UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
7
Daron J. Bennett / KANSAN
Beneath the face of legendary Kansas City jazz musician Charlie Parker, Sean Saffold, Cleveland graduate student, receives a history lesson from renowned jazz vocalist Queen Bey. Saffold is beginning work on a feature film titled "Birdland," which will feature Queen Bey and other jazz greats from Kansas City.
Kansas City, historical jazz town. inspires KU film student
By Becky Lucas Kansan staff writer
Repeating riffs, the hearty soul of the blues infused with fluid soloists—Kansas City jazz, a style of music more than 80 years old.
And though no one can document the birthplace of jazz, Kansas City has always fought for a piece of the jazz spotlight that is often focused on more notable music towns such as New Orleans and New York.
Saffold is searching for the $150,000 needed to make his dream a reality.
But that's not going to be the case if Sean Saffold, Cleveland graduate student in film studies, can create the film he envisions.
That dream is a documentary about Kansas City jazz greats, including Jay McStain and Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Saffold said.
"These people are national treasures, and we want to expose them to the world," Saffold said.
He is planning a benefit concert featuring Williams for Sept. 18 at Liberty Hall in Lawrence. In addition, he said, he has already raised about $20,000 of the $150,000 he needs for
the project.
"Each day we're aggressively trying to reach new investors," Saffold said. "We've been working on the project for about five months, and we plan to start shooting in July."
The film will be in Kansas City in locations such as the City Light Jazz Club and the Grand Emporium, Saffold said, adding that he was still working out details with other clubs in Kansas City.
The project, in addition to focusing on two jazz greats, will look at the politics surrounding jazz music. The question, "Why, despite it's great heritage, hasn't Kansas City used jazz to bring tourists in?" will be addressed in the film, Saffold said.
Once the project is completed, Safold said, he will look at several distributors to help promote the film, which he visualizes as an art film that might be seen at Liberty Hall or the Twoli in Westport.
"We feel that if the movie only makes $1 million or $2 million that we will have made 10 or 20 times at cost to produce," Saffold said.
Saffold, with his own Black Magic Productions, will be working with
Darrin Lile, who is a partner in Marimba Productions.
Lile, a Tulsa, Okla., graduate student in religious studies and theater and film, said rough plans with Saffold included Marimba Productions being hired to manage production.
"From what I gather, K.C is trying to get the Jazz Hall of Fame," Lile said. He said he thought the documentary would help with that.
"He's got the passion for jazz, and I've got the passion for film." Lile said. "So together we've got a team." Lile, who is finishing his own movie for his degree, said filming in July sounded optimistic.
Even if he's not free from his own project, Lile said, they already have a core crew of people who could work once the money-raising and planning stages of Saffold's film were completed.
Lile said he believed Saffold would accomplish his goal of $150,000 for the project.
"That sounds real optimistic," Lile said, "but that's Sean for you. He's able to show people the importance of a thing.
"And he seems like the kind of per son who could do it."
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