Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
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.
Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.
Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
“He’s constructing intelligent musical sentences that connect seamlessly, which is the most important part of linear playing,” Charles McPherson said of alto saxophonist Sonny Red.
Feb 27, 2024 1:40 PM
“I might not have felt this way 30 to 40 years ago, but I’ve reached a point where I can hear value in what people…
Albert “Tootie” Heath (1935–2024) followed in the tradition of drummer Kenny Clarke, his idol.
Apr 5, 2024 10:28 AM
Albert “Tootie” Heath, a drummer of impeccable taste and time who was the youngest of three jazz-legend brothers…
“Both of us are quite grounded in the craft, the tradition and the harmonic sense,” Rosenwinkel said of his experience playing with Allen. “Yet I felt we shared something mystical as well.”
Mar 12, 2024 11:42 AM
“There are a few musicians you hear where, as somebody once said, the molecules in the room change. Geri was one of…
Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Apr 9, 2024 11:30 AM
Big Ears, the annual four-day music celebration that first took place in 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee, could well be…
