I Should Have Stayed Dead er en dokumentarfilm om den amerikanske saxofonist og musikhistoriker Allen Lowe, som John Szwed har kaldt "et geni" og sammenlignet med Thelonious Monk og James Joyce, og om hvem kritikeren David Hajdu har sagt: "hans arbejde som helhed er en monumental præstation. Der er ingen bedre i live."

Lowe, der har overlevet kræft og gennemgået 25 operationer for kræft, fortsatte under sin sygdom med at indspille 8 album med folk som Mark Ribot, Wadada Leo Smith, Kresten Osgood, Jeppe Zeeberg, Matt Shipp, Ken Peplowski, Lewis Porter, Frank Lacy, Loren Schoenbeg og mange andre. Han skrev også 3 bøger om amerikansk musik i perioden. Tidligere har Lowe samarbejdet med Julius Hemphill, Roswell Rudd, David Murray og Doc Cheatham.

Dokumentaren diskuterer Lowes helt unikke tilgang til komposition og spil og rummer passager med musikerne Matt Shipp, Ray Anderson, Wadada Leo Smith, Marc Ribot og Ursula Oppens samt de danske musikere Jeppe Zeeberg og Kresten Osgood. Den diskuterer Lowes komplicerede operationer og helbredelse (halvdelen af ​​hans næse blev fjernet i 2021) og indeholder interview med den læge, der udførte operationerne i hans ansigt og reddede hans liv. Den indeholder også et interview med den legendariske amerikanske musikhistoriker Greil Marcus, som har sagt:

"Allen Lowe har ydet et afgørende bidrag til amerikansk kultur, og alle dem, der ønsker at se vores musikhistorie som helhed, står i gæld til ham."

English:

I Should Have Stayed Dead is a documentary about saxophonist and American music historian Allen Lowe, whom John Szwed had called “a genius” comparable to Thelonious Monk and James Joyce, and of whom critic David Hajdu has said “his work taken as a whole is a monumental achievement. There's no one better alive.”

The saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton has said:

“Allen Lowe is an American master…Allen Lowe is a great writer. Allen Lowe is one of the few musicians doing anything new today. He is the tradition.”

A cancer survivor who has had 25 operations post-cancer, Lowe has continued, through his illness and recovery, to record over 8 compact discs for ESP DISK, with such people as Mark Ribot, Wadada Leo Smith, Kresten Osgood, Jeppe Zeeberg, Matt Shipp, Ken Peplowski, Lewis Porter, Frank Lacy, Loren Schoenbeg, and many others. He has also written, during this time, three books on American music.

In prior years Lowe recorded a series of projects with Julius Hemphill, Roswell Rudd, David Murray, and Doc Cheatham.

The documentary, produced by Jonathan Scheuer and shaped by Allen Lowe, discusses Lowe’s completely unique approach to composition and playing, and has performance clips with musicians Matt Shipp, Ray Anderson, Wadada Leo Smith, Marc Ribot and Ursula Oppens, as well as Danish performers Jeppe Zeeberg and Kresten Osgood. It discusses Lowe’s complicated surgeries and recovery (half of his nose was removed in 2021) and has interviews with the doctor who performed operations on his face and saved his life. It also features an interview with the legendary American music historian Greil Marcus, who has said:

“Allen Lowe has made a crucial contribution to American culture, and all those who want to see our musical history whole are in his debt”

The documentary has footage and sound recordings of many musicians performing Lowe’s compositions, including: Julius Hemphill, Roswell Rudd, David Murray, Doc Cheatham, Hamiet Bluiett, Frank Lacy, Ursula Oppens, Matt Shipp, Ken Peplowski, Loren Schoenberg, Kresten Osgood, and Jeppe Zeeberg.