Enzo Avitabile Music Life: A Journey Through World Music

This post was written by DOC NYC blogger Sandy Roupioz

Director Jonathan Demme at the DOC NYC screening of his film.

In the category of music documentaries, DOC NYC 2012 welcomed Jonathan Demme’s latest production, ENZO AVITABILE MUSIC LIFE, a tribute to Enzo Avitabile, the saxophonist and songwriter who hails from from Napoli, Italy.

Demme has already directed an impressively wide range of music documentaries, from STOP MAKING SENSE to his collaborations with Neil Young. The rhythm of his latest film is that of a journey punctuated by music from Avitabile. The instructions given by Demme to Avitabile consisted of nothing more than, “Take us where you want to go and play lots of music.” The instructions do thread their way through the film, serving as a soft melody echoing in the memory of the viewer.

Along with Demme, viewers travel into Avitabile’s inner world, traveling from Palestina to Armenia, though Iran and Mauritania. The music is as diverse as the places visited and the deep stories they hold, such that of Pliny the elder, who witnessed the first eruption of the Vesuvius, or the killing of the Italian peace activist, Vittorio Arrigoni, in Palestine.

All paths eventually lead to the vibrant, multicultural music-infested city of Napoli, where Avitabile is deeply rooted and from where he gains his strength.

Along this path, the viewer discovers a multi-faceted Avitabile: Avitabile as a man, with his two daughters, living in the memory of his lost wife in his modest Neapolitan apartment, surrounded by his 300 works; Avitabile as the self-made musician, who learned to play saxophone with Mr. Piazzi in a humid building’s basement in Marianella, and who ended up in a prestigious conservatory playing with famous artists like James Brown, Richie Havens and Tina Turner.

Avitabile’s enthusiasm has no limit, nor does devotion to music, which wanders off the beaten track of jazz history. It was these wanderings that particularly surprised Demme.