Hi de Hi de Hi Road

The great PBS series American Masters returns tonight with a program that sounds promising: Cab Calloway: Sketches takes a look at the legendary singer/dancer/bandleader, who was actually born in my hometown of Rochester, New York! Known for his popular 1930s novelty song, "Minnie the Moucher," he would go on to be a major star, breaking the color barrier in entertainment with his catchy jazz numbers, stylish zoot suits and dance moves that paved the way for Michael Jackson's "Moonwalk."

Watch Cab Calloway: Sketches on PBS. See more from American Masters.

Another reason I am anxious to see it is that is was produced by filmmaker Gail Levin, who I got to know back in 2008 through her involvement in the Norman Rockwell Museum exhibition Raw Nerve! The Political Art of Steve Brodner. Gail had created several mini-films with the illustrator, which tied in perfectly to the 2008 presidential election (God, has it already been four years?). The clips are great fun and fit in perfectly with the exhibition and mood around election time (they were originally created for PBS). 


Gail was also nice enough to offer me some advice on navigating the film and video production world. I was actually pleased to hear (from Steve Brodner) about this Cab Calloway documentary airing, because Gail had first told me about its completion back in 2010 (financed by the French/German consortium ARTE, and the Dutch production company AVRO). The fact that American Masters picked it up is a good sign, but also interesting for me to see another example of what it takes to produce and then properly distribute films.


So far I hear good reviews for the film, and it sounds like it is being presented in a unique way, similar to the old Gene Kelly movie where he dances with Jerry mouse. There are some animated sequences that bring Calloway to life to move with a dancer from Alvin Ailey. Not surprisingly, the artwork for the animation was created by Steve Brodner, who also appears in the film sketching the musician.


This reminds me of the fun I had filming Steve myself back during the Rockwell exhibition. Here are a few "musical" clips I created... it is an election year, after all... hi de hi de hi!!!