A Great Day in Harlem

Double Bill with JAMMIN' THE BLUES
at Amherst Cinema

Tuesday April 13   7:00 only

WFCR Jazz Series
with Jazz à la mode host, Tom Reney
Enjoy Jazz greats on the big screen with local host of WFCR's legendary Jazz à la mode Program, Tom Reney.  Enjoy 20 minutes of LIVE jazz before each performance, and stick around to discuss the history, the personalities and the music after each show.

JAMMIN' THE BLUES
Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, Jammin' the Blues is a 1944 short film in which several prominent jazz musicians got together for a rare filmed jam session. Featuring Lester Young, Red Callender, Harry Edison, Marlowe Morris, Sid Catlett, Barney Kessel, Jo Jones, John Simmons, Illinois Jacquet, Marie Bryant, Archie Savage and Garland Finney. Barney Kessel is the only white performer in the film. He was seated in the shadows to shade his skin, and for closeups, his hands were stained with berry juice.  Running time: 10 mins.  DVD Projection

A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM
This document brings to life a remarkable moment in the history of jazz - a moment in which dozens of America's jazz legends unexpectedly gathered together for a photograph that would become emblematic of the golden age of jazz. Interweaving archival performance footage, remarkable never-before-seen home-movie footage of the photograph being taken, and rare interviews with jazz masters present that day, including Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Art Farmer, Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey.  Other interviewees include the photographer, Art Kane, who had never before taken a picture as a professional, but would quickly rise to the top of his field; Esquire graphics editor, Robert Benton, who used what he learned that day to become a three-time Academy Award winning filmmaker. Finally, we hear the stories of some of the neighborhood kids who snuck into the frame to be photographed alongside their musical heroes.  Running time: 60 mins.