Jazz film
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- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsDorothy LamourLloyd NolanTito GuízarA Broadway musical comedy star tires of the same old grind and flees the city. She runs into the skipper of a showboat who befriends her, and they make plans to put together a musical revue. But a competing carnival owner hatches a scheme to put an end to the show before it begins.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsPriscilla LaneBetty FieldRichard Whorf"Jigger' Pine forms a band that includes singer Ginger 'Character' Powell, wife of the trumpeter Leo Powell, and Nickie Haroyen and Peppi. All of them dedicate themselves to work as a unit and to play blues music. The dedication isn't paying off financially and, while riding the rails in a boxcar, they meet and befriend gangster Del Davis. He offers them a job at a New Jersey roadhouse, where Powell falls in love with Kay Grant, a former 'real good friend' of Davis. But when Powell learns that Character is about to have a baby, he returns to her. Jigger tries to make Kay the band's singer and, after this fails, runs off with her. She leaves him with nothing but a nervous breakdown. Back at the roadhouse, after his recovery, Kay shows up, has a quarrel with Davis, shoots and kills him, and plans to take back up with Jigger, who knows better but just can't help himself. While she is waiting in a car for him, along comes cripple Brad Ames, who she put in that condition, and he gets in and drives the car over a cliff, leaving no survivors in the two-passenger crash. The band is back together at the end, still using boxcars as their transportation, but happy playing the blues.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliBusby BerkeleyStarsEthel WatersEddie 'Rochester' AndersonLena HorneA compulsive gambler dies during a shooting, but he'll receive a second chance to reform himself and to make up with his worried wife.
- DirectorAndrew L. StoneStarsLena HorneBill RobinsonCab Calloway and His Cotton Club OrchestraThe relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African-American entertainers of the early 1900s.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsKirk DouglasLauren BacallDoris DayA young trumpet player is torn between an honest singer and a manipulative heiress.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsFrank SinatraKim NovakEleanor ParkerA junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.
- DirectorValentine DaviesStarsSteve AllenDonna ReedBerta GerstenThe young Benny Goodman is taught clarinet by a Chicago music professor. He is advised by bandleader Kid Ory to play whichever kind of music he likes best, but to make a living, Benny begins by joining the Ben Pollack traveling band.
- DirectorBert SternAram AvakianStarsLouis ArmstrongMahalia JacksonChuck BerryThe highlights of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsPatrick McGoohanKeith MichellBetsy BlairThis movie, based on William Shakespeare's Othello, is neatly positioned as a vehicle to showcase some of the best jazz musicians of the period, including Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus.
- DirectorThomas ReichmanStarsWalter BishopCharles McPhersonCarolyn MingusA close-up of bass player and composer Charlie Mingus as he and his five-year-old daughter await eviction by the City of New York.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodJessica WalterDonna MillsThe life of a disc jockey is turned upside down after a romantic encounter with an obsessed fan.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsDiana RossBilly Dee WilliamsRichard PryorThe story of the troubled life and career of the legendary Jazz singer, Billie Holiday.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsRichard GereGregory HinesDiane LaneMeet the jazz musicians, dancers, owner, and guests (like gangster Dutch Schultz) of The Cotton Club in 1928-1930s Harlem.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsForest WhitakerDiane VenoraMichael ZelnikerThe troubled life and career of jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker.
- StarsKeith DavidWynton MarsalisGary GiddinsA survey of the musical form's history and major talents.
- DirectorBruce WeberStarsChet BakerCarol BakerVera BakerDocumentary on the life of jazz trumpeter and drug addict Chet Baker. Fascinating series of interviews with friends, family, associates and lovers, interspersed with film from Baker's earlier life and some modern-day performances.
- DirectorRobert BudreauStarsEthan HawkeCarmen EjogoCallum Keith RennieA re-imagining of jazz legend Chet Baker's musical comeback in the late '60s.
- DirectorJean BachStarsDizzy GillespieMilt HintonMarian McPartlandThe documentary compiles interviews of all the top jazz musicians in NYC in the year 1958, for a piece in Esquire magazine.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsSean PennSamantha MortonWoody AllenIn the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.
- DirectorBruce RickerStarsClint EastwoodStingBill CosbyA chronological look at the life and career of jazz musician, composer, and performer Dave Brubeck (December 6, 1920 to December 5, 2012), presented through contemporary interviews, archival footage of interviews and performances, and commentary by family, fellow musicians, and aficionados. Emphases include his mother's influence, his wife's invention of college tours, his skill as an accompanist, the great quartet (with Desmond, Morello, and Wright), his ability to find musical ideas everywhere, his orchestral compositions, his religious conversion, and his unflagging sweet nature.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsMiles TellerJ.K. SimmonsMelissa BenoistA promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
- DirectorDee ReesStarsQueen LatifahKamryn JohnsonRikki McKinneyThe story of legendary blues performer Bessie Smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and '30s.
- DirectorLiz GarbusStarsNina SimoneLisa Simone KellyRoger NupieA documentary about the life and legend Nina Simone, an American singer, pianist, and civil rights activist labeled the "High Priestess of Soul."
- DirectorDon CheadleStarsDon CheadleEmayatzy CorinealdiEwan McGregorAn exploration of the life and music of Miles Davis.
- DirectorAsif KapadiaStarsAmy WinehouseMitch WinehouseMark RonsonArchival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse.
- DirectorLee PhilipsStarsBen VereenRed ButtonsMargaret AveryThe story of how jazz great Louis Armstrong got his start playing in Chicago clubs, how he was framed on a drug charge, and his travels throughout Europe, where he first gained worldwide fame.
- DirectorBertrand TavernierStarsDexter GordonFrançois CluzetGabrielle HakerA troubled, but talented musician flees the US to escape his problems, finding refuge and support in Paris.
- DirectorJeff PreissStarsJohn HawkesElle FanningGlenn CloseA look at the life of pianist Joe Albany from the perspective of his young daughter, as she watches him contend with his drug addiction during the 1970s jazz scene.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingEmma StoneRosemarie DeWittWhile navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.
- StarsNancy SinatraTina SinatraNancy Barbato SinatraSINATRA: All or Nothing at All is an up-close and personal examination of the life, music and career of the legendary entertainer. Told in his own words from hours of archived interviews, along with commentary from those closest to him, the documentary weaves the music and images from Sinatra's life together with rarely seen footage of Sinatra's famous 1971 "Retirement Concert" in Los Angeles. The film's narrative is shaped by Sinatra's song choices for that concert, which Gibney interprets as the singer's personal guide through his own life.
- DirectorSara FishkoStarsDavid AmramCarla BleyJohn CohenArt, obsession and anxiety permeate a dilapidated Manhattan loft building in Mid-century: The first movie to use photographer W. Eugene Smith's massive, fly-on-the-wall archive of photos and audio tapes documenting the likes of jazz greats Thelonious Monk, Zoot Sims, Jimmy Giuffre, Hall Overton and others at work and play in the Sixth Avenue wreck that was Smith's home and studio from 1957 through the '60s.
- DirectorKasper CollinStarsLee MorganHelen MorganWayne ShorterAn exploration of the relationship between jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who was implicated in his murder in 1972.
- DirectorJohn ScheinfeldStarsDenzel WashingtonReggie WorkmanRavi ColtraneAn exploration of the global power and impact of the music of John Coltrane where the passions, experiences and forces that shaped his life and revolutionary sounds are revealed.
- 1985– 1h 54mNot Rated7.4 (3.3K)TV Episode76MetascoreDirectorStanley NelsonStarsCarl LumblyMiles DavisReginald PettyMusicians, scholars, family and friends reflect on the life of jazzer Miles Davis to reveal the man behind the legend. Full access to Davis' estate provides rare footage and photos, outtakes from recording sessions and new interviews.
- DirectorSophie HuberStarsRobert GlasperAmbrose AkinmusireMarcus StricklandA revelatory, thrilling and emotional journey behind the scenes of Blue Note Records, the pioneering label that gave voice to some of the finest jazz artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
- DirectorOliver MurrayStarsGilles PetersonKyle EastwoodSimon CookeA chronicle of the life of saxophonist Ronnie Scott and his world famous London jazz club.
- DirectorFrank MarshallRyan SuffernStarsGlen David AndrewsPhilip BaileyTarriona BallA film that not only captures the signature annual music and cultural event that has been called America's greatest festival in all of its beauty and glory, but also delves deep into the rich culture of The Big Easy.
- DirectorSacha JenkinsStarsLouis ArmstrongSteve AllenErnie AndersonFollow the life and legacy of the master and so-called founding father of jazz, America's first pop star, and cultural ambassador.