COURTESY OF SAM POLSON
Something of a legend, Betty Loo Taylor is the subject of a film showing at the Hawai'i International Film Festival, entitled "They Call Her Lady Fingers: The Betty Loo Taylor Story." Here, Taylor performs jazz at Kamehameha Schools.
Lady Fingers
Local jazz artist Betty Loo
Taylor is immortalized in
a biographical documentary
Sam Polson met Betty Loo Taylor shortly after he returned to Hawaii in 1994. He'd been a jazz fan for years, and seeing an advertisement for Jimmy Borges and Betty Loo Taylor at Cafe Picasso piqued his interest. Polson went, liked what he heard and quickly became a regular.
"There were a lot of notable personalities who knew either Jimmy or Betty Loo that would come by whenever they were in town, and one of the people happened to be Russ Freeman," Polson said, explaining that the veteran pianist had been a big name in jazz back in the 1950s and was still something of a legend when he stopped in one night to see Borges and Taylor. Borges introduced Polson to Freeman, and Polson discovered that this man whose playing he admired was impressed by Betty Loo Taylor.
"They Call Her Lady Fingers: The Betty Loo Taylor Story"
Part of the Hawaii International Film FestivalScreens: 6 p.m. today at the Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Academy of Arts
Admission: $8 adult; $7 children, military, students and seniors 62 and over; free to individual festival Ohana members ($6 each additional ticket) -- tickets for the film available today at the theater's box office
Call: 528-HIFF (4433)
"He told me, 'She's a damned genius and she doesn't get any recognition.' I thought she was great, but coming from somebody like Russ, that really impressed me," Polson recalled.
Polson, who spent 24 years working as a writer and journalist in Washington, D.C., did what he could to promote Taylor by writing articles about her for community publications. Then he met filmmaker Patricia Gillespie, and as their friendship evolved toward marriage, they began talking about documenting Taylor's life and times on film.
"Betty Loo didn't care too much for the idea. It took us about a year to convince her that it would be a good idea," Polson said. Once he and Gillespie had won that battle, they began scheduling interviews with people who were both knowledgeable about jazz and Taylor's pianistic style.
Unfortunately, Freeman was in failing health by the time Polson and Gillespie were able to travel to Las Vegas to talk with him, and he died before the film was completed. "They Call Her Lady Fingers: The Betty Loo Taylor Story" is dedicated to him.
COURTESY OF SAM POLSON
Filmmaker Patricia Gillespie and her husband, Sam Polson, traveled to Las Vegas to interview ailing jazz pianist Russ Freeman for "Lady Fingers." Freeman died before the film was finished, and it is dedicated to him.
"Betty Loo didn't know anything about it until she saw an advance copy of the film -- they were pretty close -- and that's when I told her about how he got us started (doing the movie). She got a little teary and said that if we had a chance to say anything about the film when they have the showing at the Doris Duke Theatre, to be sure to tell that story."
Polson and Gillespie approached the project as a team. He wrote the screenplay, did most of the narration and served as the producer of the project. She directed it, handled "all the technical stuff" with assistance from some of her students and shared the cinematographer responsibilities with Heather Giugni. Even so, it took the couple and their support team almost three years to finish the 57-minute film.
Fund raising was one challenge, but getting the rights to the music they wanted to use was another.
"I think we have about 28 different pieces of music, and we were having problems just getting people to respond to our requests for clearance," Polson said. When they did respond, the asking price was usually so exorbitant for their small budget that they couldn't afford to use that particular song. As a result, several performances they had wanted to use had to be cut and other pieces substituted.
After today's screening, Polson and Gillespie are hoping that PBS Hawaii will pick it up for broadcast here and on the mainland.
Gillespie would also like to produce a DVD version for educational purposes that would include longer interviews with Gabe Baltazar, Melveen Leed and other local jazz artists, but, no surprise, that would require more fund raising and another go-round with the music licensees.
But Polson admits that he, too, is dreaming big.
"It would be real neat if Clint Eastwood could see it. He's produced a number of jazz-oriented movies, so it would be nice to get him interested. We'll send him a copy as soon as we make contact with his agent. From there, who knows?"
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[ REVIEW ]
Local jazz legend
fought for a spot
in the isle sceneBetty Loo Taylor has been a local jazz legend for so many years that there's now only a handful of people who recall the time when she first returned home from New York City and had to fight for a place in the Honolulu jazz scene. Could a female Chinese-American pianist really play hot, swinging jazz with the big boys? Yes, she could, and, as the current performance footage in the documentary makes clear, she still does 40-some years later.
Sam Polson and Patricia Gillespie knit several stories together in this fascinating film. There's a detailed look at her tangled family tree, an inspiring account of how a determined and talented woman refused to be limited by social expectations regarding race and gender, and some great performance footage, much of it from a special concert Taylor played at the Kamehameha Schools last year.
Taylor recalls highs and lows of her personal and professional life, including a couple of awkward moments from her early days as a nightclub pianist. Friends, fans, family members and colleagues -- Jimmy Borges, Gabe Baltazar and Melveen Leed among them -- share their memories and add informed assessments of Taylor's formidable talent and her significance as a jazz musician.
Bassist Steve Jones -- now one of Taylor's trusted sidemen -- recalls how he dreaded getting "the look" from Taylor back in the day when he was still getting his chops together. Additional footage shows Taylor helping to perpetuate the music she loves by sharing her knowledge with a new generation of jazz musicians.
The fact that much of the soundtrack consists of Taylor improvisations makes this great little documentary all the more interesting to jazz fans.
John Berger
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