Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar

This riveting music documentary traces the history of Jazz piano legend Oscar Peterson, from his early days as Montreal's teenage Boogie-Woogie sensation through his meteoric rise to international celebrity with Norman Granz and the ground-breaking Jazz at the Philharmonic and beyond. In this award-winning autobiographical portrait, legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson narrates his story, from his beginnings in smoke-filled Montreal clubs to hallmark performances with jazz greats. Concert footage includes an unforgettable combo -- Nat King Cole with Jazz at the Philharmonic and the Oscar Peterson Trio Wall reunion. Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie are interviewed, among others. - Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Ella Fitzgerald

Saxophone Colossus

Tenor saxophone master Sonny Rollins has long been hailed as one of the most important artists in jazz history, and still, today, he is viewed as the greatest living jazz improviser. In 1986, filmmaker Robert Mugge produced Saxophone Colossus, a feature-length portrait of Rollins, named after one of his most celebrated albums.

Il est minuit, Paris s'éveille

Billie

‘Lady Day’ was one of the greatest jazz vocalists the world ever heard. In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. Before her mysterious death in 1978, Lipnack Kuehl had taped over 200 hours of interviews. The tapes have never been heard. Now they form the basis of an atmospheric, multi-layered documentary that captures the many complex facets of a proud black woman, violent drug addict, loyal friend, vindictive lover and unforgettable singer of ‘God Bless The Child’, ‘Saddest Tale’ and the haunting ‘Strange Fruit’.

Kamasi Washington Live At The Apollo Theater

Tenor saxophonist, composer and producer Kamasi Washington and his band perform a special show at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater for the theatre's 85th year anniversary. Washington explores Harlem's rich musical and cultural history and the city's influence on his generation of artists.

Let's Get Lost

Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.

Louis Armstrong v Praze

Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz

"It must schwing!" was the motto of Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, two German Jewish immigrants who in 1939 set up Blue Note Records, the jazz label that was home to such greats as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins. Blue Note, the most successful movie ever made about jazz, is a testimony to the passion and vision of these two men and certainly swings like the propulsive sounds that made their label so famous.

Sing! Inge, Sing!

In Germany, jazz had a voice: Inge Brandenburg. This is the story of a woman in the 1950s and 1960s, when there was no place in Germany for self-assured women with international aspirations, a dramatic performance style and an emancipated attitude to love.

Brüder Kühn: Zwei Musiker spielen sich frei

Cool

Documentary exploring the meaning and history of cool through the American music that started in the 1940s in the bars of New York and LA, and became known as cool jazz.

Sparni

It’s the second semester of junior year for Pierce “Sparni” Sparnroft, a gifted jazz vibraphonist studying at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Sparni’s prospects on the vibes were rejuvenated by their new professor, the world-renowned Steve Nelson, and are to be showcased during a student-driven recital in May 2023. But all the while, Sparni must face a crisis within.

Jimmy McGary: The Best Jazz You Never Heard

Tenor saxophonist Jimmy McGary was a major presence in the Cincinnati music scene from the 1950s until his death in the early ’90s. With music rooted in Bebop with a progressive slant, the Jazz legend was a session player for King Records and released his first album as a bandleader — The First Time (with a quartet that included pianist Pat Kelly) — in 1979. McGary’s spirit and legacy have lived on well after his passing and well beyond Cincinnati, as evidenced in this new documentary film.

Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser

A documentary film about the life of pianist and jazz great Thelonious Monk. Features live performances by Monk and his band, and interviews with friends and family about the offbeat genius.

The Jazz Ambassadors

The Cold War and Civil Rights collide in this remarkable story of music, diplomacy and race. Beginning in 1955, when America asked its greatest jazz artists to travel the world as cultural ambassadors, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and their mixed-race band members, faced a painful dilemma: how could they represent a country that still practiced Jim Crow segregation?

Talmage Farlow

A documentary about the life and career of American jazz guitarist Tal Farlow

Satchmo: The Life of Louis Armstrong

Satchmo. There are few people in this country - or around the world - who will not recognize that name. Louis Armstrong embodied 20th-century American culture. He revolutionized the world of music and became one of the nation's most influential entertainers. No other performer of his era has such a profound effect as a singer as well as an instrumentalist.

Who in the Hell Is Regina Jones?

Before Rolling Stone, there was Soul Newspaper. Behind Soul, there was Regina Jones. Against all odds, Regina blazed her own path, and at 80 has found herself again.

Thunder Soul

Jamie Foxx presents the inspiring true story of high school band leader Conrad O. Johnson, who transformed his ragtag jazz band students into a legendary funk powerhouse that took the nation by storm.

Vince Guaraldi: The Maestro of Menlo Park

A short documentary about Vince Guaraldi, the composer most well known for his work on several 'Peanuts' animated television specials.