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News
and information News
about jazz films and jazz on film events. Last
up date of this site was March 2010 youtube.com has become an invaluable source of material. Enter any jazz musician into youtube and there is a good chance someone has posted a clip of them.
The Bath UK International music festival is sreening The Triumph of Charlie Parker (see docus) on 31st May 2010. BBC4 (UK) 30/10/09 An hour long docu called Ronnie Scott and... all that jazz.. A repeat from 20 years ago Over Christmas BBC four showed a series of film about Swing music. Most were repeats like the films on Armstrong and Artie Shaw. There was a new docu called "The Swing Thing" tracing the history of the music from the Twenties up to today. More info on the the BBC4 website. Jezebel productions have released three
of their films on one DVD."International Sweethearts of Rhythm".
"Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin Women" and "Maxine Sullivan:
Love To Be Loved" You can find it at www.jezebel.org
A new film abou the fifties jazz singer Jackie Paris "Tis Autumn, The Search for Jackie Paris" opens i n London in November 08. See Docus page Lets Get Lost (1988) the Bruce Weber film about Chet Baker is re-released in London at the Curson cinema on the 6 th June 2008. The director will be there on 5th june for a Q and A session at the start of a retrospective of his work. The DVD of the above film has a UK release in July 2008. It contains many extras and includes two unseen videos of Chet Baker songs. A new film abo t Albert Ayler opens in the UK in February 2007 (see docus page) Impro- Jazz DVD has issued a collection of Jazz DVD's which have not been available to buy in any format. They include material of Eric Dolphy, Bud Powell, Chet Baker and Coleman Hawkins. (saee DVD page) BBC4 showed a film about Herman Leonard and his efforts to save his photographic collection. This takes place in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. (see Docus page under HERMAN LEONARD) Brian 'joe ' Spibey co-ordinator of jazzonfilm.com gave a, film illustrated ,talk at Bath Royal Literar y and Scientific Institute ,Bath on 27 Jan 06 and at the Southport (UK) Jazz winter weekend on Feb 3,4and 5, 2006. This years London Film festival (2005) showed a restored version of The Connection (see features page) on the23 October 2005. The film features Jackie Mclean with the Freddie Redd Quartet More details www.lff.org.uk In September the National Film Theatre
in London had a short season of jazz films called Black World TV. The
four programmes are taken from UK television archives and include the
following; BBC2 (UK) is showed Jazz Britannia starting 22Jjuly. This docu was originally shown on BBC4 (see below) Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson This is Ken Burns (JAZZ) latest film for Amercan TV. It runs for 214 mins with an original sountrack by Wynton Marsalis. It showed at the National Film Theatre in London on June 23 2005 Jazz on the West Coast - The Light House, A film by Ken Koenig had its World premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival (USA) in April 2005. Strange Fruit and Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue were shown on the 21 and 22 April 2005 at The Del Mar Theatre in down town Santa Cruz USA Cheltenham Jazz Festival in the UK which
runs from 27 April until 2 May 2005is presenting a number of jazz films
as well as there usual line up of top international jazz stars. The films
include the ubiquitous Jazz on a Summers Day,
Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue as well as a number hardly
ever seen on the big screen. BBC4 (UK) is showing a season of British jazz films including docus and performance films starting this Friday 28 Feb. 2005. These include a three part, three hour docus called Jazz Britannia (being shown over three weeks). They are also showing The Street. a funny look at Archer Street in London's Soho. A place in the fifties wehere Jazzers could pick up work and socialize (Archer Street was famous for the music agents being situated there) In December Channel 4 (UK) showed Mike Dibbs latest film Keith Jarrett: The Art of Improvisation The Southport (UK) Jazz Weekend runs from the 4th to 6th February 2005. They will be showing a selection of Jazz films as well as the normal live concerts. Further details wwww.jazzinsouthport.co.ukuk Channel 4 (UKTV) Showed IT'S A JAZZ THING, A Bradford Marsalis narrated docu about about jazz since the seventies (see A to Z docus page) To the best of this sites knowledge, the Denver (USA) jazz on film festival will not take place in 2005. For more info go to link further down this page The London Film Festival (20 October - 4 November 2004) is showing The Last of the First, a new film about vintage musicians who made their names in the 20's and 30's and are still performing as the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band (more in info about this as it comes in) Woody Allen's latest release in the UK "Anything Else" features Diana Krall as well as another vintage sound track. BBC 2 showed the Stan Tracy film "Godfather of British Jazz " on 6 August 2004
Martin Scorsese 13 hour series on the blues is being shown on TV ( at least in the UK) and is available to buy. Jazz on film fans will be interested in the Clint Eastwood film, "PIANO BLUES" (see Docus) The 2003 London Film Festival showed a new film about vocalist Jimmy Scott JIMMY SCOTT;IF YOU ONLY KNEW on Sunday 26 October 2003 at the National Film theatre. Further details 020 7928 3232 .This film appears to be an upgraded version of the directors earlier docu of Scott ( see Docus A to Z) the Slough Film Society .U.K is showed
Jazz on a Summer's Day as part of the Windsor
fringe festival on Tuesday 23 September 2003.For further details phone
0118 969 3724 The Locarno International Film Festival had a Jazz and the Cinema retrospective running between 6 August to 16 2003. Films include Bird, Lady Sings the Blues, Straight No Chaser, Jazz on a Summer's Day UK TV showed film docu about Herbie Hancock on 29 June 2003 in its South Bank Show slot The film OSCAR ALEMAN; A SWINGING LIFE has been issued in the the States. At present it is only avaialble video. Below are the comments that came with film.( see docus page) "He astounded Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington tried to lure him away from Josephine Baker, who cherished him as the best member of her orchestra. He fled from Hitler and rejected Juan Peron's attempts to get him to play at his public functions. During the golden age of the tango, he attracted multitudes with his outstanding jazz. Of mixed indigenous and Spanish blood, born in the land of tango, Oscar Aleman (1909-1980) was one of the greatest guitarists in history, but that cannot define him. To classify him as a "jazz guitarist" is to restrict him even more. He was a showman who excelled at playing the guitar and interpreting jazz, because that was the kind of music he loved and what best suited his style. That is what led him to be a protagonist of the Parisian music scene in the 1930s and one of the outstanding figures of Argentine performance for decades. This film documents Aleman's exciting life and the tragic family history he had to overcome while it recaps the story of popular music in the 20th century." For more details contact www.latinamericanvideo.org
In March 2003 BBC (UK) television showed 'Billie on Billie' a new film about Billie Holliday (see TV page) Bradford on Avon (Wiltshire) Film Society showed Great Day in Harlem and Jazz on a Summer's Day at the Wiltshire Music Centre on April 4th 2003 sponsored by jazzonfilm.com more details about Bradford on Avaon film Society go to www.boafs.org.uk The Film Music of Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard. The Blanchard jazz ensemble with edited scenes from Spikes films was at the Barbican Centre in London on the 21&22 April 2003 the new Woody Allen film ( for the UK) 'Curse of the Jade Scorpion' feature a great sound track and an array of jazzers ( see features page)
London Film Festival showed two jazz films on the 10 & 11 November
2003 The Bath Film Festival showed Charles
Mingus;Triumph of the Underdog (see A to Z for details) on 1st
November 2002. The BBC showed Jazzman from the Galug. abot the German trumpeter Eddies Rosner,in early June in there Storyville series. ( see TV page or A to Z docus ) The new BBC 4 digital features a number of jazz programmes and the Performance cable channel has regular material of jazzers in action ( at present the performance channel appears to be off air) The Artsworld channel also features jazz progs. The
Denver Jazz on film Festival takes place every February ( 2005 may not
take place??) jazzonfilm.com
bibliography Blacks in Black and White; a source
book of black films Duke Ellington:Day
by Day and Film by film Louis Armstrong
on the Screen Black in the
British Frame Jazz on Film; The Complete Story
of the Musicians and Music on Screen Black Magic:
White Hollywood and African and American Culture K Jazz (
jazz on video) catalogue
Jazz on Film can recommend the following sites for related material David Meekers Jazz and Blues on the Screen can be found at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/jots/jazzscreen-home.html A good site
to find lots of rare stuff and information
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