The Complete Film
End Credits
filmed & edited by H. Paul Moon
produced by Alban Wesly
performed by Calefax Reed Quintet
arranged for reed quintet by Raaf Hekkema
produced by Alban Wesly
performed by Calefax Reed Quintet
arranged for reed quintet by Raaf Hekkema
in order of appearance:
Bart de Kater, clarinet
Oliver Boekhoorn, oboe
Jelte Althuis, bass clarinet
Raaf Hekkema, alto saxophone
Alban Wesly, bassoon
Kyabell Glass, poet and photographer
Nikhil Bartolomeo, NYC Woodwinds
Robert Scotto, Moondog biographer
Bart de Kater, clarinet
Oliver Boekhoorn, oboe
Jelte Althuis, bass clarinet
Raaf Hekkema, alto saxophone
Alban Wesly, bassoon
Kyabell Glass, poet and photographer
Nikhil Bartolomeo, NYC Woodwinds
Robert Scotto, Moondog biographer
from the Calefax album "An American Rhapsody" (Pentatone, 2023) used with permission from The Estate of Louis Hardin
special thanks to:
Alexander Duve
NYC Woodwinds
Bosqe Flowers & Coffee
Louis Masai Michel
Terry O'Reilly
Alexander Duve
NYC Woodwinds
Bosqe Flowers & Coffee
Louis Masai Michel
Terry O'Reilly
Still Frames from the Film
Behind the Scenes
Trivia
The composer Moondog's given name was Louis Hardin (1916-1999) and he influenced a generation of composers including Philip Glass and Steve Reich, and musicians ranging from Benny Goodman to Arturo Toscanini. He was blind, and would busk on the streets of Manhattan wearing a horned Viking helmet, becoming known as "The Viking of Sixth Avenue."
In the film, Moondog's biographer Robert Scotto makes a cameo appearance as one of the central singing characters, seen sitting on the stoop of the composer's former address at 179 East 3rd Street in the East Village.
The final scene is at First Street Art Park Garden in the East Village/Bowery of Manhattan in New York City, and renowned muralist Louis "Masai" Michel is seen painting dogs in a fish in a bottle.
Locations in the film include Brooklyn Bridge Park with Jane's Carousel and Bargemusic, historic St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery where Peter Stuyvesant (Director-General of New Amsterdam) is buried, Union Square, the Heinrich Heine Fountain and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NYC Woodwinds in Brooklyn's Industry City, Stuyvesant Square, the composer's former address at 179 East 3rd Street, Washington Square Park, First Street Green Art Park, and the parting view from the top of One Vanderbilt above Grand Central Terminal.
There are several "Easter eggs" that you can spot in the film: (1) a toddler waving at a dog; (2) a Black Lives Matter sign at historic St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery; (3) a statue of Peter Stuyvesant who was the Director-General of New Amsterdam; (4) a blind person walking in the background at Yankee Stadium; (5) Moondog biographer Robert Scotto sitting on the stoop where the composer once lived in the East Village; and (6) renowned muralist Louis "Masai" Michel painting dogs inside a fish inside a bottle at the end of the film.
The musicians of Calefax Reed Quintet are all based in the Netherlands, playing this song about the once-New Netherland colony that was called New Amsterdam, now New York City.
Belle Glass, one of the singing characters in this film, has been the proud guardian of a companion dog named Moon since 2020.