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- <text id=89TT2804>
- <title>
- Oct. 23, 1989: From The Publisher
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1989
- Oct. 23, 1989 Is Government Dead?
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- FROM THE PUBLISHER, Page 4
- </hdr><body>
- <p> Whether the motif is jazz or swing, classical or ragtime, there
- is one constant in the films of Woody Allen: good music sets both
- the mood and the pace. The meticulous attention to scoring is no
- coincidence. Comedian Allen is deadly earnest when it comes to
- music, especially the New Orleans jazz style he favors most.
- </p>
- <p> This week the Profile section explores the Woody Allen most
- fans do not know: Woody Allen, the jazz clarinetist. Though Allen
- rarely grants interviews to discuss his movies, he readily agreed
- to talk to senior editor Thomas Sancton about his other career. In
- the projection room of Allen's Manhattan film center, they
- discussed music and clarinets for 90 minutes. "Woody Allen is
- passionate about jazz," says Sancton. "It's not just an eccentric
- hobby."
- </p>
- <p> Sancton should know. A native of New Orleans, he grew up in
- and around the clubs of America's jazz capital, sitting in on gigs
- with his clarinet from the time he was a teenager. Allen's musical
- hero, clarinetist George Lewis, was one of Sancton's own mentors,
- and in 1969 Sancton played at Lewis' funeral. While an
- undergraduate at Harvard University in the late 1960s, Sancton
- formed the Black Eagle Jazz Band. When he went on to Oxford for
- graduate work, he toured briefly with several European jazz groups
- before putting the horn aside to complete his doctorate in European
- history. He did not play in public again until two years ago.
- Earlier this month, Sancton cut his seventh album, accompanied by
- pianist David Paquette and drummer Cornelis (Pam) Pameijer. It will
- be released next year by G.H.B. Records.
- </p>
- <p> In the insular world of jazz, all roads lead to New Orleans,
- and in 1971 Sancton and Allen crossed paths at the Jazz and
- Heritage Festival. One night they both sat in on a jam session at
- Bonaparte's Retreat, a smoky riverfront club on Decatur Street.
- Last year, when Sancton started playing at the Cajun, a Manhattan
- night spot, he discovered that his pianist occasionally filled in
- with Woody's group at Michael's Pub. The pianist later told Allen
- about Sancton's return to the bandstand. "I met him in 1971," the
- filmmaker responded. "Do you think he remembers me?" He did.
- </p>
-
- </body></article>
- </text>
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