Videos

Don Pocketts Search for the Grand Wizard of Jazz

Don Pocketts Search for the Grand Wizard of Jazz is the flagship video of BugleBug Multi-Media. It could also be considered one the most off-the-wall and over-the-top examples of educational video production ever produced. However, it is the opinion of many experienced educators that this approach may work wonders at this point in time for many disenchanted students. The script for this video is loosely based on the movie The Wizard of OZ. Replacing Dorothy is Don Pocketts who in a dream goes on a journey to find the Grand Wizard of Jazz. In order to find the Grand Wizard of Jazz he must go to the city of New Yogurt where all the great jazzmen reside. There, he is confronted with numerous obstacles which must be defeated before he reaches his destination. Don Pocketts represents all of us who behave in an overly consumptive obsessive-compulsive state. His name is “Pocketts” because in his hypo-manic state he tries to consume as much stuff as possible and hoard it home in his pockets so that he has an excuse to get a bigger house and a bigger car. Some of the educational profits from viewing this video are exposure to story-telling, great video editing using iMovie, primitive computer animation and some musicology. Most of all this video will cheer you up a bit.

Zing!!! is a one minute video opera done in Flash, which puts the viewer in an animated twilight zone. Imagine a bay windowed area of your living room with a baritone saxophone, a contrabass clarinet, an alto saxophone, an upright piano, a bassoon smoking a large cigar, a piccolo with a demons head, TV screens on each corner playing a video montage of saxophone characterizations and a line of naked chorus girls from the famous Albert Arthur Allen photo 1925. Then they all come to life singing a sextet of German opera-like party music. An old grouch then sticks his head in the window pleading with them to shut-up. A little opera goes a long way here to stimulate a number of your most vile senses. You may want to play this one again and again and again.

IRENE GRILLY “MOTHER of HIP REPUBLICANS”
This is a brief interview with my Mother, Irene Grilly, as she is about to get ready for our annual 2010 Grilly family XMAS eve party at brother, Lanny’s. Along with Irene’s picture and voice as she sat on the left side of here living room sofa, is me, Dave, doing the interview (trying to hold my bloggie HD camera steady) and toward the end in the background Brother Bob’s is voice giving poignant comments. This is a brief take on past and current political figures in our country and city of Chicago as well.

Captain Curt “King of Chicago Soul Food”.
A Taste of Black History with Captain Curt is a live and unrehearsed sales presentation by the “King of Chicago Soul Food”. This video is a great lesson in salesmanship as well as one of the funniest videos ever created at a Jewel Foods Store on Chicago’s South Side. You may want to have a stack of “Depens” handy for this one. And remember the words, “Its never too early or never too late to have Captain Curt’s all over your plate”!

EVOLUTION of the SAXOPHONE
Evolution of the Saxophone is a video montage, which displays a chronological history of the instrument using star performers from each musical era. Originally invented as a classical and military band instrument, this innovative addition to the orchestra gradually made its way into virtually every style of music. The video begins in 1844 with its Belgian inventor Adolph Sax and goes through its evolution from European classical to an 80 year history as the iconic instrument in American jazz. From Adolph Sax to John Phillip Sousa to Coleman Hawkins to Charlie Parker to former U.S. President Bill Clinton the saxophone continues to be one of the worlds most popular instruments. Through this video students get a real taste of ethno-musicology (musical anthropology). They also get to hear my tenor saxophone on Charlie Parkers Donna Lee throughout the piece. It swings despite what the “be-bop police” might have to say about it.

EMERALD CITIES
Emerald Cities is a video montage which demonstrates the contrast in climate and environment of two cities in the month of February: Chicagos Lakefront at Hyde Parks Point beach front and South Beach Miami, Florida. I had the great fortune to video tape both these areas in February but Ill take South Beach over Lake Michigan any day. The education benefits from this video are a taste of geography, cool video editing using iMovie, a tasteful and interesting approach to smooth jazz, girl watching and an incentive to save up those frequent flyer miles to get to South Beach in February.

ABOUT HOPE
About Hope takes a look at the people on a typical day in downtown Chicago and conveys a sample of what gives the average working person hope in life. For some its a way to make a living despite an unfortunate corporate downsizing. For some its Jesus. For many its just the fun of listening and dancing to live street music. And for one lady its simply a cup of Jell-O on the way to work. This video can introduce students to urban sociology well as the miracles of video editing with Final Cut Pro. Many thanks go to my colleague Dan Petersen for the great editing job he did here. And to the band, the Hipnotics, for providing the musical background.