Sidney Bechet Treat it Gentle
April 2007 Reviewed by: Joseph Taylor Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

"I think there’s three really principal figures in jazz that are the foundation of everything that’s come since: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Sidney Bechet." Bob Wilbur, a student and friend of Bechet’s, makes that assertion near the beginning of this 1997 BBC documentary about the great New Orleans clarinet and soprano saxophone player. It’s hard to argue with him, except, perhaps, to add Jelly Roll Morton to the list. Bechet began playing in New Orleans while still in his teens, but by the time he was 20 he had left that city to tour the US and, eventually, Europe. In 1919, he played at Buckingham Palace with Will Marion Cook’s orchestra.

Treat it Gentle takes its title from Bechet’s autobiography, which is liberally quoted in voiceovers provided by Bill Fredericks. In one passage from the book, Bechet talks about the legendary, though never recorded, trumpeter, Buddy Bolden. "The way he lived his life, the things he’d do, got a lot of attention," Bechet wrote. Bolden’s knack for creating a stir seems to have influenced Bechet as much as the trumpeter’s musical abilities did. Bechet’s life didn’t end as tragically as Bolden’s, but he was a legendary character whose exploits make for an interesting biography. As Wynton Marsalis notes in the documentary, "Somebody like Sidney Bechet, he did what he wanted to do."

Marsalis lists Bechet among the few natural jazz soloists, alongside Charlie Parker. When you listen to Bechet, it’s not hard to conclude that Parker’s ability to play with such speed without losing the beauty of the melody came from Bechet’s example. Throughout Treat It Gentle, jazz musicians and scholars, such as Michael White, Marsalis, Bob Wilbur, and Woody Allen (a well-regarded amateur clarinetist) help tell Bechet’s story and place him in the context of jazz history.

It’s Bechet himself whose words help frame the documentary and focus its narrative. The footage of his performances and the reminiscences from those who knew him are captivating. (His son, who was born when Bechet was in his 50s, bears a striking resemblance to his father.) Director Alan Lewens blends archival photos and film with then current footage of the interviewees and a centennial celebration, in New Orleans, of Bechet’s birth. The sound is very good stereo, and the recordings of Bechet’s performances are cleanly mastered. I’ll wager, however, that at least some of the music that accompanies concert footage was actually studio recordings synced to those old films.

"I’ve lived for the music. I won’t play when it’s wrong, but I’ll play it anywhere when it’s right," he wrote in his autobiography. Bechet died in France, where he was hugely popular. He never made as much money or became as popular in the US during his lifetime as he did in France. Treat It Gentle tells his story well in 60 minutes, but Sidney Bechet’s life was so eventful and interesting that a full-length feature film could do it better justice.

• Go Back