This month's focus is movies about jazz, overlapping in the first
two weeks with the Black Harvest festival and coinciding at the
end of the month with the Chicago Jazz Festival. We shed light on
four giants of jazz -- Denis Charles, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane,
and Miles Davis -- and finish up with an encore engagement of the
classic festival film JAZZ ON A SUMMER'S DAY. -- Jim Dempsey
Chicago Premiere!
LOUIS PRIMA: THE WILDEST
1999, Don McGlynn, Denmark, 90 min. Louis Prima was the ultimate
showman, as well as a stellar jazz trumpeter. He guided his career
through fits of R&B, early rock 'n' roll, comedy, and Dixieland,
and he had a great run with singer-wife Keely Smith, whose stone-faced
persona gave Buster Keaton a run for his money. Through priceless
performance footage, THE WILDEST explores Prima's different worlds:
New Orleans in the 1910s and 1920s, the posh night life of New York
City and Hollywood in the 1930s, the neon-soaked Vegas of the 1950s
and 1960s. Beta SP video. (JD)
Sunday, July 28, 6:00 pm;
Thursday, August 1, 8:00 pm
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DENIS CHARLES: AN INTERRUPTED CONVERSATION
2001, Veronique N. Doumbe, USA, 76 min. With Frank Lowe, Archie
Shepp
If it's true that jazz music represents being triumphant in the
face of adversity, then Denis Charles is the perfect jazz musician.
Born in the Caribbean and sent to New York at a young age, Denis
Charles sustained a diverse and nomadic career. In his early days,
he anchored legends like Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Giuffre, Steve Lacy,
and Don Cherry. His later years, even while homeless, were spent
with young creative musicians (such as Susie Ibarra, seen performing
a marvelous duet with Charles) who admired his gentle spirit and
fierce devotion to his craft. DENIS CHARLES perfectly captures the
humor and sweetness of this fearless musician, who literally played
for his life. Beta SP video. (JD)
Sunday, August 4, 5:30 pm;
Thursday, August 8, 8:15pm
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ORNETTE COLEMAN: MADE IN AMERICA
1985, Shirley Clarke, USA, 90 min.
Directed by independent pioneer Shirley Clarke (THE CONNECTION),
this film's jazzlike structure -- combining old and new footage,
intercut dramatic sequences, and electronically processed video
interludes -- is as complex and exciting as Coleman himself. ORNETTE
COLEMAN deftly honors this great musician without necessarily understanding
him. The film follows Ornette through different stages of his career,
as he performs "Skies of America" in Fort Worth, in Morocco in 1973,
in Berkeley in 1969, and on Italian television in 1980. This rich
and poetic portrait includes commentary from the likes of William
Burroughs and Buckminster Fuller. 35mm. (JD)
Sunday, August 11, 5:15 pm;
Thursday, August 15, 8:00 pm
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THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JOHN COLTRANE
1992, Robert Palmer and Toby Byron, USA, 61 min. With Rasheid
Ali, Wayne Shorter
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JOHN COLTRANE deftly covers Coltrane's
personal history, but the joy of the film lies in its abundance
of archival performance footage that gives a true sense of Coltrane's
gift. From his early days with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk to
his later days exploring Asian, African, and Middle Eastern traditions,
John Coltrane's insatiable curiosity not only seemed to fuel his
creativity but gave rise to a heroic musician who, in a relatively
short life, influenced jazz, classical, rock, pop, and funk. Beta
SP video. (JD)
Sunday, August 18, 5:00 pm;
Thursday, August 22, 8:15 pm
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THE MILES DAVIS STORY
2001, Mike Dibb, Britain, 124 min.
A seminal figure of the 20th century, not only in jazz, but in
culture at large, Miles Davis cultivated his music with a rare passion
and focus, seemingly able to harvest new ideas with the changing
seasons. From his East St. Louis roots to his achievement of true
mythical status, THE MILES DAVIS STORY delivers numerous interviews
and priceless clips that reveal many sides to Miles: poet, drug
addict, mentor, criminal, but, most of all, a true teacher with
the ability to influence young people continually as he grew older.
Beta SP video. (JD)
Sunday, August 25, 6:15 pm;
Thursday, August 29, 8:15 pm
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JAZZ ON A SUMMER'S DAY
1960, Bert Stern, USA, 85 min.
Training his cameras on the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, noted photographer
Bert Stern merges musicians, music, audience, and images into a
joyful celebration. The list of participants includes Thelonious
Monk, Chuck Berry, Big Maybelle, Dinah Washington, Gerry Mulligan,
Chico Hamilton, Jimmy Giuffre, and Eric Dolphy. Among the highlights
are Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden's celebrated "Rocking Chair"
duet and Mahalia Jackson's rousing gospel climax. 35mm. (MR)
Sunday, September 1, 6:00 pm;
Tuesday, September 3, 8:15 pm;
Thursday, September 5, 6:30 pm
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