Urban Noir/L.A-NY
Noir – a feeling, mood, a sur-reality. The dark blanket of night softens the ugliness of the big city—the one called Los Angeles. Natural beauty ruined by three generations of cheap stucco housing and vast urban sprawl. Even the street people are hidden away from view, curled up in the doorways and the unlit alleyways they call home.
Most of the people are home. Look up into the windows and see the light of the flickering TV’s. They think this will make them feel safe, but their dreams are always disturbed by the news and crime shows they watch before they sleep. They fear the night, but as we night crawlers know, that is when life in the city is most free. With the roads and streets clear of people, we enjoy the ease of getting around in a smooth and steady motion. We breathe easier with the aroma of night blooming Jasmine filling the air.
And then there is New York – the big Apple - the place that still draws the talented hopefuls. The endless intensity of the pulsating beat. The place where I feared through my childhood and longed to escape.
Both cities now pull me - they drive my imagination and dreams.
The mystery writers get it and develop their stories around it. And the music — can you hear it? Miles, Monk, Coltrane. They say a picture tells a thousand words, John Beasley says it all.
We are the creators of the neo-noir. Although we come from different backgrounds, we share the same oneness with the night. A love for the city and the urban landscape. We share our observations with each other and those who want to look, read, and listen.
Experience Noir through us, without leaving the safety of your seat.
Directed by Taka Aria, Pathfinder Films, Music composed and performed by John Beasley, Grammy nominee , Emmy Winner (Jazz at the White House and musical director of International Jazz Day . NY Text edited by Abigail Lewis, Editor, Whole Life Times