Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
A Love Supreme at 60: Thoughts on Coltrane’s Masterwork
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
Charlie Parker (1920–’55)
(Photo: William P. Gottlieb/Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Fund Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress)
Chet Baker (1929–’88)
(Photo: DownBeat Archives)
Clark Terry (1920–2015)
(Photo: DownBeat Archives)The people have spoken, and they want more movie recommendations.
If you’ve managed to watch the 20 previous film recommendations we’ve made (you can find them here and here), start on the selections below, which include an imagined history of Buddy Bolden and Kirk Douglas portraying the doomed Bix Beiderbecke. DB
Bird (Amazon)
None other than Clint Eastwood directed this film about Charlie Parker, who’s portrayed by the inimitable Forest Whitaker.
Bolden (Amazon)
Dan Pritzker, a musician and filmmaker, enlisted Wynton Marsalis as composer, performer and executive producer for this feature film that imagines Buddy Bolden’s life and times.
The Girls in the Band (Google Play)
This 2011 documentary explores the contributions made to jazz by performers who were members of all-women bands during the 1930s and 1940s, and follows the music forward as performers pushed back against marginalization and discrimination.
Jazz On A Summer’s Day (iTunes)
Everyone from Mahalia Jackson to Jimmy Giuffre, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Stitt, Dinah Washington, Gerry Mulligan and Chuck Berry make an appearance in this 1958 Newport Jazz Festival concert film.
Kansas City (Amazon)
The Robert Altman film recreates the jazz scene of the 1930s, and does so with stellar musical performances by James Carter, Joshua Redman, David Murray, Russell Malone, Craig Handy and Kevin Mahogany. Star turns by Harry Belafonte, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Steve Buscemi.
Keep On Keepin’ On (Google Play)
Clark Terry serves as a mentor to a young Justin Kauflin in this truly beautiful 2014 documentary.
Let’s Get Lost (Amazon)
Photographer and director Bruce Weber turns in a documentary that traces the stormy life of Chet Baker. Tune in for an appearance by a young Flea.
Straight No Chaser (iTunes)
Produced by Clint Eastwood’s company, this Thelonious Monk documentary includes vintage footage, as well as interviews with saxophonist Charlie Rouse and drummer T.S. Monk.
Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise (Snag Films)
Travel the spaceways with a visionary composer and bandleader in this 1980 film that splices together performances from several gigs with candid interviews.
Whiplash (Amazon)
This 2014 feature depicts the tempestuous relationship between a drum student and his teacher.
Young Man With A Horn (Amazon)
Largely overlooked today, cornetist Bix Beiderbecke was fictionalized in a 1938 Dorothy Baker novel that later was turned into this film starring Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall.
Updated April 20.
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
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“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
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