During a decade rife with paranoia, in the middle of the McCarthy era, Music Inn was a bold experiment. Halfway between the Second World War and The Civil Rights Movement, Phil and Stephanie Barber created an oasis in the Berkshire Hills in Western Massachusetts where aspiring musicians came to learn from the very best. Students and faculty, young and old, rich and poor, white, black, and brown convened together and learned from each other. Defying the surrounding environment, Music Inn harbored a racial and cultural harmony where music was all that mattered.
Toronto Jazz (1963)
Toronto is regarded as the third largest jazz centre in North America. This film features a cross-section of jazz bands of that city: the Lenny Breau Trio, the Don Thompson Quintet and the Alf Jones Quartet. Their styles show creative self-expression, hard work, and improvisation.
Einfach machen! She-Punks von 1977 bis heute (2025)
At the end of the 70s, punk promised rebellion and self-empowerment, also for women in the scene. They fought for their place on stage among the dominant punk top dogs, battling against social norms and long-outdated female role models. This is their story.
Chop Suey (2001)
A homage to Bruce Weber's Favourite things, these being mixing film, photography and classic movies. With portraits of a lesbian jazz singer and a 16-year-old wrestler.
Trap Jazz (2023)
Atlanta musicians behind some of the biggest names in music embark on an uncertain journey into the spotlight with a new genre of music that fuses trap music with jazz.
Miles Davis Live At Tanglewood 1970 (1970)
Miles Davis performing live at Berkshire Music Center, Tanglewood Massachusetts on August 18, 1970. Miles Davis tp / Chick Corea el-p / Keith Jarrett org / Gary Bartz ss, as / Dave Holland el-b / Jack DeJohnette dr / Airto Moreira perc 1. Directions 2. Bitches Brew 3. The Mask 4. It's About That Time 5. Sanctuary 6. Spanish Key 7. Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
Beethoven privat (2020)
To mark Beethoven's 250th birthday, the documentary sheds light on the composer's private side, linking his writings with his music in an original way. Beethoven's many letters and notes tell of his temperament, his love affairs, his humanism and his struggles, especially with the early onset of deafness.
Nalen (1998)
Documentary about legendary Swedish jazz club "Nalen" featuring interviews with old musicians and singers, and old clips from the place in its glory days
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (2019)
An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).
The Magic Sun (1966)
Multi-faceted artist Phil Niblock captures a brief moment of an interstellar communication by the Arkestra in their prime. Black turns white in a so-called negative post-process, while Niblock's camera focuses on microscopic details of hands, bodies and instruments. A brilliant tribute to the Sun King by another brilliant supra-planetary sovereign. (Eye of Sound)
Bonnie Blue: James Cotton's Life in the Blues (2022)
The story of James Cotton, harmonica powerhouse, whose music shaped blues and rock. Orphaned at 9, Cotton’s life tracks America’s history—from the post-depression cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta to being mentored by the original Delta bluesmen, to Chicagoland’s artistic reinvention to the live music scene in Austin, Texas.
Moor Mother: Jazz Codes (2022)
Poet, musician, visual artist, and Afrofuturist Moor Mother roams a hallucinatory Mojave Desert alone. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Moor Mother visits the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra HQ and plays with jazz luminaries and elders, including Henry “The Skipper” Franklin, Michael Session, and Maia.
The Scientist of Sound (2017)
Thursday 27th of October 2016 – Teatro Espace, Turin. Mulatu Astatke is a musician, composer, arranger and Ethiopia’s cultural ambassador. He’s known as the godfather of ethiojazz, a unique blend of jazz, traditional Ethiopian music, latin, caribbean reggae and afrofunk. Born in 1943 in Jimma, Mulatu studied music not only in Ethiopia but also in UK and USA. In 2005 he contributed to the soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch’s film “Broken Flowers”, reaching a new public worldwide.
Karen Dalton: In My Own Time (2021)
Blues and folk singer Karen Dalton was a prominent figure in 1960s New York. Idolized by Bob Dylan and Nick Cave, Karen discarded the traditional trappings of success and led an unconventional life until her early death. Since most images of Karen have been lost or destroyed, the film uses Karen's dulcet melodies and interviews with loved ones to build a rich portrait of this singular woman and her hauntingly beautiful voice.
Retying the Knot: The Incredible String Band (1997)
A profile of the Hippest band of the 60's and 70's as they prepare for a reunion gig.
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost — until now.
Witchcraft Through the Ages (1968)
A seventy-six-minute version of Häxan, re-edited and re-released in the United States by Metro Pictures Corporation in 1968. It is narrated by author William S. Burroughs, with a jazz score and soundtrack featuring violinist Jean-Luc Ponty.
The Last Of The Blue Devils - The Kansas City Jazz Story (1979)
Documentary film detailing the history of Kansas City jazz.
Chasing Trane (2017)
An account of the life of the brilliant jazz musician John Coltrane (1926-67), a gifted saxophonist, an extraordinarily talented thinker whose original, avant-garde work has impacted and influenced people all over the world. A story about music's ability to entertain, inspire and transform.
I Called Him Morgan (2016)
Part jazz history, part true-crime tale, Kasper Collin’s new documentary employs extensive archival footage and new interviews to tell the tragic story of the magnificently talented trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who murdered him in a New York bar in 1972.