassist over the last 20 years, Anthony has continually sought unique opportunities for study, one of which included a stint as tour driver for legendary bassist Henry Grimes. In 2018, Anthony received a Master’s Degree in Modern American Music from the Longy School of Music at Bard College. Over the last 15 years he has had the great fortune to perform and tour extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and India. In 2019, he received a USAI grant to travel to India to perform at the AHA! Theatre Festival for Children. Anthony is the community music director for Tunefoolery, a non-profit dedicated to a unique and courageous community of musicians in mental health recovery who have created a safe place where support, paid work, and learning are the foundation for healing and recovery. He is currently honing his skills as a turntablist, crankie creator/performer, and window restorer.
Goethe Institut, Boston
Admission: $10 / $8 for students and seniors
No one turned away for lack of funds
door 6:30PM