Jazz Icons: Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers Live In '58

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.

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.

Giuli - It Was A Dream

September 2023 •Georgian

Forgotten by all, an elderly jazz singer lives through the fragments of her past. Inspired by the true story of Giuli Chokheli, the most famous female Georgian jazz singer of her time, sometimes referred to as the Georgian Ella Fitzgerald. In this movie, Giuli Chokheli plays herself at the age of 87.

Toronto Jazz

May 1963 •English

Toronto is regarded as the third largest jazz centre in North America. This film features a cross-section of jazz bands of that city: the Lenny Breau Trio, the Don Thompson Quintet and the Alf Jones Quartet. Their styles show creative self-expression, hard work, and improvisation.

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.

Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz

October 1997 •English

"It must schwing!" was the motto of Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, two German Jewish immigrants who in 1939 set up Blue Note Records, the jazz label that was home to such greats as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins. Blue Note, the most successful movie ever made about jazz, is a testimony to the passion and vision of these two men and certainly swings like the propulsive sounds that made their label so famous.

The Sound of Seeing

January 1963 •English

Made on a wind-up Bolex camera, The Sound of Seeing announced the arrival of 21-year-old filmmaker Tony Williams. Based around a painter and a composer wandering the city (and beyond), the film meshes music and imagery to show the duo taking inspiration from their surroundings.

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.

So Near... So Far

April 2017 •English

The young American Pablo Menéndez came to Cuba to study Music at the National School of Art. Here he formed a family and became one more Cuban. Member of the Sound Experimentation Group of ICAIC and promoter of the teaching of the electric guitar in Cuba, he is, together with his group Mezcla, one of our most original musicians.

Norah Johnes at We Love Green Festival

September 2012 •German

Tears For Fears - Going To California

January 1990 •English

Going To California is a concert performance video by the British pop group Tears For Fears. Released in 1990, it is a recording of the band's show at the Santa Barbara County Bowl in May 1990 during their "Seeds Of Love" World Tour.

Miles Davis - Live in Montreal

January 2020 •English

One of the true legends of the jazz scene, Miles Davis was not only a virtuoso on the trumpet, but also one of the founders of cool Jazz, Groove, Hard Bop, and Fusion. Available for the first time completely digitally re-recorded is Davis' live performance in Montreal with rare concert footage. This is a must-have for all jazz lovers.

Let's Get Lost

September 1988 •English

Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.

Young Man with a Horn

March 1950 •English

Taken in by the musical world as a young orphan, Rick Martin grows up with a desire to play pure jazz instead of the commercial gigs he lands, whilst also coping with the problems caused by his tempestuous marriage to an aloof heiress.

Dejohnette, Hancock, Holland and Metheny in Concert

April 1990 •English

Jack DeJohnette - Drums, Herbie Hancock - Keyboards, Dave Holland - Bass, Pat Metheney - Guitars. For the first time, these four masterful musicians come together to form a jazz group most people would never expect to see happen. Taking their collaborations around the world, they toured Canada, Europe, Japan, and the United States, performing concerts and festivals to sold out audiences and rave reviews. On June 23, 1990, this extraordinary group performed two concerts at the Mellon Jazz Festival at the Philadelphia Academy of music. Both shows were filmed and have been carefully edited to create a technically flawless video of a truly "once in a lifetime" event. All of the songs were selected with great care, as might be expected from a band of this caliber.

Dance Crazy in Hollywood

January 1990 •English

American dancer and choreographer Hermes Pan recalls his life and work as he relives the glorious history of the Hollywood musical.

Singular

March 2019 •English

Chronicles the extraordinary rise of Haitian-American jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant, anchored by a pristine recording of a live concert.

All Night Long

February 1962 •English

Over the course of one eventful evening, the anniversary celebration of the musical and romantic partners Aurelius Rex and Delia Lane, a jealous, ambitious drummer, Johnny Cousin, attempts to tear the interracial couple apart.

Swing Girls

September 2004 •Japanese

A tale of delinquent and lazy school girls. In their efforts to cut remedial summer math class, they end up poisoning and replacing the school's brass band.

Sita Sings the Blues

February 2008 •English

Utilizing the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, the epic Indian tale of exiled prince Ramayana and his bride Sita is mirrored by a spurned woman's contemporary personal life, and light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets.