Jul 9, 2024 11:35 AM
Trumpeter, Educator Jim Rotondi Dies at 61
Jim Rotondi, a renowned hard-bop trumpeter, composer and educator, died suddenly on July 7 at a hospital in France. He…
Ethan Hawke stars as Chet Baker in the film Born to be Blue.
(Photo: Caitlin Cronenberg)Fans of jazz trumpet and cinema will have plenty to chew on in the coming weeks as two of the most iconic figures in jazz history will be portrayed on the silver screen. Born to be Blue, which stars Ethan Hawke as Chet Baker, will open in theaters on March 25, and Miles Ahead, which stars Don Cheadle as Miles Davis, opens in New York and Los Angeles April 1, with a wider release in the weeks following.
Hawke will visit the 92Y in New York City on March 17 to promote his movie. Following a preview screening of Born to be Blue, Hawke will discuss the film and his career with 92Y Reel Pieces moderator Annette Insdorf.
As part of the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, there will be two screenings of Miles Ahead: one on March 16 at the Paramount Theatre and another on March 19 at the Stateside Theatre.
Cheadle (who co-wrote the screenplay and directed the film) will participate in a panel discussion about the movie on March 17 at 12:30 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center.
Other participating panelists will be keyboardist Robert Glasper (who scored the film and is producing a forthcoming Miles Davis remix project); Erin Davis (Miles Davis Estate, executive producer of Miles Ahead); Vince Wilburn, Jr. (Miles Davis Estate, producer of Miles Ahead); Skip Lievsay (Oscar-winning supervising sound editor, re-recording mixer and sound designer); and Keyon Harrold (a Grammy-winning trumpeter who is featured on the film’s soundtrack). The panel will be moderated by Felix Contreras (NPR host, Alt-Latino).
Click below to see previews of each film, including a scene from Born to be Blue in which actor Kedar Brown portrays Davis.
Jim Rotondi was acclaimed for his wide, round trumpet tone, remarkable virtuosity and assured swing.
Jul 9, 2024 11:35 AM
Jim Rotondi, a renowned hard-bop trumpeter, composer and educator, died suddenly on July 7 at a hospital in France. He…
Charles Lloyd, seen here at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, makes DownBeat Poll history!
Jul 11, 2024 12:23 PM
The incomparable Charles Lloyd swept the 72nd Annual DownBeat Critics Poll, becoming the first artist ever to earn…
“Being president of Blue Note has been one of the coolest things that ever happened to me,” Was said. “It’s a gas to serve as one of the caretakers of that legacy.”
Jun 4, 2024 12:21 PM
Sitting with Don Was is a comfortable and unhurried exercise. He may seem slightly reserved at first, but ideas and…
“She reminds me of my childhood and makes we want to cry,” Cécile McLorin Salvant, pictured here with writer Ashley Kahn, said of Dianne Reeves.
Jun 11, 2024 12:31 PM
Italy’s Umbria Jazz Winter is one of those rare annual festivals that not only coincides with a major holiday —…
Maria Schneider said of Decades, her new compilation release: “I just wanted to create something, put it in a beautiful box and say, ‘Look at what we did.‘”
Jun 18, 2024 12:00 PM
Maria Schneider opened the sleek black box and placed it on a coffee table in her Manhattan apartment. Inside lay the…
