Documentary on Jazz Great, CalArts Faculty Charlie Haden Making Festival Rounds

There’s always an air of mystery surrounding the program for the Telluride Film Festival. Organizers don’t reveal what’s on the program until visitors reach the mountain. And filmmakers are sworn to secrecy if their film is chosen. This past weekend’s 36th Telluride Film Festival (Sept. 4-7) was no exception.

Filmmakers got word of their screening times late last week – and there were two screenings of the Reto Caduff documentary Charlie Haden: Rambling Boy on the bill. Haden, who established the jazz studies program at CalArts in 1982, has earned countless honors from around the globe, including the Los Angeles Jazz Society prize for “Jazz Educator of the Year” and two Grammy Awards.

Rambling Boy follows Charlie Haden Family & Friends recording the country/bluegrass album of the same name. Interspersed with music and film clips from Haden’s personal collection, the documentary tracks his bluegrass beginnings, moving from the Ozarks to the heart of the 1960s jazz movement, to his contributions to the avant-garde, small group, big band, world music, folk and gospel genres.

Caduff’s film is on the festival circuit now, with stops at the Vancouver Film Festival (Oct. 1-15), the In-Edit Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain (Oct. 28-Nov. 8 ) and the Hof Film Festival in Hof, Germany, which also begins in late October.

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