Dexter Gordon

Inspired by the life of legendary jazz pianist Bud Powell, this is the Academy Award-winning story of an American expatriate musician who tries to make order of his life during the great jazz millieu of 1950s Paris. The New York Times commends "its tremendous depth of feeling and lovely, elegiac pace.... [This] is a glowing, masterly tribute." Starring real-life tenor-sax great Dexter Gordon, performing live with some of the world's top jazz musicians on screen and on the Grammy-winning soundtrack, both under the music supervision of Oscar-winning co-star Herbie Hancock. Also starring Lonette McKee ("Jungle Fever," "The Cotton Club") and director Martin Scorsese ("GoodFellas").
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Length: 02:12:00
Posted: 9/4/2009

During the Sixties, jazz is in trouble. Though Louis Armstrong briefly outsells the Beatles with "Hello Dolly," most jazz musicians are desperate for work and many head for Europe. In the 1970s, jazz loses the exuberant genius of Louis Armstrong and the transcendent artistry of Duke Ellington, Their passing seems to mark the end of the music itself. But in 1976, when Dexter Gordon returns from Europe for a triumphant comeback, jazz has a homecoming, too. A new generation emerges, led by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis - schooled in the music's traditions, skilled in the art of improvisation, and aflame with ideas. The musical journey that began in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century continues. As it enters its second century, jazz is still brand new every night, still vibrant, still evolving, and still swinging.
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Length: 01:49:00
Posted: 9/14/2009