NUBLU: MUSIC OF NOW
New England Premiere
Directed by Sercan Sezgin
Music Doc. / 2017 / 73 min. /
In English
Nublu is an impressionistic documentary about an underground jazz club in the lower
east side encompassing the music traditions of NYC.
Nublu features big chunks of musical performances from Nublu Orchestra, Henry Threadgill’s Ensemble, Sun Ra Arkestra, Brazilian Girls, Jojo Mayer’s Nerve & more, whilst visiting the history of some of the earlier jazz clubs in the East Village.
The film also focuses on some of the prominent characters of Nublu. İhan Erşahin, a composer/saxophonist, the founder and the music curator of Nublu, guides us through the opening of Nublu, the development of Nublu Orchestra with Butch Morris, and his curation of the two other Nublu Jazz Festivals in São Paulo and Istanbul.
Petar Timotic, the resident artist of Nublu, talks about some of his paintings on Nublu’s walls; particularly his sketch on Ahmet Ertegün, his controversial painting on Julian Assange, and his live painting depicting the last performance of Butch Morris.
Butch Morris, a conductor, composer and cornetist, discusses his motivation for developing his craft and the distinct musical grammar that he employs during his conductions.
Butch’s passing pushes a close collaborator, drummer and a regular of Nublu, Kenny Wollesen to succeed him as the conductor of Nublu Orchestra. The film concludes on this note with a tribute performance in memory of Butch Morris.
DIRECTOR'S VIEW
"Nublu reshapes, reinvents itself every night. The music, the regulars, the Lower East Side, the dj sets, the newcomers, the art on the wall; they all intertwine and
influence each other.
This music film carries both traditional and experimental language in the way it guides the experience of the spectator, but most importantly it aims to use Nublu’s language to make it an impressionistic documentary. The language of the film is expressed through an esthetic diversity, embodying the same diversity used to curate music in Nublu. The visual approach is therefore not unifying, but variegated to enhance the patchwork quality of Nublu.
In this sense, any given concert or conversation does not intend to fulfill the experience in its totality. The moments witnessed are rather fragments of lengthy performance pieces. Fragments of life in Nublu. In the same way the audience adapts itself to the night, the camera reacts to the musicians’ movements and the ever changing light and layout of the space. The lofts run by musicians in the 70s offered artists such as Sam Rivers, David Murray and numerous orchestras the benefit of experimenting freely, in long
stretches of time. These kind of places carved the way for Nublu. The film strives to bring out this informal state of affairs so present in Nublu." -- Sercan Sezgin
Selected Festivals and Awards
- New York Jazz Film Festival, USA (2017)
- !F Istanbul Independent Film Festival, Turkey (2017)
Director SERCAN SEZGİN
 Sercan Sezgin (Istanbul), after graduating from Saint Joseph High School, studied in NYU Tisch School of of the Arts in New York. During these four years he presented a radio show on 89.1FM called Lion’s Milk, hosting many musicians and DJ’s. He made three short films. He currently lives in Paris and works in Film Factory, a post-production company. Nublu: Music of Now is Sezgin’s first feature film.
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