USA: Miles Davis - Music From And Inspired By Birth Of The Cool, A Film By Stanley Nelson (Legacy Recordings 2020)

The definitive audio companion to the critically-acclaimed new documentary directed and produced by Stanley Nelson, the soundtrack is an essential Miles Davis playlist for seasoned fans and new listeners alike, lovingly curated by the director and paired with short audio excerpts from the film for a unique listening experience.

 It brings together recordings and performances spanning labels and the artist's musical evolution--from "Donna Lee" (a 1947 Savoy master take with legendary alto saxophonist Charlie Parker) to "Moon Dreams" from the groundbreaking 1949 Capitol sessions that were ultimately collected on the album Birth Of The Cool, through the seminal 1950s pieces for Columbia that revolutionized the worlds of jazz and popular music (including "Generique," Miles' improvised soundtrack to Louis Malle's "Elevator to the Gallows" as well as tracks from Miles Ahead and, of course the most popular jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue). The album also highlights Miles's evolution in the 1960s with tracks from Sketches of Spain and Someday My Prince Will Come to his iconoclastic invention of electric jazz/fusion (exemplified in a 45rpm single edit of "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" from Bitches Brew). Finally it documents his triumphant mid 1980s comeback (1986 s "Tutu"), while premiering a brand-new track, "Hail To The Real Chief." The new track features unreleased Miles Davis studio trumpet performances combined with music written by Lenny White, produced by White and Vince Wilburn, Jr and featuring an all-star collection of Miles band alumni and acolytes including White, Wilburn, Marcus Miller, Emilio Modeste, Jeremy Pelt, Antoine Roney, John Scofield, Bernard Wright, and Quinton Zoto.

USA/GERMANY: IT MUST SCHWING! THE BLUE NOTE STORY NYC PREMIERE AT DOC NYC, Saturday, November 10, 2018 at 4pm SVA Theater 2

IT MUST SCHWING! THE BLUE NOTE STORY  NYC PREMIERE AT DOC NYC, Saturday, November 10, 2018 at 4pm  SVA Theater 2 333 West 23rdStreet New York, N.Y.

The new feature documentary, IT MUST SCHWING! THE BLUE NOTE STORY, executive produced by Wim Wenders, will have its New York City premiere screening at DOC NYC on Saturday, November 10that 4pm at the SVA theater in Manhattan.    “IT MUST SCHWING!” tells the story of legendary Blue Note Records, founded in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, German Jewish refugees who fled Hitler, reinventing themselves in New York as jazz record producers. From the 1940s to their retirement in the 1960s, this unlikely duo assembled a superlative roster of the most visionary jazz artists of their era. IT MUST SCHWING! tells the moving story of two friends, united by a passionate love for jazz, and their profound belief in equality. Featuring Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Quincy Jones and Ron Carter among many others.   The film’s world premiere took place at the International Munich Film Festival and was also screened at the Telluride Film Festival as well as the Warsaw Film Festival among others. The Wall Street Journal singled out IT MUST SCHWING! in its Telluride overview as “an unusually lustrous…gem”. Rolling Stone writes that it is “a unique and intimate look at the most exciting era in Jazz, one that changed the world forever … impressive!”   Some of the German press reviews include: “IT MUST SCHWING! is the most elaborate, visually brilliant and unexpected documentary on the topic…A cinematic, historical, socio-political and acoustic masterpiece.”   Radio Brandenburg Berlin    “A Gesamtkunstwerk – the creative collaboration between producer Alfred Lion and the sound engineer, Van Gelder’s studio recordings, the immortal photos of Francis Wolff and the simple but distinctly modern cover design of Reid Miles, the film chronicles how the legacy of Blue Note was created. IT MUST SCHWING! totally breathes new life into their work.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung   The film was directed by Eric Friedler, one of the most acclaimed and prolific documentary filmmakers in Germany. Friedler’s innovative films have won numerous national and international prizes.    Executive producer Wim Wenders is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB (1999)  PINA (2011), and SALT OF THE EARTH (2014). His acclaimed feature narratives include PARIS; TEXAS which won the Palme d’Or (1984) Cannes Film Festival and WINGS OF DESIRE (1987) for which he won Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival.       @DOCNYCfest is running a daily 72 flash sale with 10 films on sale for $10  Get in quick as the sale only lasts for 72hrs, and @ITMUSTSCHWING** is available today  http://bit.ly/DOCNYC10for10 More information, including a trailer, is at itmustschwing.com/en   High resolution photos can be downloaded from itmustschwing.com/press   Please contact the US producer at renee@otherislandsfilms.com if you need additional Information or Thomas Beyer at t.beyer.fm@ndr.de

USA: While We Are Still Here What We Remember Harlem Documentary and Salon Sessions WBGO

Some of the Musicians Who Lived at 409 or 555 Edgecombe Avenue… Bessie Allison, Count Basie, Aaron Bridgers, Leroy Burgess, Harry T. Burleigh, Al Drears, Mercer Ellington, Marjorie Eliot, Coleman Hawkins, Erskine Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Lunceford, Snub Moseley, Andy Kirk, Fonce & Larry Mizell, Paul Robeson, Billy Strayhorn, Craig Street, Eddie South, Juan Tizol, Clarence Cameron White, Cassandra Wilson, Phil Young, and many more… Tickets & Info

While We Are Still Here What We Remember Oral Histories Friday, April 27, 2018 at 7:00PM Miller Theatre 2960 Broadway at 116th Street New York, NY 10027 “In the Face of What We Remember: Oral Histories of 409 and 555 Edgecombe Avenue” chronicles the fascinating history of the renowned movers and shakers who lived/live in two of Sugar Hill’s most iconic apartment buildings. Captured on film, the buildings’ elders share memories of their famous neighbors, including W.E.B. Du Bois, Madam Stephanie St. Clair, Aaron Douglass, Thurgood Marshall, and a myriad of others whose cultural and political legacies influenced the entire world. The documentary puts "everyday" faces on these celebrated men and women, who symbolize courage, strength, leadership, and commitment.  Karen D. Taylor, Founder and Executive Director While We Are Still Here www.whilewearestillhere.org Our History Continues Like us on Facebook https://goo.gl/1Pn0Cc Follow us on twitter  @edgecombeavenue

USA: Movie: NIGHT BIRD SONG:THE INCANDESCENT LIFE OF THOMAS CHAPIN NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD

The Intimate and Engaging Story Behind
a Jazz Great Lost Too Soon

NIGHT BIRD SONG:

THE INCANDESCENT LIFE OF THOMAS CHAPIN

Acclaimed Music-Filled Documentary Debuts on ‘Special Edition’ DVD, Digital & VOD March 20, 2018 

The Intimate and Engaging Story Behind a Jazz Great Lost Too Soon NIGHT BIRD SONG: THE INCANDESCENT LIFE OF THOMAS CHAPIN Acclaimed Music-Filled Documentary Debuts on ‘Special Edition’ DVD, Digital & VOD March 20, 2018

LOS ANGELES — Film distributor Random Media and 'Olena Productions proudly announce the DVD, digital and VOD debut of the acclaimed documentary NIGHT BIRD SONG: THE INCANDESCENT LIFE OF THOMAS CHAPIN, on March 20th, 2018. A celebrated film in theatrical appearances at the prestigious Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Monterey Jazz Festival, and winner of awards including ‘Best Story Award’ from the Nice (France) Film Festival (2016) and ‘Best Music Documentary’ (2016 Asbury Park Music and Film Festival), the film is  directed by EMMY Award-winner and former journalist Stephanie J. Castillo, who is Brooklyn-based. This is her 10th documentary film. The film presents an intimate and engaging, music-filled showcase of jazz great Thomas Chapin whose life was tragically cut short by Leukemia at age 40 in 1998. A virtuoso who emerged in the New York City’s downtown scene in the 80’s and 90’s, he was schooled by jazz greats, including Lionel Hampton and Jackie McLean. NIGHT BIRD SONG showcases Chapin’s brilliant compositions and work in a broad breath of genres that left music critics and fellow musicians alike amazed at his ability to bend the genre of jazz with innovative originality. Included in the 96-minute film is the Thomas Chapin Trio’s acclaimed performance at the 1995 JVC Newport Jazz Festival. Learn more about Thomas Chapin at his legacy website www.thomaschapin.com View the trailer at www.thomaschapinfilm.com The Film’s Facebook Fan Page is The Thomas Chapin Film Project CONTACT: Stephanie J. Castillo | 'Olena Productions | (808) 383-7393castillosj@aol.com | www.olenamedia.com | AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS

USA: MOVIE: New Film to Make Jazz History

The Music Kept Them Alive… And Killed Them! THEY DIED BEFORE 40 (93 minutes) - a new jazz film to make history View The Trailer

Which jazz musician’s funeral attracted 10,000 mourners and an 80-car funeral procession? Which African American musician was forced to play at the other end of the recording studio with white musicians? The website for the film has 40 Hot Points and more (http://jazzdeaths.weebly.com). More than two dozen gifted jazz artists died before reaching the age of 40. Most of them are relatively unknown, some even to jazz fans. Many of them made significant contributions to this art form. All of them had much more to give and, individually and collectively, would have made a greater impact on this music had they lived full lives. It is important that their contributions be made known, their music heard and that we show how and why they died.        Many people may have heard of Bix Beiderbecke (who died at 28) and Charlie Parker (who died at 34). But others, such as Herschel Evans, who died before reaching 30, are very little known and their stories untold. For example, Jo Jones, drummer and an integral part of the Count Basie band for many years, has called Evans the greatest musician he ever played with. He said that Evans made everyone he played with better.        Who was this giant, what made him an important creative artist, how and why did he die so young? These are questions that this film will answer concerning Evans and many more. In addition to Evans also featured will be Bunny Berigan, Chick Webb, Fats Waller, Charlie Christian, Jimmy Blanton, Clifford Brown and Chu Berry. About two dozen others’ ages and causes of death are included.           Through their music, some archival film footage, photographs, reminiscences and expert discourse we learn more about these artists, develop an appreciation of their artistry and reveal how and why their careers were cut short.        The film expands our cultural heritage for this internationally renowned art form and also helps us to understand the unique lifestyle that these artists led.    Financing is sought for music licensing.    Please forward this to anyone else you think might be interested. Contact: Howard E. Fischer - Producer 212-864-1479 hfis646942@aol.com

USA: New Jazz Film: Buster Williams Bass to Infinity

 

BUSTER WILLIAMS BASS TO INFINITY

See The Trailer

 

View An Animated Excerpt

 

Imagine hanging out with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, hearing them jam together, trading riffs, then riffing with words and trading stories.  Bird and Diz are gone, but giants still walk among us. One of those giants is Buster Williams. Buster has played with everyone, from Sarah Vaughan to Miles Davis, Nancy Wilson, Art Blakey, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and on. Join Buster as he tells stories about his life and the lives of other great jazz musicians, and is joined by, and plays with, some of the greatest living contributors to this music – Benny Golson, Herbie Hancock, Rufus Reid, Christian McBride, Larry Willis, Carmen Lundy, Kenny Barron and Lenny White.


We need your support to make this film a reality. If you dig this music and Buster, please consider making a contribution to our film, however large or small.

​

Directed and Produced by Adam Kahan.

 

 

Kickstarter Link HERE

USA: Pittsburgh Jazz Film: We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told

MCG Jazz is pleased to present:

We Knew What We Had:  The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told documentary film features the talents of international Jazz Masters George Benson, Ahmad Jamal, Stanley Turrentine, Billy Eckstine, Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn and Mary Lou Williams – all Pittsburghers – and explores the social conditions and historical events that conspired to make Pittsburgh one of the leading contributors to the legacy of Jazz music in the world. The one-hour film is packed with compelling interviews, historical photographs and over 20 live performance clips of the Jazz Masters.

The film is being distributed by American Public Television and can be seen on PBS stations throughout the United States beginning February 1^st.  Please check your local listings for show times.  If you don’t see a local air date please contact your local PBS affiliate to request the film.

If your market carries www.worldchannel.org the film will air on February 6th and 7th with multiple showtimes.


Visit MCG Jazz for more information about the film:
www.mcgjazz.org

Join us on Facebook to discuss the film:
@WeKnewWhatWeHad

Watch the teaser here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uecy2BPTnY

USA: Pittsburgh Jazz Film: We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told

MCG Jazz is pleased to present: We Knew What We Had:  The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told documentary film features the talents of international Jazz Masters George Benson, Ahmad Jamal, Stanley Turrentine, Billy Eckstine, Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn and Mary Lou Williams – all Pittsburghers – and explores the social conditions and historical events that conspired to make Pittsburgh one of the leading contributors to the legacy of Jazz music in the world. The one-hour film is packed with compelling interviews, historical photographs and over 20 live performance clips of the Jazz Masters. The film is being distributed by American Public Television and can be seen on PBS stations throughout the United States beginning February 1st.  Please check your local listings for show times.  If you don’t see a local air date please contact your local PBS affiliate to request the film. If your market carries www.worldchannel.org the film will air on February 6th and 7th with multiple showtimes. Watch the teaser here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uecy2BPTnY Visit MCG Jazz for more information about the film: www.mcgjazz.org Join us on Facebook to discuss the film: @WeKnewWhatWeHad

USA: Jacob Burns Film Center Presents The The Ballad of Fred Hersch

Film Showing
The Ballad of Fred Hersch Live solo piano performance

by Fred Hersch

Q&A with fellow composer/pianist Mike Holober 
 

Thursday, Jun. 22 2017, 7:30

With three dozen recordings as a leader/coleader and numerous awards, including a 2003 Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship and Jazz Pianist of the Year 2011 by The Jazz Journalists Association, Fred Hersch is also the first artist in the history of New York’s legendary Village Vanguard to play weeklong engagements as a solo pianist. He has received eight Grammy nominations—as pianist and composer (two in 2012 for Alone at the Vanguard).

Hersch has collaborated with an astonishing range of artists in jazz (Joe Henderson, Charlie Haden, Art Farmer, Stan Getz and Bill Frisell), classical (Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Christopher O’Riley), and Broadway (Audra McDonald), and has exerted a profound influence on a new generation. His celebrated trio received two 2014 Grammy nominations, for Floating, and, in 2011, he mounted the ambitious jazz theater piece My Coma Dreams. His newest release, Fred Hersch SOLO, has received rave reviews, including this from All About Jazz: “When it comes to the art of solo piano in jazz, there are currently two classes of performers: Fred Hersch and everybody else.”

Hersch and Holober are collaborating on the concept and form for a concert-length jazz orchestra project involving Holober’s arrangements of Hersch’s compositions.

Tickets: $15 (members), $20 (nonmembers)

Buy Tickets

This film is part of the Jazz Sessions 2017: The Greats on Camera series. This series is sponsored by: Adam R. Rose and Peter R. McQuillan

Jacob Burns Film Center 364 Manville Road Pleasantville, NY 10570 914.773.7663 inquiries@burnsfilmcenter.org

USA: CHASING TRANE The John Coltrane Documentary

CHASING TRANE
The John Coltrane Documentary 

Opens Fri, April 14 in New York IFC Center   and Fri, April 21 in LA at The Landmark

CHASING TRANE: THE JOHN COLTRANE DOCUMENTARY CHASING TRANE: THE JOHN COLTRANE DOCUMENTARY is a thought-provoking, uplifting, powerful and passionate film about an outside-the-box thinker whose boundary-shattering music continues to impact and influence people around the world. This rich... Read More

About The Jazz Foundation For 28 years, the Jazz Foundation of America (JFA) has been keeping jazz, blues, R&B and soul alive by helping the musicians who have played with everyone from Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday to Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. Our social work services provide housing assistance, pro bono medical care, and emergency financial support to musicians in crisis. Our Jazz in the Schools program provides dignified employment for musicians who are too old or too ill to tour and reaches thousands of public schoolchildren every year. JFA now assists in 7,000 cases annually across the country. Please Join Us. DONATE Now   www.JazzFoundation.org/donate

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USA: You're invited to the US premiere of the jazz documentary I CALLED HIM MORGAN

 

The life and untimely death of acclaimed hard bop trumpeter LEE MORGAN is the subject of an astounding new documentary that Esquire magazine calls “an instant classic.” Morgan, whose hit song “The Sidewinder” crossed over to the pop charts, played with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, and recorded 25 albums for Blue Note Records. In 1972, he was killed by his common-law wife during a gig at Slug's in NYC.
 

The US premiere of I CALLED HIM MORGAN, which will feature a post-show discussion with director KASPER COLLIN, writer GARY GIDDINS and musicians PAUL WEST and LARRY RIDLEY, takes place this Friday March 24 at 6pm at Lincoln Center, NYC.

Additional screenings take place throughout the weekend.
 

Click here for tickets to the US premiere (just $14) or to other shows during the film's run at Lincoln Center. (Click here for tickets to the film in other US cities.)

USA: BILL FRISELL, A PORTRAIT: WORLD PREMIERE screening schedule SXSW

  BILL FRISELL, A PORTRAIT
by Australian filmmaker and musician Emma Franz
has been selected for the

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
WORLD PREMIERE

“Ten real world stories that demonstrate innovation, energy and bold voices. Selected from 973 feature documentary submissions in 2017.” - SXSW website

View the trailer HERE  

A character portrait of anti-archetype guitar hero, Bill Frisell, this nuanced film traces the ideas and processes that shaped Frisell’s music, and provides rare insight into the mind and personality of one of the significant musicians of recent decades.

Full of live music, revealing stories, and intimate access to the normally reclusive Frisell, various collaborations are followed from development to fruition, including the last ever performance of the Paul Motian Trio with Frisell and Joe Lovano.

Also featuring Jim Hall, Joey Baron, Jason Moran, Mike Gibbs, Jack DeJohnette, Ron Cater, John Abercrombie, Hal Willner, Kenny Wollesen, Tony Scherr, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon and Nels Cline.

For a press kit or to sign up to the mailing list for future screenings, visit  BillFrisellFilm.com  

Premiere Screenings: March 12:  4pm   Alamo Ritz 1 March 13:  2pm   Alamo Lamar A March 16:  10h45am  Alamo Lamar A Bill Frisell will be attending the second screening and  director Emma Franz will be attending all three.

USA/Movie: Jimmy Scott Documentary „I Go Back Home“

some behind the scenes snippets from the upcoming Jimmy Scott Album and eponymous documentary „I Go Back Home“ // This is Jimmy Scotts very last record - Many of the most talented musicians of the worldwide jazz scene are paying tribute to him on this Album: // Dee Dee Bridewater, James Moody, Kenny Barron, Peter Erskine, Arturo Sandoval, Joey DeFrancesco, Monica Mancini, Till Brönner, Oscar Castro Neves, Bob Mintzer, John Pisano, Renee Olstead, Martin Gjakonovski, Hans Dekker, Michael Valerio, Gregorie Maret, the legendary HBR Studio Symphony Orchestra are guests and even the actor Joe Pesci got two songs with Jimmy Scott.

► To learn more:
http://www.eden-river-records.com
https://www.facebook.com/edenriverrec...


★ The Documentary film "I Go Back Home" ★ – Jimmy Scott tells the story of jazz legend Jimmy Scott and disillusioned producer and composer Ralf Kemper who took on the journey to produce an album with the almost-forgotten icon.

Jimmy Scott, friend of Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and one of the last connections to the golden age of jazz, was described as “perhaps the most unjustly ignored American singer of the 20th century,” by the New York Times. Personally discontented, Kemper becomes obsessed with the idea of bringing attention to his hero, but it takes a tragedy to put his thoughts into action.

By the time Kemper and Scott meet, Scott is 85 years-old and living in obscurity in Las Vegas. Reliant on his wife and reliant on a wheelchair, Kemper is shocked by Jimmy’s surprisingly bad health condition which puts his dream at risk before it even begins. While Ralf’s problems grow, Jimmy’s bloom more and more.

Ralf gathers some of the most important jazz musicians in the studio in tribute for Scott. Together with many of Scott’s old friends like Quincy Jones, Joe Pesci and James Moody, Kemper pursues his dream. He can’t give up. He spares no expense and reaches the limits of what can be done to capture Jimmy’s unique voice in a race against time.

►To learn more:
http://www.igobackhome.com
https://www.facebook.com/igobackhomej...
Directed by: Yoon-ha Chang