Sloane: A Jazz Singer

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).

Chasing Trane

April 2017 •English

An account of the life of the brilliant jazz musician John Coltrane (1926-67), a gifted saxophonist, an extraordinarily talented thinker whose original, avant-garde work has impacted and influenced people all over the world. A story about music's ability to entertain, inspire and transform.

Musician

May 2007 •English

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.

Sufi, Saint & Swinger

September 2020 •English

The tragic story of an American music virtuoso who found in 1970s Iran the love and acceptance he never received back home, and who was punished by his country upon his return after the Iranian revolution.

The Case of the Three Sided Dream

March 2014 •English

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.

Weird Nightmare

January 1993 •English

A tribute to Charles Mingus.

Cool

Invalid date •English

Documentary exploring the meaning and history of cool through the American music that started in the 1940s in the bars of New York and LA, and became known as cool jazz.

Who in the Hell Is Regina Jones?

Invalid date •English

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.

Bad Woman Blues- Beth Hart

December 2023 •English

"Bad Woman Blues - Beth Hart" celebrates the music and voice of a woman who enriches rock and blues with emotion, authenticity, and honesty.

Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar

January 1995 •English

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

Solo en un día

November 2016 •Spanish

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.

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.

Saxophone Colossus

January 1998 •English

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.

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.

Violent Jazz from the North

December 2020 •Finnish

Finland has long been the promised land for long hair and heavy rock music, however jazz has it’s own place here too! Then again maybe jazz is just the general name we give to music we can’t quite classify. And the original soundscapes brought forth by guitarist Heikki Ruokangas are just that; hard to classify. In Ruokangas’ creations, elements of jazz meld together with the strums and tweaks of modern classic guitars to create an aggressive medley of sound. The end result is a skillful and intense break from traditional guitar song.

Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser

October 1988 •English

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

February 2019 •English

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.

Thunder Soul

March 2010 •English

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.

Od začiatku až do kolísky – 80 rokov Petra Lipu

May 2023 •Slovak

Putte Wickman à la clarinette

January 1991 •Swedish

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