Filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island and directed by world- renowned photographer Bert Stern, Jazz on a Summer's Day is one of the original and best live music documentaries.
Restored & rediscovered, it features intimate performances by an all-star line-up of musical legends including; Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Anita O'Day, Chuck Berry - introducing rock n roll to a bemused jazz band - Dinah Washington, and closes with a beautiful mesmerising rendition of The Lord's Prayer by Mahalia Jackson at midnight to usher in Sunday morning.
Stern’s atmospheric, stylish cinematography captures a hip fashionable 50s America in thrall to the music by night and enjoying some laid-back yachting by day. A time capsule of musical performance and 1950s elegance before the momentous cultural changes of the 60s.
The film has been beautifully and extensively restored in 4K from the best surviving vault elements by IndieCollect
"Few films about jazz treat their subject with less cant than this one. This is photography that has the perfect feel of jazz, and beyond that leaves it alone.” Sight & Sound
Watch the trailer here : YouTube