Ula(2023)

Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar(en)

This riveting music documentary traces the history of Jazz piano legend Oscar Peterson, from his early days as Montreal's teenage Boogie-Woogie sensation through his meteoric rise to international celebrity with Norman Granz and the ground-breaking Jazz at the Philharmonic and beyond. In this award-winning autobiographical portrait, legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson narrates his story, from his beginnings in smoke-filled Montreal clubs to hallmark performances with jazz greats. Concert footage includes an unforgettable combo -- Nat King Cole with Jazz at the Philharmonic and the Oscar Peterson Trio Wall reunion. Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie are interviewed, among others. - Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Ella Fitzgerald

Who in the Hell Is Regina Jones?(en)

Before Rolling Stone, there was Soul Newspaper. Behind Soul, there was Regina Jones. Against all odds, Regina blazed her own path, and at 80 has found herself again.

Solo en un día(es)

Madrid, Spain, June 30th, 2016. Rafael and José Luis jam a crazy one-day trip in search of the city's jazz scene, meeting the musicians, the club owners, the audience, the true believers who tell the story from the beginning, back in the 1950s, until the last breath of this memorable day.

The Case of the Three Sided Dream(en)

The documentary film on the life and legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk – a one of a kind musician, personality, activist and windmill slayer who despite being blind, becoming paralyzed, and facing America’s racial injustices - did not relent.

Musician(en)

Common sense says you can't make a living in America playing avant-garde improvisational jazz. But Ken Vandermark does it anyway. Among musicians, Vandermark's work ethic is almost mythic. The Chicago reed player has released over 100 albums with nearly 40 ensembles, spends over eight months per year on the road, and lives every other waking moment composing, arranging, performing—and trying to discipline his two hyperactive canines. Though Vandermark was the recipient of a 1999 MacArthur genius grant, he still spends most of his life in smoky clubs and low-budget recording studios, hoping people will plunk down hard-earned cash to hear his wholly non-commercial music. Following the artful cinéma vérité style of the internationally acclaimed Sheriff (Work Series #1), Musician (Work Series #2) forgoes all interviews and voice-overs. It is a fly-on-the-wall time capsule that expertly captures every subtle sound and texture of this most American of art forms.

Weird Nightmare(en)

A tribute to Charles Mingus.

Saxophone Colossus(en)

Tenor saxophone master Sonny Rollins has long been hailed as one of the most important artists in jazz history, and still, today, he is viewed as the greatest living jazz improviser. In 1986, filmmaker Robert Mugge produced Saxophone Colossus, a feature-length portrait of Rollins, named after one of his most celebrated albums.

Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz(en)

"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.

Putte Wickman à la clarinette(sv)

Documentary about the Swedish clarinettist Putte Wickman featuring interviews and performances.

Wes Bound: The Genius of Wes Montgomery(en)

Discover the story of a legendary jazz guitarist and composer from Indiana. Wes Montgomery was born in Indianapolis on March 6, 1923, and rose from humble beginnings to become one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time. This first full-length documentary of Wes Montgomery is told through the eyes of his youngest child, Robert Montgomery.

Let's Get Lost(en)

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.

Brüder Kühn: Zwei Musiker spielen sich frei(de)

Od začiatku až do kolísky – 80 rokov Petra Lipu(sk)

Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser(en)

A documentary film about the life of pianist and jazz great Thelonious Monk. Features live performances by Monk and his band, and interviews with friends and family about the offbeat genius.

Jimmy McGary: The Best Jazz You Never Heard(en)

Tenor saxophonist Jimmy McGary was a major presence in the Cincinnati music scene from the 1950s until his death in the early ’90s. With music rooted in Bebop with a progressive slant, the Jazz legend was a session player for King Records and released his first album as a bandleader — The First Time (with a quartet that included pianist Pat Kelly) — in 1979. McGary’s spirit and legacy have lived on well after his passing and well beyond Cincinnati, as evidenced in this new documentary film.

Archie Shepp chez les Touaregs(ar)

Sloane: A Jazz Singer(en)

The documentary recounts the six-decade career of jazz singer Carol Sloane, lauded by critics and peers as one of the greatest jazz singers in history but still relatively unknown to the public at large, and follows her preparations for her final live recording at Birdland in New York City at the age of 82.

Amy(en)

A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.

Thunder Soul(en)

Jamie Foxx presents the inspiring true story of high school band leader Conrad O. Johnson, who transformed his ragtag jazz band students into a legendary funk powerhouse that took the nation by storm.

Hallo Satchmo(cs)

In 1965, during eminent trumpeter Louis Armstrong’s visit to Prague, Jan Spata then a young promising documentary filmmaker, created the report 'Hallo Satchmo'.