A Tuba to Cuba

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."

This is a must check for anyone interested in culture, music and history. I had the opportunity to see it at the NOFF and was completely blown away. Growing up in New Orleans I was not aware of the similar roots in music that Nola had to Cuba. Once the music starts the language barrier disappears, that's one of the themes of this beautiful doc. Check it out if you have the chance. I give it 1000 stars!!

This film tells the beautiful story of the inter-connectedness of music, culture and humanity. Preservation Hall is a national treasure and today's Preservation Hall Jazz Band takes the best of the past and blends it with new flavor, making it all new again. Don't miss this film -- it's a feast for the eyes, ears and heart. Brilliant direction and cinematography. And I dare you to sit still while listening to that soundtrack!

This is a beautiful film about the power of music and the shared humanity that exists between every citizen of the world. The story of the world famous Preservation Hall Jazz Band travel from New Orleans to Cuba, (which share a lot of musical and cultural history I learned), to travel across the island meeting Cuban musicians, performing concerts, and experiencing life-changing moments with those they encounter and the places they travel.

Staying away from a trite sermon on the social issues between the two countries or in Cuba itself; the filmmakers instead focus on the bonds that tie all us as people together, and show us some truly amazing music and real life moments along the way. One scene that stands out in particular (without giving anything away) is when an African-American musician has an amazing experience jamming and learning history with an African-Cuban musician, though the two don't speak the same language.

No matter what your feelings are on Jazz, Cuba, or music documentaries, this film will have an impact on you, and make you leave the theater feeling that anything is possible.

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.