JAZZ is an improvisatory art, evanescent at its core, and films that capture its spirit can be difficult to find. But the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville is presenting a series of four films that, coupled with some distinguished live commentary, musical and spoken, promise to do just that.
The series, “Jazz Sessions: The Greats on Camera 2010," began with an enthusiastic sellout crowd on Thursday for “Jazz on a Summer's Day," about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. Music from the film--classics like “All of Me" and “Sweet Georgia Brown"--was then performed by a sextet culled from the ranks of the Westchester Jazz Orchestra.
The instrumentalist and composer David Amram will provide commentary on the second film in the series, “Intangible Asset No. 82" (2008), which will have its New York-area premiere at the Burns center on May 27.
On one level, the film is about the Australian percussionist Simon Barkers search through South Korea for a drumming shaman, whom his government has honored with the designation “Intangible Asset No. 82." But Emma Franz, the director, said the film, in which Mr. Barker has cross-cultural encounters with memorable musicians, is at root about self-discovery.
The series, “Jazz Sessions: The Greats on Camera 2010," began with an enthusiastic sellout crowd on Thursday for “Jazz on a Summer's Day," about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. Music from the film--classics like “All of Me" and “Sweet Georgia Brown"--was then performed by a sextet culled from the ranks of the Westchester Jazz Orchestra.
The instrumentalist and composer David Amram will provide commentary on the second film in the series, “Intangible Asset No. 82" (2008), which will have its New York-area premiere at the Burns center on May 27.
On one level, the film is about the Australian percussionist Simon Barkers search through South Korea for a drumming shaman, whom his government has honored with the designation “Intangible Asset No. 82." But Emma Franz, the director, said the film, in which Mr. Barker has cross-cultural encounters with memorable musicians, is at root about self-discovery.
