Jazz on Film
This special, month-long film series showcases performances by great jazz artists and illuminates the long relationship of jazz and cinema. Organized by curator Peter Lucas for the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Jazz on Film brings to the screen a wide-ranging selection of classic and rare films that feature the great American music form as soundtrack, subject, or both. With fantastic narrative feature films, documentaries, and historic shorts- all shown on 35mm and 16mm film, the series is a rare treat for music lovers and film buffs alike. Film descriptions courtesy of Peter Lucas.
Peter Lucas is an independent film/video curator and arts organizer based in Houston. He has created exhibitions, film screening series, and public programs in association with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, The Menil Collection, Aurora Picture Show, Northwest Film Forum, Seattle International Film Festival, Experience Music Project, Earshot Jazz Festival, Sound Unseen, and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Lucas was named “Best Curator, 2012” by Houston Press, and was recently profiled in their “100 Creatives” series. He has been a guest speaker at Rice University, University of Houston, and Cornish College of the Arts, and is also a regular contributor to Glasstire online arts journal.
1959
Aram Avakian and Bert Stern
Celebrated fashion photographer Bert Stern captures the performances, people, and setting during one Saturday of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. For his one and only film, Stern teamed up with jazz aficionado Aram Avakian to create a breezy and colorful document of not only some of the greatest mid-century jazz performers but also of a certain slice of American life in the ‘50s. Summer’s Day features fantastic performances from an unbelievably talented and diverse line-up, including Louis Armstrong, Anita O'Day, ...
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Introduced by guest curator Peter Lucas Director Martin Ritt’s Paris Blues stars Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier as American jazz musicians living in Paris. The arrival of Diahann Carroll and Joanne Woodward sparks romance, but also brings to the surface issues of race, freedom, relationships, and dedication to one’s art. Seeing these actors in early roles and the city of Paris beautifully lensed by legendary French cinematographer Christian Matras are real treats. However, the real star here is the music, ...
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Introduced by guest curator Peter Lucas An often-overlooked gem from director Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde), Mickey One is an unusual, stylish existential thriller starring Warren Beatty as a young Detroit nightclub comic who believes he’s being hunted by the mob and flees to Chicago with a new identity. The film’s experimental narrative and gorgeous black-and-white cinematography—filmed by the great cinematographer Ghislain Cloquet (Night and Fog, Mouchette)—are supported by an innovative musical score by composer Eddie Sauter and jazz saxophonist ...
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1938-1979
Various directors
Introduced by guest curator Peter Lucas As early as the 1930s, inventive artists began using the medium of film to fuse the visual art forms of abstract painting and collage with the rhythms, melodies, and improvisations of jazz music. For this special program, Lucas will speak about the history of visual music and jazz, and screen rarely seen films made between the 1930s and 1960s by pioneering film artists Oskar Fischinger, Len Lye, Harry Smith, and Hy Hirsh–all made with ...
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This classic, black-and-white vérité documentary by filmmaker Thomas Reichman finds legendary bassist and composer Charles Mingus in a time of great transition in his life. As he and his five-year-old daughter await eviction by the City of New York, we’re given a particular glimpse into Mingus's philosophies, passions, anguish, and of course, his music. By turns, frank, tender, and shocking, he speaks candidly on topics ranging from music to sex to racism. The tall tales and odd musings filmed in ...
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Introduced by Dr. Garth Jowett, University of Houston Regarded as one of the best jazz documentaries, Straight, No Chaser presents a fascinating cinematic portrait of one of the most extraordinary and idiosyncratic individuals in the history of jazz—pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The film centers on Michael and Christian Blackwood's extensive and previously unseen 1968 footage. This includes great performances and the only footage of the very private Monk off stage. Director Charlotte Zwerin (Gimme Shelter) intersperses the archival sequences ...
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Friday's screening introduced by Dr. Garth Jowett, University of Houston Originally banned in New York for its subject matter and language, this unconventional debut feature from filmmaker Shirley Clarke is now regarded as a staple of the New American Cinema. Based on a play by Jack Gelber of The Living Theatre, the story centers on junkies waiting for their dealer in a Greenwich Village loft, and features jazz musicians Freddie Redd and Jackie McLean. Shown here on a beautiful new ...
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Shirley Clarke’s documentary finds free jazz innovator Ornette Coleman returning to his hometown of Fort Worth in 1983 for the premiere of a new work. True to the nature of both its subject and its director, the film takes a highly original approach in chronicling the legendary musician’s story, from childhood in segregated Texas to his emergence as an American cultural pioneer. Performances and documentary footage from the 1960s and 1980s are woven together with dramatic scenes and a few ...
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