Herb Ellis: Swing Jazz Soloing and Comping

"Comping (an abbreviation of accompanying) is a term used in jazz music to describe the chords, rhythms, and countermelodies that keyboard players (piano or organ) or guitar players use to support a jazz musician's improvised solo or melody lines. The term is also used for the action of accompanying, and for left hand part of a solo pianist."

The Blues Brothers

Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.

Hockshop Blues

Musical performers put on a show in a pawn shop to convince a man to give them the money they need to buy back their instruments.

Earl "Fatha" Hines - Blues Alley, Washington DC

A 1975 documentary on the great Blues pianist Earl Hines, one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano.

Jazz Legends - Chet Baker Quintette

Hi-De-Ho

Young Cab Calloway's mother is concerned, because Cab spends his days listening to the radio, pretending to lead a miniature orchestra. A deacon passing by the apartment hears him singing and advises him go to his wife's gypsy tea room. As she reads the tea leaves, she sees situations which lead to Cab and his orchestra performing musical numbers.

Thomas Carbou: Spectacle au Bleury - 2016

Jasper in a Jam

In this entertaining Puppetoon animated short film, a young boy, Jasper, gets trapped inside a pawnshop at midnight. All the musical instruments come to life and play jazz. A whooping wooden Indian chief self-animates as well, and goes on the warpath.

Oscar

Brilliantly mixing animated sequences and archival footage, Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre paints a touching portrait of virtuoso pianist Oscar Peterson.

Komeda, Komeda...

A feature- length documentary on the life and work of jazz musician and composer Krzysztof Komeda.

Ula

‘This is the cradle of our beloved music. We need to verify our skills there’, said Michał Urbaniak to Polish jazz vocalist Urszula Dudziak to convince her to go and conquer the US with him. The film is a recording of the fascinating and tumultuous journey reported from off-screen by the artist herself.

Daybreak Express

Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording "Daybreak Express", this is a five-minute short of the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated subway station in New York City.

Ray

Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.

Karmen Geï

Bizet's Carmen gets a modern adaptation. Seducting, provocating, sensual. All the ingredients for a perfect drama. With her charm, Karmen gets out of many situations.

The Butterflies of Love

Two musical stars from the golden age of Hollywood get a second chance at rekindling their love in the modern world.

Pete Kelly's Blues

In 1927, a Kansas City, Missouri cornet player and his band perform nightly at a seedy speakeasy until a racketeer tries to extort them in exchange for protection.

Brüder Kühn: Zwei Musiker spielen sich frei

Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way

A chronological look at the life and career of jazz musician, composer, and performer Dave Brubeck (1920-2012 ), presented through contemporary interviews, archival footage of interviews and performances, and commentary by family, fellow musicians, and aficionados. Emphases include his mother's influence, his wife's invention of college tours, his skill as an accompanist, the great quartet (with Desmond, Morello, and Wright), his ability to find musical ideas everywhere, his orchestral compositions, his religious conversion, and his unflagging sweet nature.

Untitled Earth, Wind & Fire Documentary

Examines the legacy, cultural impact, and body of work of American R&B/punk/jazz/soul/disco band Earth, Wind & Fire, and will feature exclusive access to the band’s archives of visual, audio, and written material, as well as the support of the estate of Maurice White and the band.

Steely Dan: Two Against Nature

Steely Dan has not had a new studio album in twenty years--"Two Against Nature" was worth the wait! This concert, recorded live in New York at the Sony Studios, contains new songs as well as classic hits from the minds of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Together, they deliver a unique music experience that is truly unforgettable. Songs: Green Earrings, Cousin Dupree, Bad Sneakers, Janie Runaway, Josie, FM, Gaslighting Abbie, Black Friday, Babylon Sisters, Kid Charlemagne, Jack of Speed, Peg, What a Shame About Me, Pretzel Logic.