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Ron Mann's fine, elegant documentary, his first feature-length work, showcases four specific players - pianist Paul Bley, trumpeter Bill Dixon, saxophonist Archie Shepp and pianist Cecil Taylor. But its true subject is the innovative, free jazz work done in the Sixties, and by extension the determination of these artists to break down the musical barriers that characterized that decade. One could point to any number of reasons why the film works so well, from Robert Fresco's exquisite cinematography (prior to IMAGINE THE SOUND, music documentaries were shot entirely on the fly, and looked like it), to the charm of its subject. The film's real genius, though, probably resides above all in its structure and editing. Mann and his collaborators have given us a near perfect précis on how and why free jazz developed, and the context from which it emerged, but they've also been wise enough to foreground the music without either relying on it too heavily or, worse, cutting it short. (A trap even its most illustrious predecessors usually fell into.) IMAGINE THE SOUND was also a seminal work in this city's film history, serving as inspiration for the Toronto New Wave, which emerged in the late Eighties. The film's hip sensibility broke ground as well, proving that it was possible to make films here that were neither shoddy American knock-offs (this was the tax shelter period after all) nor pedantic. “May be the best documentary on free jazz that we have” (Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader).- Steve Gravestock
Ron Mann will introduce tonight's screening.
Rating: G
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