A Tuba to Cuba

The emotions of joy, loss, passion and culture interwoven with the language of music was beautiful to see in the theater.

A Tuba for Cuba was extremely warmly-received in its world premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. It is well-made and charming music documentary about New Orleans's Preservation Hall Jazz Band's tour of Cuba. It is beautifully-edited with sweetness and joy. The most intriguing part of the film is the connection that film makers and the musicians are trying to draw between the New Orleans Jazz traditions and the Afro-Cuban traditions. Without directly addressing the political issues, they are trying to breakdown the walls that have separated American and Cuba for 2 generations. I'm not particularly a fan of music documentaries which I often find a bit slow and directionless. I think this one had some of the same flaws although it is better than most of the ones I've seen. It may not be everyone's cup of tea. But if you love music documentaries and particularly if you love jazz, I would recommend it.

Very rarely have I seen a film that moves me like this one. It gives you hope for humanity and focus on what connects us, Music! This doc is beautiful shot and edited with extreme craftsmanship! A beautiful love letter to New Orleans Jazz, I would see it on the big screen if you have the chance!

WHAT AN AMAZING FILM! I had the pleasure of watching A TUBA TO CUBA during its domestic premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival 2018. The energy in the packed Paramount Theater was electrifying and to say that this is a great documentary is an understatement. With all of the hatred and hasty political news that's been going on in our World today, A TUBA TO CUBA does a wonderful job putting the root of what humanity should be into perspective. This is a film about LOVE and UNITY. It's a film about how alike we are as a human race. To top it all off, after the movie was over, we experienced a second line parade with over 1400 people down 6th Street. I have never experienced anything like this in my life. I highly recommend you see this without hesitation when it comes to your town. The Director of the film quoted during a Q&A "We want to build bridges, not walls."

A Tuba to Cuba has a double timeline. Covering the band's visit to Cuba to engage with their Cuban counterparts, the film also goes backward in time to tell the story of Preservation Hall's birth in the early 60s in a New Orleans that had little interest in the jazz legends that still lived there but had no place to play or make a living. It's an important story, not only about music but about race in America.

So, engaging with both past and present seems part and parcel in what the film records: the band's embracing a future that for the first time includes original music, music that in character is as traditional as the music that they are known for, deeply rooted in New Orleans syncopated rhythms and forms, but is also informed by Cuban rhythms and forms. They came back from their trips to Cuba and, to the surprise of many here in New Orleans, announced that they had learned something *new* about rhythm--not something masters of the New Orleans tradition would say lightly. The evidence of this learning experience is recorded in the film and in the albums which emerged from their visits to Cuba: So it Is! and That's It! Great film, great albums. Great windows into both New Orleans and Cuba and their considerable music achievements.