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This is Darryl Jones, the bass player.

He normally works with Miles Davis.

This is Branford Marsalis, the sax player.

Who's that? That's Kenny Kirkland.

He plays the keyboards with Wynton Marsalis.

That's Omar Hakim. He normally works with Weather Report.

That'sJanice Pendarvis.

Next to her is Dolette McDonald, who worked with the Police.

Is this some attempt on your part, Gordon, to-

Who's this Gordon character?

Isn't that your name?

Everyone calls me Sting. My mother-

- My children call me Sting. - Right.

I wasjust asking you whether this is some attempt foryou to return to your roots.

In reality, the first rock band I ever played in was the Police.

Before that, I'd worked...

extensively in different kinds ofjazz groups.

My first band was a Dixieland trad group where I played double bass.

So I feel, in many ways, at home with jazz players.

- Is there gonna be another album? - Use the microphone.

- It doesn't work? - I'm sorry.

- Use this one. - Now it's working.

Yes? Okay.

I just wanted to askyou ifyou like France...

ifyou would like to live in France...

and secondly...

ifyou would like to play with a French director.

I mean, the best one.

I'd like to play with the best French director. That's a leading question.

I do like France. One ofthe reasons I came here to do this...

was because I think France has a certain ambience.

- A certain neutrality, in a way. - Why are you making a film about this?

What the film is actually about is the formation ofthis group.

It's about musicians from different areas...

forming a common language.

Most rock films are made about bands...

when they're at the peak oftheir career or when they're finished...

whether it's The Last Waltz or LetitBe

I can't think ofa film that is about a band starting off, beginning.

Come on!

One of my philosophies about music is that-

popular music anyway- is that it's dead.

One ofthe reasons it's dead is it's become very reactionary...

and racist...

where black musicians are not really given...

the opportunity to be heard on white radio or in white publications.

It'sjust as bad the other way.

This band, being made up racially as it is...

is an open challenge to that system.

I'm sure some people-

some real purists,jazz people- don't like the idea of us doing this.

But I have another attitude about that, you know?

Ifyou're a musician, you should try to play whateveryou can play.

You should try to cover all music.

Okay.

I think what we should do at that point-

- With the background vocals? - Tighten the vocals.

- So it comes on the second one. - Sing unison with me first ofall.

All right? You sing "You can't control" and then you do your bit.

- Okay. - And then sing the next line with me.

- Sing what you can of my part. - Okay.

In your octave? In your octave?

There's more than one octave? This is new.

They talked more and more about the band and who they were gonna get.

Finally, I chime in again, "Well, you found your drummer."

He looks at me and goes, "No, you didn't." I said, "Yes, you did."

He says, "Who?" and I said, "Me."

So he pulls his fork out of his mouth.

He hands me a knife and fork and says, "Go ahead and play something" at the table.

We had a good laugh.

Here I come, here I come.

One ofthe main things that I did before I was singing...

was I was a junior high school English teacher.

I guess for me...

the thing that I like about this music is that it's both...

for me, cerebral and visceral.

It gives you something to think about...

but it also gives you something that you can feel...

which to me is the ideal combination.

Tell me about some ofthejobs you had before this.

I was a receptionist...

in a house of prostitution.

I was what they called the phone girl.

I got $5 for every man...

that I got to come into this house.

On a good day I made $1 00 for seven hours' work...

which isn't bad, because there were no taxes taken out.

It was my first real actingjob...

because I had a script that I worked from.

I had to answer seven phones...

which had call-waiting...

which meant that I answered 1 2 phones.

I had to explain to each person what I would do to them...

once they got there.

You sing the third, you sing the fifth, I'll sing the tonic.

The same with "barbed wire," the same with "bridge"...

the same with "chasm" or "chasm. "

- "Chasm." - "Chasm." It was "chasm" yesterday.

- "On fire." -Just the last word ofevery line.

- The last part, "around your"- - "Around your"- Okay.

I'll show you.

Now full voice. One, two...

three, four.

Okay, let's do it. Full ensemble.

One, two, three, four.

I was seven and I got a clarinet, right?

Which was cool.

I was big enough to withstand the "sissy"jokes and "wimp"jokes...

that go with being a clarinet player.

So I played that till I was 1 4.

Then I finally decided I wanted to play the saxophone...

because the thing I noticed was that you could get women with a saxophone.

First time I went on a major tour was with Art Blakey.

I was 1 9 playing baritone saxophone in his big band.

I hated it. I hated playing baritone, not playing with Art Blakey.

Art Blakey's one of the greatest musicians ofall time.

But playing baritone sax is the worst.

You can't even imagine. Carryin' a saxophone is bad...

but the baritone saxophone is four and a halffeet high.

To carry that thing around-

Right in the middle ofthe tour the strap on the case broke.

The saxophone hit the ground in the Frankfurt Airport.

Shit went everywhere.

I was pickin' up pieces and rubber-banding things together.

We actually did a record, and I was playing that horn.

Notes didn't work, and it was all terrible.

I'm not so totally sure yet that...

this is a band...

in that everyone has...

a totally equal say in what happens.

I am curious...

to know whether it will eventually become that.

Fade it out.

- You fading with that same chord? - Yeah.

We finish on the major 7th chord.

One ofthe great things about my life...

is that I haven't the faintest idea what I'm gonna be doing...

in a year's time.

One ofthe reasons I left teaching was that...

it was very easy to see the next 1 0 years of my life.

I could become the deputy headmaster.

I could almost see the way I would look and behave.

Ten years beyond that, I'd become the headmaster...

in this little school.

That was a nightmare. I much prefer not knowing what's around the corner.

- You're singing what I sing. - I'm singing with you.

- Take it from that section. - A cappella.

- Acapulco? - I'll sing the low part.

- I'll sing with Sting. - Then I'll sing with-

- If I hear an 1 1 th, I'll freak out. - I'm gonna do whatever he does.

I don't know what he's doing yet, so I'm just kind ofwinging it.

You did the first three down, and you did the last one up.

You said basic.

You expect me to be consistent as well. Jesus.

- I'm still not there. - Let'sjust keep doing it.

- Okay. - One, two, three, four.

It's really syncopated.

It's right against the beat.

Yeah, there's still some weird harmony.

Can I do that one and you do the one you were doing?

As long as it obeys the basic rules of harmony, you can do what you like.

What do you sing, Dolette?

- By the way, this is- - This is what he gave me.

What effect are these new people having on Sting?

I think they're having a tremendous effect on him.

He's very happy. He's very funny.

He lightened up a lot.

He's not reading so many books.

Were you ever surprised by the way life has turned out foryou?

Yes and no.

I think I have the kind ofego, the kind of imagination...

that practiced a lot as a child and as a teenager.

I almost rehearsed for this kind of life, in a way.

I didn't feel I...

belonged...

in one place.

I always felt I had to travel, that I had places to go.

I was born on a street-

At the end ofthe street was a massive oil tanker.

It was a shipyard, and they would build the biggest ships in the world.

For nine months ofthe year they'd build this huge hull above the houses.

They were three times the size ofthe terraced houses where I lived.

They would launch it into the river.

It would sail off into the world, never to come to port again...

'cause they were too enormous.

That's a symbol for my life.

When will the baby be born, do you think?

Halfan hour. No, about the 25th, but I think it'll be a bit before that.

What happened today with it?

I think the head has engaged itself.

As I was picking my daughter up, I suddenly felt this pressure go further down.

I thought, "Soon," I thought.

Mr.Jefferson?

Mr.Jefferson, are you ready to start?

- Mr. Who? - This is in the London Mirror.

"Sting- milkman's son to millionaire pop superstar."

"The festival of Britain was in full swing.

A general election was around the corner.

But for Ernie and"- What's her name? "Audrey Sumner...

the big event in life was the birth...

oftheir 'ugly' baby boy in 1 951 , Gordon Sumner."

-Just wait, Branford. - Gordon Matthew Sumner.

Over here we have the three houses of Mr. Sumner...

from birth to middle age to millionaire success.

GeorgeJefferson ofGreat Britain.

- Movin' on up to the East Side - As a schoolboy you were hardworking.

- Very good, Gordy. - Gordy! Oh, no!

- Ladies and gentlemen, GordyJefferson. - Have we had our fun now?

-Just have your day, Branford. - Look at this picture.

Right along with the dog-faced boy.

A freak show! Now, I askyou.

Is this the face...

ofa popular millionaire superstar?

Verily, I say unto thee, it is not.

I don't think it was really a black-and-white thing.

There was that there.

The major thing was the social barrier...

of him being British and white and us being American and black.

I notice a lot of black British people are still British, you know?

The things that they say and the things that they do...

are very, very British.

A British guy will have a word that describes-

They have their colloquiums and they're national...

whereas black people, our colloquiums are very regional...

even inside ofthe black community.

There are things that I say being from New Orleans.

Things a black guy from Philadelphia would say-

I wouldn't know what was going on.

- How did you deal with it? - He tried to hang.

One time I told him, "Man, your music's a motherfucker."

And he goes...

"My music's a motherfucker? I've never heard it called that before."

He got kind of pissed. I don't think he knew I was-

That's like a compliment in the highest order.

It was little things like that.

The Flintstones was one of my favorites, though, all the time.

The Flintstones, with the Flintstones You know that, Sting?

- No. Teach me. - Yes, you do. All British know The Flintstones.

- That's a lie. - When you're with the Flintstones

Yeah, I know. He started singing in the wrong key.

They're the modern Stone Age family

From the town of Bedrock

They're a page right out of history

Let's ride with the family down the street

When you're with the Flintstones

Have a yabba-dabba-doo time

A dabba-doo time A dabba- gay, old time

Wilma!

Roll it out.

I've had a piano at my house since I was about seven years old.

My father had me take piano lessons. My whole family took piano lessons.

Everybody quit but me.

Actually, he forced me to keep on.

I wanted to quit, but he forced me to keep on.

My mother and father are responsible for me being a musician today.

My brother's responsible for me being a jazz musician.

You know Dolette's gonna have herpes.

Right. By the time it gets from me to her, it's over.

I've been living in Chicago-

- I wanna hear it. - What you wanna be when you grow up?

You know what I wanna do when I grow up?

I want to be a Las Vegas singer.

That, to me, is the epitome.

This bass stuff isjust some very primary shit.

This isjust to get me started.

There is nothing I would like more than to have a 24-piece band...

playin' some great tune like- Night and day

You are the one

I mean, come on. That's gotta be a serious rush.

Gotta be a serious rush.

A little red wine, folks. Enjoyyour dinner.

New York, New York

If I can

Make it there

I'll make it

Anywhere

It's up to you

New York

Okay, we've got two more days of rehearsal...

before we have to do the show.

Let'sjust do some tightening up.

On "Set Them Free," I'm still not happy with the first chorus.

Itjust doesn't lift, doesn't sort of go anywhere.

Same with "Shadows."

- That was pretty good. - We have to watch Omar for the hit.

The girls are gonna be on this side here. Sting in the center here.

I think the drums are too far away.

I need some eye contact with him.

What's the limit you can bring him down to for the lights?

I'll have to have a look.

I'd say two steps.

You go any more than two steps, you're gonna kill me.

How long does it take you to refocus the whole lot ofthem?

No light can go in front of the fire curtain in this building.

Everything has to be behind it, and the set's behind.

Nowyou want to move everything forward, which means you're moving out the light.

- We can move a little bit, ofcourse. - Let's move it two steps.

And if it's-

Ifyou're looking at the drummer, you're looking straight in the lights.

I'll need a periscope or something.

That's enough. That was two.

It's only one.

- Believe me, that was two. - It was one.

- I like it. - Yeah.

It doesn't fit.

- Trudie, ifyou go into labor- - Yes, darling?

- at 8:00- - Yes?

- would you have the baby on that? - No, I could do it.

- Help! Derrick? - What?

One, two, three, four.

Yeah?

- Is it still coming up in the same time? - So it's definitely in G?

The one where he looks great. The one where I look great.

Who are you exposing for, me or him? Me.

What he does in pop music-

Sting is the best musician out there today.

Music is a tremendous social statement.

Musicians are always social critics.

That's the biggest problem with pop music.

They don't have any more social critics.

They don't have enough people with the intelligence or the balls...

to stand up and see the world for what it is and say, "This shit is out."

They're so worried about making money.

You see very few people now who say, "I want to be a rock and roll musician."

Sting is a throwback in that sense. He wants to be a musician.

The fact that he's even trying a project like this shows a lot ofcredit.

I really respect his skill as a composer...

so I watch how he pieces things together.

As a lyricist as well.

You know, how he does tell a story with lyrics.

I've never heard a song that was a "nothing" song.

I might've changed the way they play.

For example...

in jazz, in thejazz club...

a soloist is allowed...

maybe three or four verses to warm up...

his solo, so he makes this organic curve.

He's allowed to wander around and find this avenue...

and then jettison that and go somewhere else.

In rock music, you have to burn from the first bar.

One, two, three.

All right.

Yes.

I love him, and that's the problem.

I have to be brutal with the manager and get heavy with the group...

and say, "Come on, guys. You're asking for too much.

The money isn't there." They say, "How much money's on the table?"

I say, "Yeah, but that's Sting's table. That's not your table."

You argue with somebody and say, "Look.

We got Madison Square Garden sold out.

Now, ifyou cancel the show"- speaking to any one ofthe musicians-

"and you weren't gonna show up and they bring in a replacement...

how many people are gonna give their tickets back?

No one. That doesn't mean you're not a brilliant musician...

and I don't thinkyou're great.

The fact is, your market value in terms ofthe kid buying the ticket-

He isn't gonna pay to see you.

Now, Sting cancels, but you four guys are gonna be on the stage...

how many people will cancel?

Every one of'em! How do you relate your fee at this and Sting's fee?

What's on the table isn't your table."

- I bet you it comes on the 21 st. - You in?

- I want to change my day. - It's a boy.

- The 1 9th. - That's my day.

- Come on, man. - That's what you said?

- No, I didn't. Read that paper. - I said the 1 9th. I'm keepin' it.

Where's your money, honey?

- Whoever's the closest wins, right? - Schizo.

- Anybody else? - The 21 st.

I'll payyou tomorrow.

What is wrong with you?

Good look. Do that again.

The expression.

Max is one ofthese wonderful madmen...

who'll bring out the fool in everyone else.

He's the creative fool.

Max works in an interesting way.

It's so disarming the way he photographs you...

that you're forced, really, to drop the mask.

When you're photographed, you have, maybe, three expressions.

There's that one. There's that one ofthe "nice guy."

In all the front covers I'm on there's one ofthree expressions.

Max has found a new Sting...

just by disorienting me...

by chasing me through fields or me chasing him.

All right! Get in closer.

I think all ofthe band look boring...

because they are wearing just drab colors.

They are not drab people. They should be a bit more flamboyant.

You don't see anybody walk on stage from Liberace...

to some country singer who doesn't dress!

We did a show, Synchronicity. We spent $400,000 filming it.

- I saw it. - They were wearing white.

The point is is that there's no contrast.

So far, you've got- You might as well have a black-

Why don't we film in black and white?

If I add bits ofcolor to everybody's clothes, I think it will work.

But something that your mind can focus on.

You can't focus on a loose suit the same color as the background.

Our original concept in meetings with Sting...

were all a very minimal kind ofthing.

He wanted it to be Brechtian.

The château was very drab.

- The château was not drab. - Did you see the rushes?

- I've seen every single set of rushes. - They look pretty drab to me.

- I don't think that's true. - This should be colorful and exciting.

It's been watered down. What's ended up here is a watered-down look.

- It's not watered down. - It's refined till it's lost interest.

- You have to have rough edges. - I don't want the clothes that way.

You sound like you've forgotten what the whole basic element is about.

- No, I haven't. - In my view, this looks boring.

The girls look boring. Those are colorful girls.

- They're boring. - No, they're not.

I'm sorry. I'm just a peasant. But I'm telling you, they look boring.

He's in competition with...

probably the greatest act in history-

the Police.

That's the risk.

Does that make you nervous?

Yes, a little.

I think the management and the record company are afraid of him going too far.

I asked one ofthe executives what this album meant to the record company.

Hejust looked out and said, "Salvation."

What's riding on opening night?

Sting's career. No, I don't think it's that much.

But I think what's riding on Wednesday night isjust the audience...

the first audience that's paid to see and hear this band...

and Sting perform these songs with them.

I think they're gonna love it.

Yes, the record company were perturbed. Yes, my management were perturbed.

The general public were probably perturbed...

when they heard this word "jazz" mentioned.

That's not what we've made. It has nothing to do with jazz.

People talk about the risk ofthis project.

I don't think the risk is in the music he's chosen.

The risk is being only on his own.

There's no cocoon. Every interview has to be done by him.

In the Police, he would only do a quarter ofthe interviews.

The others would carry the bulk of it. Everything now is Sting.

The pressure is the important difference...

between this situation and when he was in the Police.

I haven'tjettisoned the songs I wrote for the Police.

I still perform them.

They're still my songs, and they still have a life.

They've been reinterpreted for this band.

When people come to the concert, I wouldn't say to them...

"You're not gonna hear anything you expect oryou want."

I've given them 50% ofwhat they wanted to hear, which is the hits...

but also 50% ofthe material they didn't know.

That is fairly unique for an established artist to do.

No one goes out into a concert hall...

and does material the audience doesn't know.

It's a big risk.

It's right over there.

I don't think we need the umbrella.

Hey, man.

If I melt out here, where's the umbrella?

Hey, bro, I heard the news.

- Here's your ride. - Go for it, man.

- I had to buy something for the suits. - That's nice.

- This won't fit under a suit. - It won't?

That suit's so big, I could fit my mom in that suit with me.

The problem with the costume is that it was gray and the stage is gray.

It washes out.

Then they tried to get me a shirt that matches with the suit.

- They changed the stage color to pink. - They did? Great.

That's one thing I like about playing with Sting-

We can look like men and play a gig instead of looking like a bunch offags.

- How's Trudie? - Trudie's gone into labor.

- So much for that bet, right? - I won the bet.

- You won the bet? - We've got a midwife backstage.

This is it.

Where are you going to sit?

- Who's with Omar? - Right here.

Are you nervous about opening night?

Yeah, always.

I think that's a good space to be in...

to have some nervous energy.

So many times that first night is...

the best night because ofthat nervous energy.

- No, it's not for that reason. - Can you deal with the saxophones-

- Hey, girl. - Armistice and all that.

- How're you? - How're you?

- Good luck, everybody. - Good luck, Trudie.

- Good luck. - Breakyour legs!

- Break- Breakyour water, maybe. - See you later.

- Bye-bye, my love. - Bye.

If I was Sting, I might be nervous. But I'm not Sting. I playjazz.

I know what it's like to be shat on. You know what I mean? I am a jazz musician.

I know what it's like to play some stuffthat nobody wants to hear.

- Are you nervous? - About my high heels, but that's about it.

- Let's go. - It's that time, huh?

Come on.

Come on!

Come on, Kirkland.

Let's hit the notes clean. No gliss. Right?

Yeah, that's more English.

Too much vibrato.

Okay. I think we've got it. Two, three, four.

I'm not gonna be a rock star. It's not gonna be a problem.

This band could be very big, but I'm not a rock star. I'm a musician.

I'm not star material. I'm not here to be a star.

I'm not gonna do the things that are necessary to become a star.

I'm not gonna say the right things. I'm not gonna have the right smile.

I'm not gonna go to the right functions, because that's not what my vibe is.

Just from being around Sting in this short period oftime...

and meeting all those guys and all these stars walk in-

Oh, man, I wanted to barf.

That's not because I don't have any respect for some oftheir work.

But there'sjust an attitude that pervades when they come around...

and that's not my attitude.

That's not what I'm put on the Earth to be or be a part of.

Omar Hakim!

Thankyou!

D.

F.

A.

I mean, it'd have to be-

Two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.

One, two...

three, let it out.

I think that this band could knock some walls down.

You know what I mean?

Ofjazz, rock, whatever.

And there's no greater feeling than just blowing other bands away.

Really, it's a good feeling.

This band has a musical impact that I haven't seen in pop music in a long time.

'Cause everybody can play their instruments and cream all the other bands...

beat the shit out ofall the other bands, you know?

Is there any one moment in your life...

when you knew you were gonna get what you dreamed about?

Yes. It was the first time...

I was lying in bed in a hotel in the north of England.

We had just done a concert.

And our first record was in the charts.

And a window cleaner...

was whistling "Roxanne."

And that was it.

I almost wept...

because I realized that he was whistling a tune...

that I'd written...

something that I had composed in my front room...

for no other purpose but to amuse myself.

And there was this window cleaner.

And I had a very similar experience in the hospital...

afterJake had been born...

where one ofthe orderlies...

was whistling "Walking on the Moon" as he walked past the door.

It was full circle, really.

It's a great privilege for that to happen to you.

Play the other chord.

What's the other chord?

- And then it changes. - Yeah.

What did seeing your son born mean to you?

More than I thought it would.

It made me appreciate...

my other children as well- what a miracle they are.

It's very easy to come in after the fact when they're all clean...

and they're all in their nice, white nightgowns...

and their hair's brushed.

But the reality is much more bloody and profound.

Want to do it?

- It's a boy. - Yeah.

Take it away, sir.

Come on, Darryl.

On the saxophone, Branford Marsalis.

On the keyboards, Kenny Kirkland.

On the bass, Darryl Jones.

On the drums, Omar Hakim.

Omar, my man!

Thankyou and good night.

Great, mates.

- All right, man. - You were great.

You were something out there.

I'll take the next one.

I love you!

I don't know what to say to that.

Good night.