The Cry of Jazz

A Little Jive Is Good for You

February 1941 •English

Martha Tilton sings in this Soundies film from 1941, with Slate Brothers, and Ben Pollack and His Orchestra accompanying.

New York, New York

June 1977 •English

An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.

Trap Jazz

August 2023 •English

Atlanta musicians behind some of the biggest names in music embark on an uncertain journey into the spotlight with a new genre of music that fuses trap music with jazz.

Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko

January 1991 •English

For the past ten years Zappa in composing has turned away from Rock and Roll music - for which he first became famous - and has been working on new, contemporary, orchestral electronic music; in solitude and beyond any commercial conventions or commitments. It is the first time that Zappa has allowed a film crew to study him during compositional work, actually filming the first moments of a new compositional process. By contrast, in a staged interview Zappa gives comments on music. This film seeks to reveal the sensetivities of Zappa's personality and character also beyond narrative content.

Angelo Debarre - Manoir de Mes Rêves

January 2010 •English

Angelo Debarre meets his friends for a tribute to the culture of Travellers. Since Django Reinhardt, which is celebrated 100 years, until today, this rich music that thrilled several generations. His strength is always reinventing itself. This beautiful tribute takes place around the “fire” in a caravan decor (set created for the show). He is talking about the past and future by remembering the fabulous legacy of Django: spiritual father of gypsy jazz.

Jazz Voice - The Ladies sing Jazz Vol.1

December 2006 •French

Jazz Voice - The Ladies sing Jazz Vol.2

December 2006 •French

Daybreak Express

January 1953 •English

Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording "Daybreak Express", this is a five-minute short of the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated subway station in New York City.

The Blues Brothers

June 1980 •English

Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.

Ray

October 2004 •English

Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.

Violent Jazz from the North

December 2020 •Finnish

Finland has long been the promised land for long hair and heavy rock music, however jazz has it’s own place here too! Then again maybe jazz is just the general name we give to music we can’t quite classify. And the original soundscapes brought forth by guitarist Heikki Ruokangas are just that; hard to classify. In Ruokangas’ creations, elements of jazz meld together with the strums and tweaks of modern classic guitars to create an aggressive medley of sound. The end result is a skillful and intense break from traditional guitar song.

A Night In Havana: Dizzy Gillespie In Cuba

May 1989 •English

A documentary on Dizzy Gillespie's landmark visit to Cuba and his performance at the Fifth International Jazz Festival in Havana, Cuba. Filmed in 1985 with Arturo Sandoval and Sayyd Abdul Al Khabyyr.

Spirits of Havana

January 2000 •English

This feature documentary offers a glimpse of contemporary Cuba’s rich musical culture through the experiences of renowned Canadian soprano sax player and flautist Jane Bunnett. Jane and her husband, trumpeter Larry Cramer, are surrounded by the charm of Old Havana as they connect with some of the city's finest musicians—like singers Bobby Carcasses and Amado Dedeu —for a recording session. Bunnett and Cramer then venture to small towns like Cienfuegos and Camaguey, where they hook up with local musicians and visit music schools. Global music fans will be captivated by the performances of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, a celebrated Afro-Cuban rumba group, and Desandann, a 10-member a cappella choir that sings in Haitian Creole.

Cairo Jazzman

January 2017 •English

A documentary about Cairo Jazz Festival's Amr Salah and his struggle every year to bring people and arts together in a country where 70% of people are under 30 and the Officials do not care about culture too much.

What Difference Does It Make?

February 2014 •English

A documentary that explores the challenges that a life in music can bring.

New Orleans: City of Jazz

November 1995 •English

German cultural documentary about the development of Jazz in New Orleans. Contains interviews with several musicians.

Sweet and Lowdown

December 1999 •English

In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.

You, the Living

September 2007 •Swedish

In the Swedish city of Lethe, people from different walks of life take part in a series of short, deadpan vignettes that rush past. Some are just seconds long, none longer than a couple of minutes. A young woman remembers a fantasy honeymoon with a rock guitarist. A man awakes from a dream about bomber planes. A businessman boasts about success while being robbed by a pickpocket, and so on. The absurdist collection is accompanied by Dixieland jazz and similar music.

Dionisos

December 2023 •English

"I only say the sun goodbye." Dionisos captures the existential unease where insomnia echoes and shadows of past regrets linger. As days blend into unconsciousness, the night unveils a haunting struggle between personal demons and the unending flow of existence.

Diotima

January 2024 •English

"Dancing is sculpting in time." Diotima captures the fluid grace of two people sculpting time through dance, in a continuous one-take shot around Indy Simin's "Echt in Vorm." Their movements inside, around, and upon the sculpture reveal a simple unity, where shapes, dancers, and their environment are perpetually in motion, blending into an inseparable, seamless harmony of a never-ending dance.