Les is more

On July 11 at 10 p.m. Channel 2 will air AMERICAN MASTERS - LES PAUL: CHASING SOUND!, a 90-minute performance-documentary on the life and achievements of the legendary Les Paul. You can also catch the film at the Wolfsonian on Miami Beach on Friday, July 13, when CINEMA 2 AT THE WOLF will present a free screening of the film at 7 p.m., followed by a Q&A with its producer-writer, James Arntz.  I invited Jim to contribute to this blog.

FROM JAMES ARNTZ, MIAMI BEACH RESIDENT AND PRODUCER-WRITER OF AMERICAN MASTERS BIOGRAPHY, LES PAUL: CHASING SOUND!
At the press party following our New York City screening last month, I found myself shoved with my partner John Paulson (director/cinematographer/editor) to the outer edges of a roiling half-circle of photographers and autograph seekers. The center of attention was a wispy, seemingly frail 92-year-old with the biggest, most mischievous grin in show business. He was Les Paul, and he was having the time of his life! John and I exchanged our own mischievous grins. Two and half years earlier, we had gone hat-in-hand to the Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention, insisting on the urgency of a funding grant that would allow us to film an oral history with Mr. Paul “while there was still time.” We got the grant, we filmed the interviews, and we quickly learned to our relief and delight that nonagenarians are not what they used to be. There’s good reason for our choice of “Chasing Sound” for the title. Les is an amazing fellow -- father of the solid-body electric guitar, inventor of overdubbing and multi-track recording, king of the ‘50s pop charts with his wife Mary Ford, and revered rock ‘n’ roll icon. He’s also one of our first and finest jazz guitarists and still performing every Monday night at the Iridium Jazz Club in Manhattan. He’s truly a national treasure and I hope you’ll all have a chance to spend some quality time with him through our film. Jim Arntz Writer/Producer

Comments

[I love Les Pauls!!!]

I saw mention of this at FretboardJournal.com, I'm EXTREMELY excited to see this.

jed

[kpli]

Hi..just stopping by to say a Happy New Year...interesting post there, and i've bookmarked this blog too...keep up the good job ;)