Our
Mississippi Records Music & Film Series
continues with two films that speak of how original and visionary an artist can get.
The evening starts with Mississippi Records favorite live concert film of all time –
Nina Simone, Live At Montreux
. Nina, fresh from a 3 year spiritual journey in Liberia, blind sides a Swiss jazz festival audience with a raw and intense confessionary performance that calls just about every convention on how to present music live into question. Nina is contemptuous, hilarious, brilliant and spiritual all at once. A
tour de force
not to be missed on the big screen!
The second film of the evening is
The Strange Story Of Joe Meek.
Joe Meek was a record producer active from the late 1950's through to the mid 1960's, when his unfortunate committal of a murder/suicide cut his career short. Joe was obsessed by outer space, the occult, Buddy Holly, weird sounds, and pretty boys. He would achieve hit song writing at times through channeling ghosts to co-write through seances. Joe would also wander graveyards to record spooky atmospheric sounds for his records. Somehow, using these methods, Joe managed to produce many number one hits. His story is endlessly fascinating and this documentary gets it all down through interviews with his friends, foes and family as well as great archival footage.
The
MISSISSIPPI RECORDS MUSIC & FILM SERIES
is a monthly series of events curated by Mississippi Records. Events include film showings, live music and lectures featuring artists close to the heart of Portland’s Mississippi Records label and shop. Artists and collaborators featured include Sun Ra, Philip Cohran, Harry Smith, Les Blank, Michael Hurley, the Academy Film Archive, and many many more.