Jul 12, 2012
Bret Primack has
posted hundreds of short films about Jazz musicians on his JazzVideoGuy YouTube
channel the past seven years. Now he has a story to tell that
needs a larger canvas. His new film, "Pauly Cohen,
Trumpeter," is a one-hour documentary about a soon-to-be
ninety-year-old trumpeter named Pauly Cohen, still following his
big band dream.
“I’ve already shot about fifteen hours of footage,” Bret reveals,
“and now I’m trying raise $6,000 to complete the film, using
Kickstarter.” But just who is Pauly Cohen?
Pauly Cohen is a Jazz elder who graduated from Lincoln High
School in Brooklyn and
within a few years, was working as a big band lead trumpeter with
Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw and Charlie Barnet. His credits
include hundreds of recording sessions, TV and Radio programs, and
many many years on the road.
An early mentor and friend was Dizzy Gillespie, dating back to the
mid-40s, when they were both in the trumpet section of the Earl
Hines Big Band that also included Charlie Parker. Pauly reached a
creative peak in the 70s when he played lead trumpet with Count
Basie.
When Pauly moved to South
Florida in his early 80s, he
didn’t retire. Instead, he formed his own group populated by other
big band veterans, which he continues to lead today, on the eve of
his 90th birthday.
“Pauly’s story is not just for music fans,” Bret explains. “It has
a more universal appeal because it's about something everyone
experiences: aging. Most people lead a less active life after
the age of seventy. But rather than stay home and watch
big band tributes on PBS, Pauly Cohen charges forward, focused
solely on the music he's playing today with his own band.”
Please visit the
Kickstarter Project page for Pauly Cohen, Trumpeter, for more
info and to contribute..