Lost and Found—Irv Williams Footage

More about that footage-

Lee Sandberg is a now-retired Documentarian, DP, and Producer who became good friends with saxophonist Irv Williams, aka, “Mr. Smooth”. Lee planned to produce a documentary on Irv’s life and recorded events and interviews over six years, filling over 125 tapes. Much of the footage was recorded at the Artists’ Quarter, including an interview with Kenny, Irv’s 86th and 87th birthday celebrations, various performances with artists including Carole Martin, Dave Karr, Gary Berg, and CD release parties. There are interviews with Peter Schimke,  Jay Goetting, Leigh Kamman, and, of course, Irv Williams’ family.  I am in awe of the work and planning Lee put into the production and how close it came to fruition. 

A few of the tapes and copious notes!

The individual who found himself caring for this treasure trove for over a decade is Bobb Fantauzzo. Bobb is another musical artist and friend of Irv Williams’. He bought a little Panasonic video camera to look at everything, and thanks to his and Lee’s abundant notes, we have a spreadsheet that documents all the assets. I’m planning to get a quote on the costs to digitize from Saving Tape. They’re the Minneapolis media conversion company we’ve used before with Gene McCarthy documentary archival footage. They’re the best, in case anyone wants to know. We’ll bring it all over to them eventually, but we’ll start with what is pertinent to the AQ.

This footage deserves to be seen. I checked with Lee, and at this stage of his retirement, he has no plans to continue working on it. Now that it has landed in my hands, I feel both fortunate and responsible for getting it out into the world.