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| Eagle to Release Norman Granz Movie, "Improvisation" Eagle Eye Media released the succinctly entitled Improvisation. This amazing double-set features rare film clips of some of the greatest jazz musicians of all time including Coleman Hawkins, Ella Fitzgerald, Lester ”Prez” Young, Hank Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Buddy Rich, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and, as the coup de grace, never-before-seen footage of the mythic Charlie ”Bird” Parker. The $19.98 2-DVD package has a running time of four hours and 20 minutes. One would have to go back to the 1944 Academy Awards to fathom the genesis of this project. It was for that event that a film about jazz, Jammin' The Blues, was nominated for an Oscar in the category of “Best Short Subject” (losing to Who's Who In Animal Land). Jammin' The Blues, a collaboration between two legends in their respective worlds--music producer Norman Granz (1918-2001) and photographer Gjon Mili (1904-1984)--brought the music to the hearts and minds of untold millions for the first time, and was described by the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) as “maybe the greatest film ever about jazz.” It was such a success that it spawned, six years later in 1950, a second film by Granz and Mili, keying in on the art of improvisation, that was never completed. That second film has now been completed with many other archival clips that Granz had shot at various times during the course of his career and named Improvisation. This is a must-own 2-CD package for any jazz fan, casual or otherwise. Not only is the entire original film of Jammin' The Blues included, as well as the newly completed Improvisation, but also included is a portrait of Granz himself narrated by award-winning journalist Nat Hentoff and new interviews with many of surviving artists. Eagle Rock Entertainment develops, acquires and produces music programming for a wide range of notable and high profile artists, which the company distributes on a worldwide basis. Eagle Rock Entertainment, Eagle Vision and Eagle Eye Media are wholly owned divisions of Eagle Rock Group, LTD. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |