George Benson & Al Jarreau: Live at Montreux

The World of the Seekers

April 1968 •English

While flying to the first stop on their latest tour, the four members of the Australian music group The Seekers recall in flashback the origins of the group and their rise to success.

Can You Hear God Crying?

November 2014 •English

World première recording of Hannibal Lokumbe's 'spritatorio' Can You Hear God Crying, which combines jazz, gospel and chamber music with West African prayers and songs. The piece, commissioned by Philadelphia philanthropist Carole Haas Gravagno, is about the composer's great-great-grandfather, who was born in the Sahara, kidnapped and enslaved in Liberia, and sold at auction in Charleston, S.C. He escaped to Texas, where he bought land and had a family.

Low Down

January 2014 •English

The daughter of jazz pianist Joe Albany witnesses her beloved father's struggle -- and failure -- to kick his heroin habit.

Hockshop Blues

January 1937 •English

Musical performers put on a show in a pawn shop to convince a man to give them the money they need to buy back their instruments.

Swingonometry

January 1943 •English

Three female performers – pianist Renara, tap-dancer Irene Cutter and singer Shirley Lenner – are supported by Harry Parry and his band in this short film. Cinema audiences were cheered up through WWII by entertaining revue films such as this.

Blues for Herold

April 2024 •English

A struggling young man secretly plays a magical trumpet that transports him from his desolate world into a colorful "bliss." When his younger brother discovers his secret, their relationship is put in jeopardy.

Whispering Sidewalks

January 1936 •Japanese

Inada plays Betty Yoshida, a singer and dancer from America who arrives in Japan to go on tour, only to be swindled by scheming managers. Penniless and cast to the streets, Betty is taken in by Oki (Nakagawa), a talented tap dancer who introduces her to a group of struggling musicians living and working together.

Robert Glasper Experiment - Live Performance On KCRW Radio

November 2013 •English

Robert Glasper Experiment — Live Performance on Morning Becomes Eclectic at KCRW Radio. Full set and interview.

New York, New York

June 1977 •English

An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.

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.

Jazz Icons: Count Basie Live in '62

July 2006 •English

The concert captured on William "Count" Basie's entry in the "must-own" audio/video Jazz Icons series comes from the vaults of Swedish Television. Modern eyes and ears are whisked to April 24, 1962, with Basie conducting his Atomic-era orchestra.

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.

I Called Him Morgan

September 2016 •English

Part jazz history, part true-crime tale, Kasper Collin’s new documentary employs extensive archival footage and new interviews to tell the tragic story of the magnificently talented trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who murdered him in a New York bar in 1972.

Eric Clapton: Live at Budokan

February 2009 •English

Eric Clapton: Live at Budokan

FUNCTION

September 2021 •English

As seen and heard by... the Standing on the corner art ensemble, an "Exhibition" Index Film

You, the Living

September 2007 •Swedish

In the Swedish city of Lethe, people from different walks of life take part in a series of short, deadpan vignettes that rush past. Some are just seconds long, none longer than a couple of minutes. A young woman remembers a fantasy honeymoon with a rock guitarist. A man awakes from a dream about bomber planes. A businessman boasts about success while being robbed by a pickpocket, and so on. The absurdist collection is accompanied by Dixieland jazz and similar music.

Whiplash

October 2014 •English

Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.

Standards I/II

July 2008 •English

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.