1959: The Year that Changed Jazz

Archive performances and interviews explore the influence of the four major jazz albums made in 1959 by Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus and Ornette Coleman.

Música para Sempre

The picture brings interviews with the participants of the 1st São Paulo Jazz Festival that occurred in Anhembi Conventions Palace in September 1978 and reunited musicians, composers and singers from all around the world.

Passing the Torch

Passing the Torch documents a ninety year old Jazz master, Jimmy Heath, mentoring teenage musicians with a thirst for knowledge and an appreciation of America's homegrown art form, Jazz. Director Bret Primack captures Heath's gentle, humorous sharing of life lessons and the non-threatening way he guides aspiring artists to musical excellence. An esteemed mentor, Mr. Heath reaches a much younger generation by understanding his role, to be dependable, engaged, authentic, and finely tuned to their needs.

Big Ben: Ben Webster in Europe

In the late sixties, the American saxophone player and living jazz legend Ben Webster lived in Amsterdam for a year. Webster, who was born in Kansas City in 1909, was a unique personality in the world of jazz and blues. In the thirties, he played with all the great names. During his Amsterdam period, he stayed with an elderly landlady, Mrs Hardloper, with whom he appeared on a national talk show. In conversations with Van der Keuken, he muses on the past; on the fantastic experience of playing in the renowned Duke Ellington band; or on one of his best friends, who was so deft at eating with a knife and fork. Short, fragmented remarks, which Van der Keuken has edited in a loose, improvised editing style.

In Groove We Trust, A Joe Bowie Experience

How do funky machismo and buddhism go together in one man? This music documentary takes you into the groove of Joseph Bowie and his Defunkt, a major innovator in the history of jazz funk.

Medici con l'Africa

Documentary about Medici con l'Africa CUAMM, one of Italy's foremost humanitarian NGOs to operate in Africa.

Ornette: Made in America

Shirley Clarke's frenetic documentary about multi-talented musician Ornette Coleman.

Multitasking – How Much Can We Do Simultaneously?

Can the human brain really handle several tasks at once? The film exposes the myth about effective multitasking and takes a scientific look at its feasibility in the real world.

Louis Prima: The Wildest!

Documentary about the mid-20th century Vegas bandleader and trumpeter Louis Prima, who showed the world what a rock show could be.

Maceo Parker: My First Name Is Maceo

Documentary about the life of jazz and funk saxophonist, Maceo Parker

Joe Albany: A Jazz Life

The life and times of Joe Albany, a little-known jazz pianist, is the subject of this specialized documentary that not only brings out the pianist himself, but the mood and feeling of the era in which he reached the top. Albany talks about the great musicians and singers he worked with - Billie Holliday and Charlie Parker among them - and how so many succumbed to drugs and died young. He is followed around at home, work, on the bus, and in other settings as he is interviewed by director Carole Langer. His sharp observations and dry sense of humor enliven the stories.

Cold Trumpet

Chet Baker silently wanders through an Antonioniesque landscape in a Felliniesque state of wonderment as his improvised trumpet solos alternate between earnestly offering the obvious and mocking the artiness of the whole affair.

HILLEMAN – A Perilous Quest to Save the World’s Children

A Perilous Quest to Save the World’s Children tells the inspiring story of Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman, a man with a singular, unwavering focus — to eliminate the diseases of children. From his poverty-stricken youth on the plains of Montana, he came to prevent pandemic flu, develop the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, and invent the first-ever vaccine against human cancer.

Momma Don't Allow

A night at the Wood Green Jazz Club - an example of 'Free Cinema'.

Montreux 77

Bridges-Go-Round 1

New York City's various bridges transform into an urban jungle (jazz version) or an alien landscape (electro-acoustic version).

Dove danzano i pensieri

Sunshine in Soho

1950s Soho beats with far more energy than its 21st century counterpart in this vivid time capsule.

Fin de vie : pour que tu aies le choix

Marina Carrère d'Encausse lifts the veil on the intimate questions that preoccupy her as well as society at large: those related to the end of life. The doctor-journalist introduces Antoine, her partner, who is suffering from Charcot's disease, an incurable illness, and who wishes to choose how he ends his life. Is the current law in France sufficient? Should it simply be better enforced, allowing better access to palliative care? Should assisted suicide and euthanasia be legalized? Marina meets with patients concerned about the end of life, caregivers, and politicians in France, as well as in Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, countries where euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal.

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).