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Blue Note: A History of Modern Jazz (1997)
Director: Julian Benedikt
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
You couldn't make any great claims for this as an outstanding example of documentary film-making - it traces the history faithfully and talks to a lot of the right people, but its choppy, syncopated style is really just a gloss on the facts. Even so, it's most enjoyable. Alfred Lion and Frank Wolff emigrated from Germany in the '30s and created the most significant label in the history of jazz. Blue Note brought the best out of the best, including Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey and Sonny Rollins. Propelled by 'Cherokee' and a dizzy set of modern classics, augmented by revealing anecdotes from Max Roach, Lou Donaldson, Bertrand Tavernier and André Previn, as well as Wolff's stunning studio photographs, this swings like a hepcat.Author: TCh
Cast & crew
Director: Julian Benedikt
Producer: Ulli Pfau
Cast: Ron Carter, André Previn, Carlos Santana, Bertrand Tavernier, Taj Mahal, Bud Powell, Dexter Gordon, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Cassandra Wilson, Max Roach, Lou Donaldson full cast
Genre(s): Documentaries
Duration: 92 mins
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