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Big Ben: Ben Webster in Europe
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Big Ben: Ben Webster in Europe
IDFA 2000

Big Ben: Ben Webster in Europe

Johan van der Keuken
Netherlands
1967
32 min
Festival history

In the late sixties, the American saxophone player and living jazz legend Ben Webster lived in Amsterdam for a year. Webster, who was born in Kansas City in 1909, was a unique personality in the world of jazz and blues. In the thirties, he played with all the great names. During his Amsterdam period, he stayed with an elderly landlady, Mrs Hardloper, with whom he appeared on a national talk show. In conversations with Van der Keuken, he muses on the past; on the fantastic experience of playing in the renowned Duke Ellington band; or on one of his best friends, who was so deft at eating with a knife and fork. Short, fragmented remarks, which Van der Keuken has edited in a loose, improvised editing style.

Credits
Director
World Sales
    Idéale Audience
    Idéale Audience
Screening copy
    Lucid Eye Films
    Lucid Eye Films