JACKIE McLEAN & THE FREDDIE REDD QUARTET - Scenes from "The Connection", 1961 | THE JAZZ LIBRARY

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JACKIE McLEAN & THE FREDDIE REDD QUARTET - Scenes from "The Connection", 1961.
The Connection is a 1961 feature film directed by the American experimental filmmaker Shirley Clarke. The film was Clarke's first feature; she had made several short films over the previous decade. Jack Gelber wrote the screenplay, adapting his play of the same name. The film was the subject of significant court cases regarding censorship. It is the first known movie shot in the found footage format and beginning with a found footage title card.

Songs featured:
Who Killed Cock Robin 0:00
Blues Jam 3:51
Music Forever 5:03
Time To Smile 5:46
Jim Dunn's Dilema 8:57
O.D. 11:19

Jackie McLean - Alto Saxophone
Freddie Redd - Piano
Michael Mattos - Bass
Larry Richie - Drums

Based on the play The Connection by Jack Gelber, the film follows a young filmmaker who attempts to film junkies waiting for their heroin dealer to arrive.

Most of the actors from the original stage production reprised their roles for the film: Warren Finnerty as Leach, Carl Lee as Cowboy, Garry Goodrow as Ernie, Jerome Raphel as Solly, Barbara Winchester as Sister Salvation, and Henry Proach as Harry. All the musicians from the original stage production appeared: Freddie Redd (composer, piano), Jackie McLean (alto sax), Michael Mattos (bass), and Larry Ritchie (drums). Non-original cast members James Anderson and William Redfield took the roles of Sam and Jim Dunn. The character of Jaybird was cut from the film; that role essentially shifted to a largely off-screen camera operator, J.J. Burden, voiced by Roscoe Lee Browne. The music played on the onscreen record player is "Marmaduke" by and performed by Charlie Parker (take 4).

The film helped to loosen film censorship, as Clarke and producer Lewis Allen had filed suit to be able to show the film in New York. (The film had premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1961.) In that era, in New York, the State's Department of Education had a vote on the State's film licensing board, and they voted to deny a license, mainly on the grounds that the word "sh1t" was used repeatedly during the film even though it was mostly used to refer to drugs.

The case went to the New York State Court of Appeals (the state's highest court). The Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the intermediate level Appellate Division, which had held that while 'vulgar', this usage could not be considered obscene. Ultimately, the film was unsuccessful at the box office.

Warren Finnerty as Leach
Jerome Raphael as Solly
Garry Goodrow as Ernie
Jim Anderson as Sam
Carl Lee as Cowboy
Barbara Winchester as Sister Salvation
Henry Proach as Harry
Roscoe Lee Browne as J. J. Burden
William Redfield as Jim Dunn
Freddie Redd as Piano Player
Jackie McLean as Sax Player
Larry Richie as Drummer
Michael Mattos as Bass Player

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