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TV / Film

Stella Stevens: Too Late Blues

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
February 24, 2023

Stella Stevens, who died last week at age 84, was all set to be a serious movie star in the early 1960s when the youth culture cut in. As a beach-blanket blonde, she wound up cast in many cute films aimed at the teenage market along with Westerns and secret agent movies. Her most recognizable role during this period was in The Poseidon Adventure in 1972. From there, TV took over, as she played characters in episodes on nearly all ...

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TV / Film

Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
December 28, 2022

Directed by Robert Wise and produced by HarBel, Harry Belafone's production company, Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) starred Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, Ed Begley, Gloria Grahame and famed dancer Carmen De Lavallade as Kitty. The score is by composer, arranger and Modern Jazz Quartet pianist John Lewis. The soundtrack orchestra included Lewis (arr,cond); Bernie Glow, Joe Wilder, John Ware and Melvyn Broiles (tp); John Clark and Tom McIntosh (tb); Al Richman, Gunther Schuller, Paul Ingram and Ray Alonge (Fr. hrns); ...

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TV / Film

Jazz Documentary 'In The Zone: Rick Kilburn' 12x Award-Winner from Canada to South Korea

Source: Kerilie McDowall
December 13, 2022

Humbled and honoured to finally announce her short film results, first-time short documentary film director Kerilie McDowall was surprised to discover that she had won an award for Best Director from the Seoul Short Film Festival in South Korea for her short film, In the Zone: Rick Kilburn. Later the short’s star, Rick Kilburn, on IMDB Pro's STARmeter peaked at 11.3+ million hits, and McDowall at 10 million in 2022, and 8.7 million while screening in Tokyo and Hong Kong. ...

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TV / Film

Tal Farlow Doc and 10 Tracks

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
December 9, 2022

Tal Farlow is widely considered the father of the modern jazz guitar. His commanding attack and speed had much to do with the large size of his hands. As for his robust sense of swing and rich jazz-chord voicings, they were unbeatable. Born in 1921, Farlow was self-taught and deeply influenced by Benny Goodman's guitarist Charlie Christian. His first major recording session was as a member of the Red Norvo Trio in 1950, featuring Norvo on vibes and Charles Mingus ...

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TV / Film

Minidoc: Vince Guaraldi in the Studio

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
December 8, 2022

Vince Guaraldi is best known as the jazz pianist accompanying A Charlie Brown Christmas and other TV's adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip. But Guaraldi was well established before those gentle 1960s holiday specials as a member of Cal Tjader's groups and the leader of his own superb trio. His biggest hit was Cast Your Fate to the Wind, the flip side to Samba de Orpheus, from his 1962 album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus. The hit won a Grammy for ...

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TV / Film

TV Special: Tony and Lena in 1973

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
November 10, 2022

In London in July 1973, Tony Bennett and Lena Horne (above) performed an hour-long concert together before a live audience on BBC television. Later that year in September, ABC broadcast the British TV special in the U.S. The ratings were so strong that producers decided to book the pair into Broadway's Minskoff Theatre the following fall for a 37-performance run of Tony Bennett & Lena Horne Sing. Their Broadway engagement ran from October 30 until November 24 in 1974, winning ...

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TV / Film

A New Documentary From Filmmaker Michele Brangwen Follows The Musicians Of The NDR Bigband On A Weeklong Creative Journey With Grammy-Nominated trumpeter and composer Tim Hagans

Source: Lydia Liebman Promotions
November 5, 2022

The NDR Bigband rehearses and performs “A Conversation," a suite by Hagans, who also conducts and solos. Performers discuss their connection to the music and to each other. The hour-long documentary premieres November 6 on Facebook and November 7 on YouTube. Watch a preview of “A Week in Hamburg: Rehearsing and Performing Tim Hagans’ A Conversation” here. A Week In Hamburg: Rehearsing and Performing Tim Hagans’ “A Conversation” is a new documentary from filmmaker Michele Brangwen that follows GRAMMY- nominated ...

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