| Jazz on a Summer's Day | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Bert Stern Aram Avakian |
| Written by | Albert D'Annibale Arnold Perl |
| Cinematography | Bert Stern |
| Edited by | Aram Avakian |
| Distributed by | Galaxy Attractions New Yorker Films (theatrical rerelease, VHS, and DVD) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Jazz on a Summer's Day is a 1959 concert film set at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival[1] in Newport, Rhode Island (which took place from July 3 to July 6 of 1958). The film was directed by commercial and fashion photographer Bert Stern and Aram Avakian,[2] who also edited the film. The Columbia Records jazz producer, George Avakian, was the musical director of the film.
The film mixes images of water and the city with the performers and audience at the festival. It also features scenes of the 1958 America's Cup yacht races. The film is largely without dialog or narration (except for periodic announcements by emcee Willis Conover).
The film features performances by Jimmy Giuffre; Thelonious Monk; Sonny Stitt; Anita O'Day; Dinah Washington; Gerry Mulligan; Chuck Berry; Chico Hamilton, with Eric Dolphy; and Louis Armstrong, with Jack Teagarden. Also appearing are Buck Clayton, Jo Jones, Armando Peraza, and Eli's Chosen Six, the Yale College student ensemble that included trombonist Roswell Rudd, shown driving around Newport in a convertible jalopy, playing Dixieland.[3]
As was scheduled in advance and announced in the program, the last performer Saturday night was Mahalia Jackson, who sang a one-hour program beginning at midnight, thus ushering in Sunday morning. The film concluded with her performance of The Lord's Prayer.
In 1999, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[4][5] The film received a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
- ^ "Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
- ^ "a l b a n y j a z z . c o m". Albanyjazz.com. 2005-11-05. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2012-06-21.
- ^ "Preserving the Silver Screen (December 1999) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin". www.loc.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2020-11-17.