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Acoustic blues trio Saffire--The Uppity Blues Women is the subject of an upcoming documentary. Footage from the group's sold-out show at The Barns at Wolf Trap next week will be included. |
VIDEO: Saffire documentary coming soon .
BY LUCIA ANDERSON
Saffire--The Uppity Blues Women have been singing the blues--theirs and others'--for nearly a quarter of a century. And now the Fredericksburg-based acoustic blues group is about to start a film career.
Gaye Adegbalola, Ann Rabson and Andra Faye are the subjects of a documentary being put together by Sarah Knight of Jo Films and Barbara Ghammashi of Roadside Pictures Inc. The group's sold-out performance at The Barns at Wolf Trap next Wednesday will be part of the footage.
The idea for the film started with Knight.
"I discovered Saffire when their second album, 'Hot Flash,' was released in 1991," Knight wrote in an e-mail. "I instantly fell in love with their music, their lyrics and their inspiring story of having quit their day jobs in their mid-40s to pursue their love of blues full time."
Adegbalola was an eighth-grade science teacher at James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg and Rabson was a computer analyst by day and blues musician by night when they started performing at the Holiday Inn on U.S. 1 south in 1984. Andra Faye had a career as a registered nurse before she joined Saffire in 1992.
The women have developed an international reputation for their take-no-prisoners, tell-it-like-it-is songwriting style. Their eight CDs on the Alligator Records label include such in-your-face numbers as "Middle Aged Blues Boogie" and "Silver Beaver." They also sing classic blues numbers in addition to their own songs.
Knight persuaded Ghammashi to join her in the project, titled "Hot Flash" after that 1991 album.
"After meeting the band last summer, I knew their story would make a compelling documentary," Ghammashi wrote in an e-mail. "They decided to pursue music full time, and succeeded, at an age when most people believe that the course of their lives cannot be changed. Their story offers a view of success that we don't often see, women who are making a living doing what they love."
In addition to their eight CDs, the group has performed in venues as far away as Alaska and New Zealand. The touring schedule has slowed since 2002, but each of the three members has a solo career as well.
The band has been nominated several times for W.C. Handy Awards, now called Blues Music Awards. Adegbalola won a Handy for the group's recording of "Middle Aged Blues Boogie." Rabson has garnered 10 Handy nominations, and Faye has two nominations on her resume.
Success indeed.
Knight said the documentary will include new interviews with the three women and their families; Bruce Iglauer, president of Alligator Records; and various music historians and critics.
"Those will be interwoven with photos, press clippings and archival video footage from the band's personal collection," she wrote.
Live footage will include next week's Wolf Trap concert and a December show at the Ram's Head in Annapolis, Md.
In a phone conversation, Knight said they hope to have a rough cut ready to submit to various film festivals by the beginning of June. They hope to air the film on television as well.
"I hope our documentary will serve as a bit of a counter to our youth-obsessed media. I've never understood why, at a time when we are all living longer, healthier and more productively, our culture remains so focused on youth," Knight wrote.
Lucia Anderson: 540/374-5405What: Saffire--The Uppity Blues Women Where: The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna When: Wednesday, 8 p.m. Cost: Tickets are $25, but the show is currently sold out. Contact customer service at 877/965-3872 for possible ticket availability. Info: wolftrap.org/perfor mances |
