Jazz on a Summer's Day (1960)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Aram Avakian
Bert Stern

Writers:

Albert D'Annibale (writer)
Arnold Perl (writer)

Release Date:

11 November 1960 (Finland)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Tagline:

Their Songs and Music Set the Musical Mood

Plot:

Set at the Newport jazz festival in 1958, this documentary mixes images of water and the town with performers and audience...

Plot Keywords:

Jazz | Concert Film

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jimmy Giuffre	...	Himself
Thelonious Monk	...	Himself
Henry Grimes	...	Himself
Sonny Stitt	...	Himself
Sal Salvador	...	Himself
Anita O'Day	...	Herself
George Shearing	...	Himself
Dinah Washington	...	Herself
Gerry Mulligan	...	Himself
Big Maybelle	...	Herself
Chuck Berry	...	Himself
Chico Hamilton	...	Himself
Louis Armstrong	...	Himself
Jack Teagarden	...	Himself
Mahalia Jackson	...	Herself

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Galaxy Productions (I)

Trivia:

Features one of the rare film appearances of two of the greatest jazz artists of all times: New Orleans-born trumpeter Louis Armstrong and Texas-born trombonist Jack Teagarden. When Armstrong formed his six-piece All Stars in 1946 Jack, who was white, was asked to join. The obvious affection these two great performers felt for each other's singing, clowning and playing is particularly evident in their classic performance of "Old Rocking Chair." After Armstrong was invited to return his home town after many years away, he insisted Teagarden join him on the stage. The city refused to let a white man and a Negro play together. Armstrong vowed never to return to New Orleans and kept his word until the day he died.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer (2007)

Time capsule

This is a wonderful document of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival and archetype for the concert film, with captivating interludes of visual poetry. As close as one can get to traveling back through time, watching the audience is as much fun here as watching the performers. You can recognize this film as a source of inspiration, perhaps, for the pretensions behind projects like "The Last Waltz," and one certainly gets a sense, given the caliber of the performers gathered onto a single stage, of the magnitude of this event without it ever being forced. The intimacy remains intact. And in contrast with the somber beat of "The Last Waltz," the sun shines on everything here. A joy.