92Y Presents: Vince Giordano—There’s a Future in the Past - Premiere of a New Documentary Film + Conversation + Performance

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"An erupting wellspring of euphoria: that would describe the vintage swing emanating from Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks at the 92nd Street Y." – The New York Times

How crazy do you have to be to keep a Jazz Age enterprise going in the 21st Century? 92Y presents the New York premiere of the film that attempts to answer that question. Vince Giordano—There's a Future in the Past is a feature-length documentary about musician and bandleader, historian, scholar, and collector Vince Giordano who, with his 11-member band The Nighthawks, has doggedly kept alive the music of the 1920s and '30s for the past forty years. This Jazz in July Festival Special Event on Sunday, July 10 at 6 pm includes a screening of the film, followed by a conversation with Vince Giordano, Jazz in July Artistic Director Bill Charlap, and filmmakers Dave Davidson and Amber Edwards, and then a brief performance by Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks.

"The 92nd Street Y is my second home in New York, starting with the very first installment of Jazz in July in 1985 and continuing on through Lyrics and Lyricists and the sold-out Concerto and F and Rhapsody in Blue concerts last fall, " says Vince Giordano. "I can't think of a more perfect venue for the New York premiere of this documentary about my life and career."

Grammy-winner Vince Giordano created the period music in Todd Haynes' Carol, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club, half-a-dozen Woody Allen films including his upcoming Café Society, and HBO's award-winning series Boardwalk Empire. A New York institution for nearly 40 years, Vince and his 11-member band the Nighthawks bring the hot, syncopated music of the 1920s and '30s to life with their virtuosity, vintage musical instruments, and Vince's encyclopedic collection of more than 60, 000 period band arrangements. But between the moments of glory on stage, there is the struggle to find gigs, manage personnel, and schlep a van full of equipment and 400 pounds of music to every job—with no road crew. Meltdowns occur, and the threat of going out of business constantly looms. Vince Giordano—There's a Future in the Past captures the hard work, endurance, and joy of being true to one's calling.

The film made its world premiere at the Manchester (UK) International Film Festival in March, where it won the award for Best Music Score. Its US premiere was at the Kansas City FilmFest in April, where Chuck Haddix, director of the Marr Sound Archives of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Libraries and author of Kansas City Jazz and Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker called it "the best jazz film I have ever seen." View the film's trailer here.

Subsequent area screenings after the 92Y premiere: Upstate Films, Rhinebeck, NY - July 24-27; Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville, NY - Aug 11; Andrews Memorial Hall, Clinton, CT - Aug 20.

Vince Giordano—There's a Future in the Past is directed and produced by Dave Davidson and Amber Edwards of Hudson West Productions, whose credits include seventeen hours of national PBS programming, including nine episodes of the award-winning series Michael Feinstein's American Songbook (2010-2013); A Place Out of Time: The Bordentown School (2010, Christopher Award); Words and Music by Jerry Herman (2008), which screened at 92Y with a talk-back featuring Jerry Herman and Amber Edwards; George Segal: American Still Life (2001); Against the Odds: Artists of the Harlem Renaissance (1994); Vladimir Feltsman—Journey from Home (1993); The Dancing Man—Peg Leg Bates (1992); and Cissy Houston: Sweet Inspiration (1988). Edwards has also sung in 92Y Lyrics & Lyricists shows, including one with Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks.

92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Ave., New York, NY
212.415.5500

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