Jenni
Alpert studied with the great Kenny Burrell at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of
Music (presumably no relation). That is definitely impressive, but her most significant
musical association might just be with her biological father. It was a long
time coming. Removed from her birth parents at a distressingly young age,
Alpert has recently reconnected with her troubled father. Music has been their
common ground and lingua franca, as viewers directly witness in Irene Taylor
Brodsky’s twenty-six-minute documentary short Homeless: The
Soundtrack, which screens during the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.
Alpert
studied jazz, but it sounds like she largely performs in pop and pop-country
bags these days (thereby demonstrating the flexibility of jazz-trained
musicians). It is probably just as well, because those seem to be the idioms Don
Logsdon is comfortable playing. When they jam together, everything makes sense.
However, it is clear his problems have not all melted away with their reunion.
Some
viewers might be a bit put off to see Alpert pick up Logsdon from his squat
under a bridge and even more turned off by her insistence he wear a blindfold
during the drive to her house. However, you should respect her for having the
backbone and foresight to protect herself from potential substance abuse
backsliding and who knows what else. Thanks to her, he is clean and in treatment
for various ailments, but you cannot be too careful with anyone coming out of a
junkie’s existence.
Still,
this is a good news story. Obviously, their reunion has made life richer and happier
for both father and daughter, but Brodsky also makes it clear plenty of
challenges remain. In terms of filmmaking, Homeless:
The Soundtrack is stylistically pretty straight forward, but its honesty is
impressive. The film never over-simplifies the messiness of the world, but it
offers up some welcome cause for optimism. Recommended for general audiences, Homeless: The Soundtrack screens again
this afternoon (4/28) as part of the Home
Sweet Home documentary shorts block, at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
