Come out of that blasted heat and into the cool, cozy, comfy seats of the Bell Auditorium to relive some of Jazz' greatest moments ever caught on film. Watch as Miles Davis tears open the world of Jazz by going electric. Dazzle at the shear number Jazz' luminaries assembled on the steps of a Harlem tenement. Jazz and the cinema effectively grew up together and this June the Bell opens it's weekend afternoons to the sonorous tunes of Jazz History. Presented by Minnesota Film Arts in conjunction with the Twin Cities Hot Summer Jazz Festival.
MILES ELECTRIC: A DIFFERENT KIND OF BLUE
June 4 & 5
Directed by Murray Lerner
Daily at 1:15 & 3:15pm
At the Isle of Wight Festival in the summer of 1970, Miles Davis and an electric sextet (featuring Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Jack deJohnette and Dave Holland) played a riveting set consisting of one 38-minute jam. That memorable set is resurrected in impeccable sound in Murray Lerner's film of the event, which one musician remembers as a "microhistory of jazz."
June 11 & 12
Directed by Jean Bach
Daily at 1:15 & 3:15pm
The story of the photo-shoot behind the celebrated historic photograph, taken by Art Kane, for Esquire's January 1959 souvenir jazz issue, boasting the century's jazz luminaries crossing the terrain of ragtime to bebop. Narrated by Quincy Jones, the film weaves archival performance and the photo-shoot's home-movie footage with rare interviews to impart the significance of the occasion.
THE LAST OF THE FIRST
June 18 & 19
Directed by Anja Baron
Daily at 1:15 & 3:15pm
Anja Baron's touching documentary about the Harlem Blues & Jazz band, formed 30 years ago to honor the underappreciated living legends of jazz. The Last of the First is not only an engrossing history lesson but also a loving behind-the-scenes look at the band members' everyday lives and at the swingin' music that has kept them going well into their golden years. A true celebration of the jazz spirit. Appearances by Lionel Hampton, Milt Hinton, Jonah Jones, Jay McShann and Tony Bennett as well as top jazz critics and historians, such as Dan Morgenstern and Nat Hentoff.
JAZZ ON A SUMMER'S DAY
June 25 & 26
Directed by Bert Stern
Daily at 1:15 & 3:15pm
Bert Stern stood at the forefront of New York's photographic elite when he made JAZZ ON A SUMMER'S DAY, his first--and unfortunately, his only--foray into filmmaking. Stern's still images have long since become the stuff of art anthologies and gallery exhibitions, and his single movie remains a classic to which few music festival documentaries can hold a candle. This witty, insightful film gives us the Newport Jazz Festival as it was celebrated in 1958, by a joyous, interracial crowd of passionate jazz enthusiasts. As superb film art, musical event and fascinating time capsule, JAZZ ON A SUMMER'S DAY is not to be missed! Featuring: Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Chuck Berry, Dinah Washington Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Jimmy Giuffre, Anita O'Day, Jack Teagarden, Chico Hamilton, Sonny Stitt, George Shearing, and Big Maybelle.
The Bell Auditorium is located at 10 Church Street at the intersection of 17th and University Ave. S.E. on the University of MN East Bank campus in the Bell Museum of Natural History. The Bell Auditorium is open to the public nightly.
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