Musician, a documentary by local filmmaker Daniel Kraus about reedist Ken Vandermark, will make its national television premiere on Sunday, February 17, at 9 PM CST (and again at midnight) on the cable channel Ovation, which is carried here by the Dish Network and Direct TV. Part of an ongoing series of occupational profiles by Kraus that he calls The Work Series (the first was Sheriff), it's an exceptional piece of storytelling that leaves all the action to Vandermark and his cohorts--no talking heads, no voice overs, no fancy editing. And it torpedoes any notion that there's anything glamorous about being a jazz musician. Facets Multimedia will release the film on DVD on May 27, with about an hour of additional unreleased footage.

Today’s playlist:

Waverly Seven, Yo! Bobby (Anzic)
Junior Cook Quintet, Junior's Cookin' (OJC)
Dungen, Tio Bitar (Kemado)
John Renbourn, The Lady and the Unicorn (Shanachie)
Ghostface Killah, The Big Doe Rehab (Def Jam)