The movie “Jazz on a Summer’s Day”

This American documentary film documents the 5th Newport Jazz Festival held in 1958. The film follows the performances of the most prominent players of the time, such as Jimmy Giuffre Three, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Stitt, Anita O’Day, and the George Shearing Quintet, but it also shows not only the performances of the artists but also the beautiful nature and scenery of the venue, the expressions on the faces of the audience, and more, all from exquisite camera angles. It is a strangely nostalgic film. At the beginning of the film, the naked man playing Bach’s cello suite while smoking a cigarette is Nathan Gershman, a member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. The climax of the film is Louis Armstrong’s singing and trumpet playing, and Mahalia Jackson’s gospel performance on stage. The film of this kind I saw timely was “The Woodstock Festival” in 1969. It was the middle of the Vietnam War, and the music festival was also political (anti-war). #jazz #bach #片山俊幸