A long-lost live recording featuring one of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy’s 1961 sets at New York’s Village Gate has been unearthed for release this summer.

Evenings at the Village Gate, out July 14 via Impulse! Records, was recorded in the summer before Coltrane’s legendary slate of Nov. 1961 dates at the Village Vanguard, with a similar quintet lineup: The short-lived tandem of Coltrane and Dolphy alongside drummer Elvin Jones, pianist McCoy Tyner, and bassist Reggie Workman.

Ahead of the album’s release, Impulse! Records has shared the night’s...

Expanding on the homonymous short, “Greaseman” presents the comments of the original much more eloquently while adding more, through a presentation that points towards the music video, since there is no dialogue, but the presence of music is constant. The film was shot in one day and premiered at a pop-up outdoor screening outside the infamous Manila Film Center in 2001.

The film focuses on two radically different individuals. The Greaseman is a dirty bump roaming the streets of Manila with no shoes, barely dressed, trying to scrape anything he can to eat, while reading a book or being followed by children who seem to mock him but not being afraid of his terrible appearance. The Yuppie is a well-off man, living in a comfortable apartment, working in an office and spending his time visiting galleries or flirting with shop clerks. One night, however, the radically differently paths of the two men collide,...

To say that Eric Dolphy died in his prime would be a massive understatement. While on tour in Berlin in June 1964, the multi-instrumental virtuoso — whose solos on alto saxophone, bass clarinet and flute zoomed and zig-zagged like rogue comets — suffered sudden diabetes-related complications and passed away at age 36. In the prior year alone, he had performed with old friends John Coltrane and Charles Mingus, appeared on pianist Andrew Hill’s now-classic Point of Departure LP and recorded Out to Lunch!, his own magnum opus as a bandleader.

Dolphy’s final...

Sam Pinto, Ramon 'Bong' Revilla, Si Agimat at si Enteng Kabisote The fantasy adventure Si Agimat at si Enteng Kabisote, starring actor-politician Ramon 'Bong' Revilla and Vic Sotto, remains the top box-office hit at the 2010-2011 Metro Manila Film Festival, during which only Filipino movies — eight of them this year — are screened in The Philippines. To date, Si Agimat at si Enteng Kabisote has taken in P131,213,092 (Us$2.98m). Starring former president Corazon Aquino's daughter Kris Aquino — who also happens to be the current president's (Benigno Aquino III's) sister — the horror thriller Dalaw has brought in P65,550,261 (Us$1.49m). Dolphy's Father Jejemon has been at the bottom of the box-office chart despite the veteran comedian's Best Actor win announced last weekend. Albert Martinez's Rosario, a socially conscious period drama starring Jennylyn Mercado, hasn't been performing all that well, either — possibly because, according to one journalist, Martinez's movie...

Albert Martinez's Rosario, stripped of all its gloss, is essentially about the titular woman, played illustriously by luscious Jennlyn Mercado, whose fate seems to be dictated by her passions unleashed that during that time were severely discouraged, especially for women. Nonetheless, Rosario, presumably out of an upbringing influenced by the liberalities preached by America, the Philippines' new colonial master, succumbs to every call of her flesh, first with her father's trusted assistant (Yul Servo), whom she marries to the chagrin of her parents, second with her best friend's boyfriend (Dennis Trillo), which caused her separation with her husband and her children, and third, with her landlord's enamored nephew (Sid Lucero). As such, it holds immense promise beyond the trite melodramatics that usually accompany such material.

 

However, the film, like the many well-dressed and well-made up characters that populate it, is far too concerned in decorating itself to be anything more than an expensive ornament.

Metro Manila Film Festival Awards: Comedy Rules Best Picture: Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) 2nd Best Picture: Rosario 3rd Best Picture: RPG Metanoia Best Director: Wenn V. Deramas, Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) Best Actress: Ai-Ai delas Alas, Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) Best Actor: Dolphy, Father Jejemon Best Supporting Actress: Eugene Domingo, Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) Best Supporting Actor: Dolphy, Rosario Best Screenplay: Mel del Rosario, Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) Best Cinematography: Carlo Mendoza, Rosario Best Editing: John Wong, Rosario Best Musical Score: Jesse Lasatem, Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) Best Theme Song: "Kaya Ko", RPG Metanoia Best Production Design: Joel Luna and Miki Hahn, Rosario Best Sound Recording: Ambient Media, RPG Metanoia and Ditoy Aguila, Super Inday and the Golden Bibe Best Visual Effects: Rico Gutierrez and Co., Si Agimat at si Enteng Kabisote...

This holiday season, moviegoers around the world will be flocking to Tron: Legacy, Little Fockers, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, and other cinematic masterpieces. Except in The Philippines. The Metro Manila Film Festival 2011, which kicked off on Christmas Day, will keep Filipino moviegoers busy with national fare for the next two weeks. Foreign movies are banned and entertainment taxes are lifted during that period, which works as a form of government subsidy for the Filipino film industry. Inevitably, the Metro Manila festival has already given rise to controversy. The comedian Dolphy has agreed to delete scenes from his latest starring vehicle, Father Jejemon, following protests from members of the Catholic Church. Directed by Frank Gray Jr, Father Jejemon tells the story of a musically inclined parish priest who teaches a bunch of rebellious kids to sing in...