The World Premiere of Bret Primack’s first feature film, “Taking Charge – The Pauly Cohen Story,” takes place this Wednesday, April 17 at the Arizona International Film Festival. The documentary chronicles the life trajectory of Pauly Cohen, a Brooklyn native who became lead trumpeter for artists such as Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett. Now at the ripe age of 90, he leads and mentors his own band in the Fort Lauderdale area.
“Although the film details Pauly’s musical career,” Primack explains, “at the heart of this film is the story of man trying to become a better person. Now in his 91styear, Pauly is still actively pursuing his big band dream at a time when most people who have survived the ravages of aging are most likely retired and lined up for an early dinner. Pauly Cohen may be 90, but he shows us that that we can continue to do what we love, long past forced retirement.”
Bret, best known as the Jazz Video Guy, producer of YouTube’s largest Jazz channel with nearly 1100 videos and 22 million views, used Kickstarter to fund most of the film. “I started posted Jazz videos to YouTube in March of 2006, building a global community through social media. I developed a formula anyone can follow, at the beginning of the internet when I helped co-founded Jazz Central Station, for success on the web: compelling content, easily accessible, regularly updated. It works and has enabled me to connect with my audience in a way never before possible.”
On Thursday, April 18, Bret Primack will give his first TED talk as part of the ongoing series of Salons presented by TEDx Tuscon in conjunction with the University of Arizona at the U of A Bookstore. The subject Bret’s talk is “How Do We See,” an exploration of images and their relationship to reality.
Bret’s fascination with the media began at five in the Peanut Gallery of the Howdy Doody Show when he realized that the program he had been watching at home wasn’t real. When he became a filmmaker, he learned to manipulate imagery and create his own reality. Although he’s not a conspiracy theorist, he remains a skeptic, always decoding.
Info on “Taking Charge – The Pauly Cohen Story:
Info on Bret’s TED talk:
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