Back in
1958 New York City clubs boasted nightly performances by the
greatest players in jazz. Their music and their lives spanned
four decades and linked styles and origins from across the
country. This is the story of a moment from that era that
brought dozens of these giants to a single frame.
A Great Day in Harlem is an hour-long documentary
film that brings to life a remarkable moment in the history
of jazz - a moment in which dozens of America's jazz legends
unexpectedly gathered together for a photograph that would
become emblematic of the golden age of jazz. By illuminating
this single, historic event, A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM is a window
to an unprecedented era in music history which addresses broader
issues of creativity and community in our own time.
It was a Summer day in New York City, 1958. A young photographer
paced nervously in front of a Harlem brownstone. He had spread
word that he hoped to take a picture for a special edition
of Esquire magazine commemorating the golden age
of jazz. Yet it was ten in the morning, long before most jazz
players were up, and a meager turnout was feared. To everyone's
surprise, scores of musicians assembled to create what is
now a world-famous, "class photograph" of America's
jazz legends.
A Great Day in Harlem zooms in and out of this astonishing
photograph, interweaving archival performance footage, remarkable
never-before-seen home-movie footage of the photograph being
taken, and rare interviews with jazz masters present that
day such as Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Art Farmer, Dizzy
Gillespie and Art Blakey. Other interviewees include the photographer,
Art Kane, who had never before taken a picture as a professional
but who would quickly rise to the top of the field, and the
Esquire graphics editor, Robert Benton, who speaks
of what he learned that day that he would later use as a three-time
Academy Award winning filmmaker. Finally, we hear the stories
of some of the neighborhood kids who snuck into the frame
to be photographed alongside their musical heroes.
Through this photograph, viewers will come to know some of
the century's most influential musicians. We meet such luminaries
as Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Charles Mingus,
Marian McPartland, Gerry Mulligan, Mary Lou Williams, Maxine
Sullivan, and Thelonious Monk. The result is a richly textured
recreation of the event and the presentation of a cross-section
of people and musical styles that comprised the evolution
of jazz in the 20th century - and beyond.
As important, A Great Day in Harlem captures the
spirit of an era when New York City was the center of the
jazz world, when music history was constantly being made,
and when creativity was fostered by an intense and nurturing
community of musicians and fans.
It was indeed a great day when musicians met and joked with
friends, family, and community residents - in one instance
even blowing a few jazz riffs - on a side street in Harlem
in 1958. Like the photograph it documents, A Great Day
in Harlem is a vivid portrait of a unique community.
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