New Documentary Film: Miss Sharon Jones – playing this week in NYC

“Her spirit is driven by music, and this was always her source of inspiration to continue onwards, despite the odds. Sharon makes you believe in anything.” – Barbara Kopple

As a lover of her music as well as her life story, it was a thrill to meet Sharon Jones in February of 2014. The occasion was her return to the stage after being forced by cancer to take a break from performing. We spoke a few hours prior to the curtain going up at the Beacon Theater. While shooting a little video of the concert, I noticed some other cameras. What I know now is that Barbara Kopple was in the final stages of filming her documentary that was released on Friday: Miss Sharon Jones.

I sat down again with the indomitable vocalist this week as well as the acclaimed filmmaker at the NY1 studios in Chelsea Market. Sadly the circumstances were not as favorable as our last meeting. While celebrating being cancer free 29 months ago, this time Jones was enduring more treatments but powering through to do press for the new movie. She’s as tough as they come as the flick makes plain. It’s got to be an inspiration to families dealing with cancer not to mention aspiring musicians, New Yorkers, and well anybody with a heart and ears. It also gives fans a chance to be a fly on the wall at Daptone Studios in Brooklyn and get to know better amazing figures like Gabriel Roth, Binky Griptite, and Dapettes Saun and Starr.

Miss Sharon Jones is at the IFC Center in the West Village this week and the soundtrack album will be out later this month. The latter includes a rousing new autobiographical ditty she wrote called I’m Still Here. It traces from her birth in North Augusta, South Carolina to the Civil Rights Era and through her unforgettable gig on Rikers Island as a prison guard and her current sparring with the big C.

Here’s a flashback to the conversation from 2014…

The Super Soul Revue last Thursday through Saturday at The Apollo was an excellent reminder at the tremendous talent found on Daptone Records.  As I’ve been spending some time recently with the outstanding Burnt Offering by The Budos Band, I was keen to capture a taste of their performance and get a chat with the fellas – a pair of them anyway – the ones with horns, Jared Tankel and Andrew Greene.  WWOD is their fine motto, or maybe will be as Jared seemed to coin it as we spoke…What Would Ozzy Do!

Here’s some bonus pix of Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley who both gave exciting, passionate performances on Saturday night on either side of The Budos Band’s set.

[See image gallery at hollandude.com]

A wonderful night for Sharon Jones at The Beacon…

Links are to my reviews…

1 Massive Attack/Thievery Corporation/Nada Surf; Beacon Theater/Mercury Lounge
2 Grinderman; Best Buy Theater
3 New Orleans Jazzfest; Dr. John, Simon & Garfunkel, Terrence Blanchard, etc.
4 Corinne Bailey Rae; Terminal 5
5 Brendan Benson & The Posies; Highline Ballroom
6 Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
7 Buffalo Tom; Mercury Lounge
8 Specials; Terminal 5
9 Aerosmith/J.Geils Band; Fenway Park
(Peter Wolf Show at Highline was great too)
10 Lou Barlow; Mercury Lounge
11 Rodrigo y Gabriela; Radio City Music Hall
12 Villagers at Mercury Lounge

…the links are to my video reviews of the album or a concert appearance by the band.

1 Spoon: Transference
2 Corinne Bailey Rae: The Sea
3 Grinderman: Grinderman 2
4 Black Keys: Brothers
5 Erykah Badu: New Amerika 2 – Return of the Ankh
6 Broken Bells: S/T
7 The Dead Weather: Sea of Cowards
8 Citizen Cope: The Rainwater LP
9 The Hold Steady: Heaven is Whenever
10 Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings: I Learned the Hard Way

One complaint – The Apollo has been open about 100 years and they haven’t figured out how to sell drinks. Lines were crazy…Other than that – excellent time. SJ spared no expense as a full 17 piece band backed her up!