First-time director Al Hicks pays tribute to jazz legend Clark Terry
“Hearing Clark is hearing his life. And he is a master,” says Herbie Hancock about trumpeter Clark Terry in the documentary Keep On Keepin’ On.
Shot over five years by first time director Al Hicks, Keep On Keepin’ On is a wonderful film, and loving tribute to a mentor, a teacher, a friend and a remarkable man, 93-year-old jazz legend, Clark Terry, who friends refer to as “C.T.”.
A drummer by trade, Hicks had been a student of Clark Terry at William Paterson University in New Jersey whom he met in 2002. They became friends and Hicks began studying with him and eventually joined one of his bands. “I had looked up to him for years and years before this. Once I knew him personally, my wiser self said, ‘the world needs to know about this guy,’” said Hicks. “He would be telling stories about Quincy Jones and Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis, and all this stuff. It was amazing. It’s always been a desire for me to tell Clark’s story.”
Terry was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1920 as one of eleven children. He was seven years old when his mother passed away and ten years old when he first heard the Duke Ellington band perform. He was so captivated by Ellington and his music, that he fashioned his own trumpet out of the raw materials that were available to him at the time.
A mentor to Miles Davis and a teacher to Quincy Jones, Terry is among the rare performers ever to have played in both Count Basie’s and Duke Ellington’s bands. Terry got his first big break when he was hired by Count Basie in 1947. He later joined Duke Ellington’s band and in 1960, he left Ellington’s band to join Quincy Jones’ orchestra in Paris. Three years later, Terry became the first black staff musician on NBC’s The Tonight Show.
A supremely talented musician, Terry is also a naturally gifted teacher. When Terry was younger, he sought advice on how to play the trumpet and was lied to. From that experience, he vowed that if asked, he would always take the time to instruct a musician on the correct way to play jazz or an instrument.
Hicks said that he was always baffled as to why Terry believed in him as a musician and as a person. “Once I got done with the film and was interviewing people, they would say the same thing. They were baffled why this great man believed in them. I soon found out that was Clark’s way of teaching. If Clark believes in you, you have to rise to the occasion. For me this whole process has been a way to thank my teacher.”
In addition to featuring Terry’s life and his loving relationship with wife Gwen, the documentary highlights the friendship between Justin Kauflin, a 23-year-old piano prodigy and Terry. Kauflin lost his vision in the sixth grade due to a rare eye condition and naturally gravitated towards the piano. Terry met Kauflin when the younger musician attended William Paterson University, and just as he did with Hicks, Terry took Kauflin under his wing.
Through this five-year journey and homage to Clark Terry, we see the tenderness and the love between Terry and his wife, but we also see Terry’s love for music and for teaching and the mutual affection the two musicians have for one another.
After the stimulating experience of shooting the documentary, Al Hicks would love to do another film.
“I was so focused on my music career and all of a sudden I took a left turn and became a filmmaker. I loved the creative process of making films. It’s so similar to playing music and there’s so much improvising happening and creating happening. There’s a lot of studying as well as honing your skills. That’s exciting to me.”
When asked about the one lesson that he learned from Terry, Hicks said “persistence is the key to it all. Not giving up. It sounds like a cliché but that’s totally how it works.”
Keep On Keepin’ On opens in Boston this Friday, Nov. 7.
