While the musical talents of Beryl Booker were known to new documentary filmmaker Kent Michael Brown at an early age, he only came to realize the importance of his grandmother’s achievements while sorting through memorabilia recalling her life as a jazz pianist bandleader during the 1940’s and 50’s golden era of jazz. The revelation spawned an urge in Kent to trace Ms. Booker’s roots, while exploring lost chapters of his own life.

The trail led back to their ancestral birthplace of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to experience the place from whence they hailed. Set against the gritty urban backdrop of the city-of-brotherly-love, the film looks at the historic city’s often-overshadowed African-American heritage as a artistic center of jazz greatness, and recalls the struggles against racial segregation that led to the foundation of the little-known A.F.of M. Black Union Local 274 to which some of the greatest musicians of the era held memberships including Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Shirley Scott, and Beryl Booker

As the nation ponders the ascension of the first black man into the Whitehouse and reparations for descendants of slaves in it’s efforts to assuage lingering injustice, the film explores the ignored part of American history when it comes to recognizing African-American achievements through the life of Beryl Booker

The film has received invaluable assistance from many individuals and organizations, including Don Gardner- Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz, Bob Perkins and Harrison Ridley Jr., Legendary Jazz Broadcasters- WRTI-FM-Philadelphia, Leon Mitchell- Musician, Philly Legends of Jazz, Richard Brenneman- Columnist, Berkeley Daily Planet, Michael Paul Lund- Music Lecturer, Broadcaster & Writer, Tatiana Harrison and the many others we humbly offer thanks to.

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Kent Michael Brown Producer

Hired as a shipping clerk at venerable Fantasy Records in Berkeley, California, Philadelphia born musician and sound designer, Kent Michael Brown quickly moved into music production tasks working beside legendary then Fantasy staff producer, Fred L. Pittman. The duo wrote songs for the Spinners, Dorothy Moore, the Mad Lads, and Kent performed musical arrangements and keyboard programming on numerous recordings for the preeminent Volt label. Kent then ventured across the San Francisco bay to filmmaker George Lucas’ elite Skywalker Sound facility to work under acclaimed Academy Awarded Sound Designer/Mixer Randy Thom on several projects, including feature films Contact, and Tomb Rader 2. Kent has also worked with animation powerhouse Pixar on Monster’s Inc. and Finding Nemo doing preliminary sound work during the early visualization process. Kent’s filmmaking debut seems a natural evolution of a background of multidisciplined emersion in media production that combines his love of music with his passion for storytelling.

Kent Michael Brown operates Low Ceiling Studios, a project studio located in Berkeley, California.

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Akane Nobusa（野房あかね） Production Assistant

Fluent in two tongues, native Japanese speaker Akane Nobusa was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. Akane’s inquisitive spirit brought her to the United States in 1992 to begin a new journey culminating in her work on the Beryl Booker Project. In spite of the challenging production schedule, often under unfamiliar circumstances and frequently without direction or assistance, Akane has met the challenge and excelled. Akane brings 10 years of cultural exchange program development, facilitation, and coordination experience serving visitors to America to the project.

Akane Nobusa is the Executive Director of Japan Pacific Resource Network (JPRN) in Oakland, California where she works with Japanese Universities, corporations, government agencies, unions and grassroots organizations. Ms. Nobusa is the spouse of Producer Kent Brown.

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