Norman Granz’ Jazz in Montreaux presents Ella and Basie '79—"The Perfect Match"

Good Stock On The Dimension Floor: An Opera

March 2014 •English

A collectively made filmic opera in 35 parts. The Black and predominantly queer art collective, an evolving line up of poets and artists from across the world, abstracts and reimagines opera in any traditional conception. Set to hip-hop, blues, noise, R&B and electronica, the piece uses the voice (chanting, singing, screaming; written by poet and activist Dawn Lundy Martin) as its primary tool, verbalising centuries of alienation, vulnerability and protest in the global African diaspora through its disruptive libretto.

Liberty's Secret

November 2016 •English

The daughter of a preacher becomes the centerpiece for a conservative political campaign but finds herself falling in love with a woman.

MOANIN'

January 2022 •English

A jazz musician struggles to come to terms with his age when he is assigned a live in nurse.

The Manhattan Transfer & Take 6 - The Summit

April 2018 •English

Pop and jazz fusion vocal quartet The Manhattan Transfer is one of the most celebrated a cappella groups in history, with ten Grammys to their name. They have performed with a cornucopia of the biggest names in music - now including the innovative R&B and gospel a cappella group Take 6. Soundstage brings together these two wildly talented ensembles for the very first time - an unforgettable cross-cultural exchange that will test the limits of the unaccompanied voice!

More Than Jazz

July 2016 •English

A tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland, with Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Etta James, Marvin Gaye, David Bowie, and many more geniuses on tape; a cool Quincy Jones and a laughing Herbie Hancock; sweaty musicians, crazy audiences, and some very rare files.

Can You Hear God Crying?

November 2014 •English

World première recording of Hannibal Lokumbe's 'spritatorio' Can You Hear God Crying, which combines jazz, gospel and chamber music with West African prayers and songs. The piece, commissioned by Philadelphia philanthropist Carole Haas Gravagno, is about the composer's great-great-grandfather, who was born in the Sahara, kidnapped and enslaved in Liberia, and sold at auction in Charleston, S.C. He escaped to Texas, where he bought land and had a family.

Crescendo

December 2019 •English

Take Five

April 1972 •Polish

Early experimental film from Zbigniew Rybczynski that broke new ground in the use of pixelation, optical printing, animation and other compositional film devices. Beautiful jazz score and color usage.

Manu Katché - Quartet Live Montreux Jazz Club 2014

Invalid date •French

Jazz Casual: Dave Brubeck

August 2000 •English

On October 17, 1961, the popular and pioneering pianist-composer Dave Brubeck performed on Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual, the television show that showcased some of the finest jazz artists in a half-hour of no-frills performance and conversation. Backed by the Lester Young-influenced alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello, Brubeck and his combo perform some of their odd-metered hits. Desmond's dancing ditty, "Take Five" is rendered in a faster tempo than the studio version. Brubeck's ragtime-flavoured "(It's a) Raggy Waltz," highlights his percussive piano lines, while "Castillian Blues" and the Turkish strains of "Blue Rondo a la Turk" reveal his multicultural, compositional genius. Gleason, the show's creator and host, was a well-respected, San Francisco-based jazz critic and author. He remarks during the show that Dave Brubeck was "a provocative, experimental, and interesting musician." That statement is still true today.

The Butterflies of Love

Invalid date •English

Two musical stars from the golden age of Hollywood get a second chance at rekindling their love in the modern world.

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

July 2021 •English

During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost — until now.

Ray Charles - In Concert

March 2001 •English

The name Ray Charles stands for superstar worldwide. He is an icon in the music world, has a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame, a bronze bust enshrined in the Playboy Hall of Fame, and has received fifteen Grammys, the Kennedy Center Honor, and three National Medals of Arts. In his fifty years in the music world, Ray Charles has earned the title "The Legendary Genius of Soul." In this 1999 benefit concert for the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind from the James L. Knight center in Miami, Florida, Ray Charles performs such classics as I Got A Woman, Georgia On My Mind, and his moving rendition of America, The Beautiful. In addition, Charles delights the audience with a saxophone solo and a duet with special guest and Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Diane Schuur.

Louis Armstrong: Live in Australia

January 1964 •English

Meeting of the Spirits

January 1982 •English

In 1979 and 1980, three world renowned guitarists, John Mc Laughlin, Paco De Lucia and Larry Coryell, formed a guitar super-trio and toured Europe. This is the recording of their performance live at Royal Albert Hall.

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

August 2019 •English

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).

Music In The Morgan Manner

June 1936 •English

This is the full ten minute film from which the Russ Morgan "Meet The Bandleaders" segment was created on video in the 1980s. It features Russ in his first year, singer Linda Lee, and Lewis Julian, a former NBC page boy. Also featured is 22-year-old Billy Fisher on saxophone and clarinet (in front of the bass drum), who later played with Al Donahue and the CBS Orchestra. He was later the arranger for the Ed Sullivan and Jackie Gleason shows and the Tony Awards.

Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker

March 2013 •English

Bayou Maharajah explores the life and music of New Orleans piano legend James Booker, the man Dr. John described as "the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced." A brilliant pianist, his eccentricities and showmanship belied a life of struggle, prejudice, and isolation. Illustrated with never-before-seen concert footage, rare personal photos and exclusive interviews, the film paints a portrait of this overlooked genius.

Lambert & Co.

January 1964 •English

Jazz vocalist Dave Lambert auditions a new group of singers at RCA Studios in 1964.

Zaz: Sur La Route

March 2016 •English

ZAZ, in August 2014, completed a major tour spanning 5 continents, performing sold out each time. “On the Road” takes us behind the scenes of this triumphant world tour of 93 concerts.