Film on Demand: Jazz on a Summer's Day

Brooklyn-born fashion photographer Bert Stern's glistening, full-color document of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island is as intimate and gorgeous a depiction of a live music event as one could hope to see. And the lineup of talent truly astonishes: Thelonius Monk, Big Maybelle, Dinah Washington, Chuck Berry, Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Anita O'Day, Gerry Mulligan and many others. Shot on warm, saturated color film stock, the close-up camerawork captures every bead of sweat and dexterous improvisation. Blazing a trail for the entire concert-film genre, this restored cinematic landmark offers a chance to appreciate these master performers at the top of their game. D: Bert Stern, US, 1959, 1h25m This virtual screening includes an intro by Coast Jazz Orchestra director Taylor Ho Bynum, who will put this film in context, addressing the larger questions of who gets to document and tell "jazz history," and how that affects our perspective on both cinema and jazz.