New music doc ‘Mixtape Trilogy’ to screen at Tribeca Screening Room 7/13

By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH Special to the AmNews

Candice Hoyes, musician, scholar, and lecturer of Jazz at Lincoln Center, is set to weigh in on a new documentary. “Mixtape Trilogy: Stories of the Power of Music,” a film centered on the lives and music of influential musicians including Talib Kweli, Vijay Iyer, and Indigo Girls, explores the impact of live music, the powerful lives and influence of these hardworking artists, and the gifts their music brings to the world.

“I was reflecting on how a lot of movie stars, robustly supported by the entertainment industry, can chill [and relax], so that’s why I think it was refreshing to see these artists in front of a live audience and [working] again,” said Hoyes. “On the other hand, musicians, like the Indigo Girls, Vijay, like Talib and myself, we don’t see our journey’s this way, like there’s a time where we can kick up our legs and not get on stage.”

Hoyes, whose music was highlighted in Carnegie Hall’s 2022 timeline of African American music, has an upcoming album with her improvised vocal group, Nite Bjuti. She understands quite well how being an artist can affect her relationship with audiences. “When your music is mission driven or reflective of your way of being, and you’re not playing a role in that sense, it’s a continuous process in getting music out to the audience,” Hoyes continued.

The film highlights the early lives of the musicians and how they face their adulthood struggles, such as loss and grief, the pain of not touring during the pandemic, and the ability to continue on when life feels overwhelming.

Vijay Iyer attended a predominantly white school in his youth, but did not let the insecurities he may have felt prevent him from becoming a prominent jazz artist.

“I know Vijay, so I think it’s cool to encounter an artist whose music I know, and to see them through the fans’ eyes. I think that’s really one of the purposes of the film— to show the distance between the stage and the audience. So, that’s something I think is featured in the movie in a really interesting way,” Hoyes expressed.

She will be hosting a panel Thursday following a screening of “Mixtape Trilogy” at the Tribeca Screening Room in New York City.

“I am a recording artist and vocalist who sings in all genres, and I believe they asked me to moderate because I am also a lecturer at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and I am an archivist and scholar,” said Hoyes. “I’ll be holding this conversation and amplifying this film, and getting into it with these artists and talking about the process.”

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