- Title: USA: The Zaire 74 concert in Africa featuring James Brown is now on DVD
- Date: 14th February 2010
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRODUCER STEWART LEVINE ON JAMES BROWN, SAYING: "When you watch this film, and you watch James Brown at the height of his powers, you see somebody who has completely mastered his art of performance at that point. The content was always there in terms of the records he made. But his ability to take these little, simple grooves in these records and then put them on stage in the way that he did. To put on the kind of show that he put on you know. With great backing, and he always had the best musicians and great singers and all that. But he himself was, with the possible exception of Michael Jackson, was the greatest at being able to entertain. By fully commiting himself to what he was doing."
- Embargoed: 1st March 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVAG27N5IU7GR76WWLSGWYBRMQH
- Story Text: "Soul Power," the documentary of the Zaire 74 concert in Africa intended to coincide with the "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, is now available on DVD.
The documentary "Soul Power" is now on DVD.
The film presents a behind-the-scenes look at the legendary Zaire 74 concert in Africa in September of 1974 that was intended to coincide with the "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match between heavyweight titans Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
The fight was delayed so the historic three-day music festival took place separately, and without the publicity the fight would have generated.
Performers included James Brown, B.B. King, The Spinners, Bill Withers, and Manu Dibango.
Music producer Stewart Levine, who masterminded and organized the show, talked about how Zaire 74 impacted the artists who participated.
"I think that the experience of going there changed everyone who went there," shared Levine. "That the artists were exposed to Africa in a way that was very natural. It wasn't like going on any kind of safari."
Levine has worked with a roster of well-known musicians, including Lionel Richie, Simply Red, Boy George, Peter Blakeley, Joe Cocker, Oleta Adams, Jamie Cullum, Aaron Neville, and Sly Stone.
Levine shared his thoughts on whether or not such a concert could be organized again.
"Could it be done today? I wonder about that. Everyone seems to make more of the spectacle these days than the event itself. And, you know, they probably would have the jungle backdrop. And they'd do some stuff to make it-- you know, maybe have people swinging from ropes and doing things. We didn't do that. We just presented the music in its natural form and let people get up there and do what they did best, which was perform. And the music did the talking."
Levin also commented on the star of his concert.
"When you watch this film, and you watch James Brown at the height of his powers, you see somebody who has completely mastered his art of performance at that point. The content was always there in terms of the records he made. But his ability to take these little, simple grooves in these records and then put them on stage in the way that he did. To put on the kind of show that he put on you know. With great backing, and he always had the best musicians and great singers and all that. But he himself was, with the possible exception of Michael Jackson, was the greatest at being able to entertain. By fully committing himself to what he was doing."
The tagline for the "Soul Power" is "the greatest music festival that you have never seen" because although major artists traveled from the U.S. to Africa to perform, there was not a lot of publicity for it.
The film was made from archival film footage. Other footage shot at the time focusing on the fight was edited to create the Oscar-winning documentary "When We Were Kings" about the Ali vs. Foreman fight. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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