ZORRO NEW ALBUM JCDE Performs The Mark of Zorro original 1920 film with Live Score

Jack Curtis Dubowsky Ensemble's new album, ZORRO, an original take on the 1920 silent movie The Mark of Zorro, nimbly navigates the quick cutting action and drama while fleshing out the political and social overtones underlying the swashbuckling adventure film. ZORRO is released April 28, 2017.

ZORRO is performed by founder, composer, and producer Jack Curtis Dubowsky (conductor), Alicia Byer (clarinet), R. Scott Dibble (piano), Dr. Angelo Metz (guitars), Slam Nobles (percussion), Dr. Jeff Schwartz (double bass) and Dr. Charles Sharp (bass clarinet, flute, cornet, electronics). The album was recorded by legendary engineer Earle Mankey known for his work with The Beach Boys, Elton John, Concrete Blond, Sparks and many more. The album was recorded and mixed in two days by Mankey. ZORRO is the JCDE's fourth album and their first since 2011, JCDE III.

The Mark of Zorro (1920) stars Douglas Fairbanks and is set in Spanish colonial California circa 1820. The film emphasizes "Native" people as indigenous, and the white, European Spaniards as complex interlopers. It has love, humor, and swashbuckling swordfights. It stars Douglas Fairbanks in his first "costume drama," but also features genuine indigenous actors, such as Tote du Crow. The indigenous people and friars are always good guys, and the colonial Spanish are either bad or good, depending upon the character. Even as it is politically progressive, The Mark of Zorro remains problematic. Zorro is a white, blue-blooded Spanish noble, not a real bandito, making the hero a classic White Savior.

Says Dubowsky: "The Mark of Zorro (1920) resonated with me for a variety of reasons. There are political overtones that ring true today: an oppressed indigenous underclass, a struggling middle class (the Pulidos), an overt questioning of colonialism and economic hierarchies. The film reminds us that progressive ideology has a long Hollywood history, but so does revisionist history, problematic stereotyping, and #OscarsSoWhite typecasting."

Download ZORRO here: