
When watching a movie, the soundtrack might be something that generally goes unnoticed. Not because it is unimportant, but because if done correctly, it flows seamlessly with the film and viewers, enthralled with the movie’s action, might be unaware of any music at all. When done poorly however, it’s a different story. Songs become like nails on a chalkboard, distracting viewers from the advancement of the story, forcing them to dwell on the poor musical selections. Such is not the case for ‘The Great Debaters’ soundtrack, whose songs enhance the film, taking the viewer back to the Depression era South. The film, which opened on Christmas Day stars Academy Award winners Denzel Washington (who also directed the film) and Forest Whitaker. The film revolves around the efforts of a debate coach (Washington’s character), who struggles to get debate team at the historically black Wiley College on equal footing with whites, despite the prevalence of lynch mobs and Jim Crow laws. Soon, his team is debating with the Harvard debate team, in the first American interracial college debate. The soundtrack was produced by Palisadian G. Marq Roswell and features remakes of authentic pre-1935 blues and gospel songs that Roswell, his team and Washington hand selected (out of thousands of potentials). The songs were re-recorded by modern artists Alvin Youngblood Heart, Sharon Jones, Teenie Hodges, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Billy Rivers &The Angelic Voices of Faith, David Berger & The Sultans of Swing, Art Tatum and Marian Anderson and were recorded in the soul capital of the world, Memphis, Tennessee at Arden Studios. ‘With more music intensive movies, it all starts with the script and the scenes in the movie inform what the soundtrack will be,’ Roswell said. ‘Denzel wanted, as the absolutely authentic pre-1935 music.’ Apart from recording in Memphis, one of the biggest highlights for Roswell in producing the soundtrack for ‘The Great Debaters’ was researching a early 20th century music catalog of blues, soul, pre-swing and gospel music, much of which was new to him. ‘One thing that made this such an incredible experience was the research that my partner [Jeff Powell] and I did. It was just unbelievable, to explore this one era of music, that connected the Harlem Renaissance to the most stripped down, raw, traditional music, all in the same tapestry of the African American music world at the same time,’ Roswell said. ‘We were like kids in a candy store.’ Roswell had soon chosen between 20 to 30 songs for each scene, including scenes at school dances and at juke joints that would feature musicians in the actual movie scenes. ‘Before we blinked, we had a good album’s worth,’ Roswell said. He also mentioned that Washington was crucial in making final selections for songs. ‘His ears were extraordinary in what he would pick out of a lot of songs,’ he said. ‘He would just astound us the way he would do that.’ Once modern artists were chosen, Roswell and Washington began production on the soundtrack. ‘The songs that we worked on were traditional and we came up with our own arrangements for the movie’creating something from a traditional song that would work with the movie and match the style of the scene.’ Then it was on to Memphis. ‘Those sessions at Arden Studios were magical in the way that they came together,’ he said. ‘To be able to work with such amazing artists, I didn’t have to do much.’ Roswell has lived in Pacific Palisades since 1984. ‘It’s one of the most extraordinary places to live in the world,’ he said. He lives in the Alphabet Streets with his wife Karen and their son Cal, 3. He is a sixth-generation Californian whose family settled on the Rancho Camulos, a 40-acre plot with a rancho house, small chapel and schoolhouse (right off 126 Hwy., 10 miles north of Magic Mountain) that still stands today, as a national historic site.
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