Body and Soul: An American Bridge, the Black-Jewish History of an American Song

The Charleston Jewish Filmfest, the Arts Management Program at the College of Charleston, and the Pearlstine/Lipov Center for Southern Jewish Culture present

A FREE film screening and discussion of the acclaimed jazz documentary Body and Soul: An American Bridge, the Black-Jewish History of an American Song

• BODY AND SOUL will be available for screening between Monday, October 12 and Thursday, October 15, 2020.

• DISCUSSION of the film and the history of jazz in Charleston with Dr. Karen Chandler and Charlton Singleton takes place on Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.

• Both programs are virtual, free, and open to the public

The Film: Available from October 12 through October 15. Click here to register to watch the film.

The winner of the Best Music Documentary award at the San Francisco Black Film Festival, BODY AND SOUL: AN AMERICAN BRIDGE recounts the story of one of the most popular songs in the jazz repertoire. The Great American Songbook is replete with standards from Jewish composers that were inducted into the jazz canon by black musicians. By combining archival footage and commentary, the film illustrates the complex musical interplay between Jewish and African-American cultures. The connection is both sympathetic and contentious, with both sides borrowing, learning from, and complementing the other. Click here to watch the trailer.

The Discussion: ZOOM Q & A on October 15, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.

Delve into the history of jazz music in Charleston with Charlton Singleton, composer, conductor, and trumpet player for Grammy Award winning quintet Ranky Tanky, and Dr. Karen Chandler, director of the Graduate Certificate in Arts and Cultural Management at College of Charleston and co-founder of the Charleston Jazz Initiative (CJI). The discussion, moderated by Dr. Ashley Walters, Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies at the College of Charleston, will touch on the themes from the film BODY AND SOUL. Viewing the film is not a requirement for attending the ZOOM Q & A. Click here to register for the discussion.

For more information, contact sbrettfilm@gmail.com

Sponsored by: College of Charleston Arts Management Program, College of Charleston Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program

Charlton Singleton

Acclaimed composer, teacher, and performer Charlton Singleton is a native of Awendaw, South Carolina. In 2008, he co-founded and became the artistic director and conductor of the Charleston Jazz Orchestra. Singleton leads ensembles of varying size and style that perform in cities throughout Europe and the United States. He is a founding member of Ranky Tanky, a quintet that interprets the sounds of Gullah from the Southeast Coast of the United States. With Singleton on trumpet and vocals, the quintet won a Grammy award in 2019 for their album “Good Time.”

Karen Chandler, Ph.D.

Karen Chandler is the Director of the Graduate Certificate in Arts and Cultural Management at College of Charleston. She is Co-Founder/Principal of the Charleston Jazz Initiative (CJI), a jazz history and research project that documents the careers of South Carolina musicians who helped shape jazz history in America and Europe. In 2011, Chandler was Executive Producer of LEGENDS, a CD with a 22-piece big band of songs by musicians that CJI is studying. Recipient of numerous program and research grants, Chandler has been a longtime volunteer of the MOJA Arts Festival in Charleston, was recognized on the South Carolina Arts Commission’s “Forty Lists Project” as an Outstanding Arts Administrator, and in 2012 won the South Carolina Governor’s Award in the Humanities.

Ashley Walters, Ph.D

Ashley Walters received her Ph.D. in History with a minor in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Stanford University. Her research explores the history of Jews, gender, race, and immigration in early twentieth-century America. Her dissertation considers the evolving image of East European Jewish women immigrants through the lens of interethnic and interclass romances on the radical left. In the spring, Ashley will assume the directorship of the Pearlstine/Lipov Center for Southern Jewish Culture.