Strung out and waiting for The Connection

An impossible movie to find even on video, this dvd release (made in Spain in an all region format) is a welcome reissue, especially to jazz fans. Taken from the Jack Galber play of the same name, with most of the same players, The Connection is a dreary look on a group of musicians in a New York City loft, waiting for the man who will supply them with their latest drug fix. Like the play, all the action is in one room of the apartment, and the musicians play several tunes throughout. It's bleak. Watching a bunch of strung out musicians is hard, but it sends a message about the destructiveness of drug addiction, the need and the living only for the next fix. There is also a filmmaker with them, recording them for a documentary he his making. The performaces are outstanding, perhaps too realistic, as many of the musicians were or had been junkies at one time. Notable primarily for the music, and to see some great musicians play. Black and white, full screen. With Jackie McLean (tenor saxaphone), one of the great jazz musicians of the late 20th century, and Freddie Redd (pianist), who composed all of the tunes. The music is available on the Blue Note cd The Connection, under Freddie Redd's name. I recommend the music to everyone; it's great hard bop jazz, but the movie can only be recommended for the jazz fans.