I Hear What You See: The Old-Time World of Kenny Hall

Description

I Hear What You See: The Old-Time World of Kenny Hall
Chris Simon (U.S., 2010)

Bay Area Premiere

Kenny Hall, Chris Simon, and Alice Gerrard in Person

Live Performance (starting at 3:30) by Kenny Hall & the Sweet’s Mill String Band

Old-time fiddler/mandolin player Kenny Hall may be blind, but he sees landscapes and atmospheres in the musical keys he plays. F is the ocean; B#, a cloudy day; D is warm like the Sacramento Valley. You could say whenever he plays his instrument, he evokes a sense of the world—Kenny’s world, a world that is generous, plucky, infectious, and well-weathered. Considered one of the more important practitioners of traditional music, Hall, now in his eighties, has shunned the limelight, preferring instead the joy of unvarnished performance, the backyard shindig, and the chance to pass on the thousand-plus songs he’s mastered. Chris Simon’s bouncy portrait catches Kenny Hall at his best: among friends and fellow players, conjuring a folksy world, filled with cranky wisdom and an embracing warmth like Fresno in June. Sounds like the key of D.—Steve Seid

Presented in conjunction with the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention

• Photographed by Simon. (45 mins, Color, Digibeta, From the filmmaker)

Followed by:
Sprout Wings and Fly
Les Blank, Alice Gerrard, Cece Conway (U.S., 1983)
A portrait of then-78-year-old Tommy Jarrell, considered the best of the old fiddle players, whose expressive style was rich with folksy filigree. As an exceptional vocalist and storyteller, Jarrell helped carry forward the ways of regional wisdom.

• Photographed by Blank. (30 mins, Color, 16mm, From Flower Films)

More Info

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http://bampfa.berkeley.edu/filmseries/

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510.643.2197

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