From our more-than-you-care-to-know department: Ever see an old film with a glimpse of a jazz combo working out and wonder, "Who are those guys?" I have. So when I was perusing back issues of Downbeat magazine, I was delighted to come across the entry above. I'd picked up a VHS copy of "D.O.A." years ago from an al fresco vendor on Canal St. in Manhattan, and I'd always been intrigued by the frantic, honking quintet featured in the nightclub scene. The trumpet player looked familiar, but the rest of the men were mysteries. Teddy Buckner is the only player I know from the group, and I can only assume that the other gents were minor players from around the San Francisco area (where the movie was made). As you can see from the accompanying squib about the production, what you hear isn't what they played – jazz players of greater renown later overdubbed the music, probably in Los Angeles. Below is the scene in all its glory, one of first efforts by Hollywood to portary "real" jazz on the silver screen. Of course, Norman Granz did it far better a few years earlier with "Jammin' the Blues," but that was insider's poker. Be forewarned that the stereotyping with Fisherman and his crew is pretty extreme, but take comfort in the fact that it extends to all races involved.
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