The best Dizzy Gillespie’s movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Dizzy Gillespie’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Dizzy Gillespie.
Brownie Speaks
A native of Wilmington, Delaware, jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown made an outstanding and influential contribution to music. In an era when many musicians were emulating Charlie Parker’s drug abuse, Brown inspired others to achieve greatness while living a clean life. Ironically, he was killed in a car accident at the age of 25. This feature-length documentary presents a richly detailed account of Brown’s life, and examines his historical importance in the context of three criteria–innovation, influence, and individuality.
The Hole
6.2/10
Two men discuss the nature of accidents and the possibility of nuclear war.
El invierno en Lisboa
4.3/10
Jim is the drummer for the great black musician Billy Swann. With him, he plays in a club called San Sebastián, owned by his friend Floro, every summer.
A Great Day in Harlem
7.4/10
Art Kane, now deceased, coordinated a group photograph of all the top jazz musicians in NYC in the year 1958, for a piece in Esquire magazine. Just about every jazz musician at the time showed up for the photo shoot which took place in front of a brownstone near the 125th street station. The documentary compiles interviews of many of the musicians in the photograph to talk about the day of the photograph, and it shows film footage taken that day by Milt Hinton and his wife.
Charlie Parker: Bird Songs
In 1955, on his report, a medical examiner wrote in the box: age, “about 53 years”. Charlie Parker nicknamed Bird just died, at 34. His death will be the ransom of a life that was not denied to the excesses or the consuming flame of genius. His wildest improvisations will open the door to future jazzmen. Between shadow and light this film will pay tribute to one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century.
Music According to Tom Jobim
7.8/10
Half a century ago, Brazilian composer and musician Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim (1927-1994) introduced bossa nova to a worldwide audience with "The Girl from Ipanema." This relaxed, cool, sensuous music blended jazz and samba. After recording an album of songs by his friend Jobim, Frank Sinatra is reported to have said, "I haven't sung so quietly since I had laryngitis." Naturally, "The Girl from Ipanema" and Frank Sinatra are featured in this musical collage of countless seamlessly edited excerpts of concert footage that cover decades of events all over the world: from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon, Paris, Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Tokyo, Montreal, New York and back to Rio.
Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar
7/10
This riveting music documentary traces the history of Jazz piano legend Oscar Peterson, from his early days as Montreal's teenage Boogie-Woogie sensation through his meteoric rise to international celebrity with Norman Granz and the ground-breaking Jazz at the Philharmonic and beyond. In this award-winning autobiographical portrait, legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson narrates his story, from his beginnings in smoke-filled Montreal clubs to hallmark performances with jazz greats. Concert footage includes an unforgettable combo -- Nat King Cole with Jazz at the Philharmonic and the Oscar Peterson Trio Wall reunion. Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie are interviewed, among others. - Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Ella Fitzgerald
Improvisation
7.1/10
Improvisational jazz performance filmed in 1950 by Gjon Mili plus Duke Ellington Trio filmed in July 1966, Count Basie at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1977, Joe Pass 1979, Ella Fitzgerald 1979, and Oscar Peterson at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1977.
Dizzy Gillespie
6.9/10
This is Les Blank’s earliest music film, focusing on the renown trumpet player, Dizzy Gillespie, who along with Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk, Sonny Rollins and others sparked the change from traditional Jazz to “Bebop” in mid-1940s America. The film includes rare images of Gillespie playing on his famous bent horn and talking about his beginnings, as well as his theories about music.
The Jazz Ambassadors
7.5/10
The Cold War and Civil Rights collide in this remarkable story of music, diplomacy and race. Beginning in 1955, when America asked its greatest jazz artists to travel the world as cultural ambassadors, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and their mixed-race band members, faced a painful dilemma: how could they represent a country that still practiced Jim Crow segregation?
Amazonia
6.2/10
Inspired by three South American myths, this film is a plea to save the tropical rain forest and its unique inhabitants.
Michel Legrand: Sans demi-mesure
8/10
This documentary recounts the life of the late composer Michel Legrand, known for his works on Les Parapluies de Cherbourg or Les Demoiselles De Rochefort with the famous director Jacques Demy.
Voyage to Next
6.1/10
Mother Earth and Father Time converse about the choices humans make.
Date with Dizzy
6.5/10
A Hubley stand-in instructs iconic trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie on scoring a short commercial for an instant rope ladder.
A Night In Havana: Dizzy Gillespie In Cuba
7.7/10
A documentary on Dizzy Gillespie's landmark visit to Cuba and his performance at the Fifth International Jazz Festival in Havana, Cuba. Filmed in 1985 with Arturo Sandoval and Sayyd Abdul Al Khabyyr.
Jivin' in Bebop
7/10
A filmed variety show featuring the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra with special guests.
Dizzy Gillespie: Live at the Royal Festival Hall
In this concert, recorded live London’s Royal Festival Hall in 1989, Dizzy Gillespie performs with the magical United Nation Orchestra and a selection of jazz musicians including Slide Hampton, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D'Rivera, Mario Rivera and Flora Purim.
Monterey Jazz Festival 1975
The Monterey Jazz Festival was established in 1958 by impressario Jimmy Lyons who has hosted an enormous amount of music at this idyllic location. Against this beautiful seaside setting in Northern California, one spends a pleasent weekend listening to some of the giants of music.
Jazz: The Only Way of Life
6.5/10
Dizzy Gillespie is one of the major figures of the 20th Century's music scene. Everything was once said or written about this genius musician, founder of the Bebop. Whereas his public life is known from most, many ignore about the modest side of his character and the story of his long and deep friendship with a man rather unknown from the general public, the Swiss engineer Jacques Muyal. Through previously unrevealed archives as well as musical extracts, this documentary explores the story of the friendship between a genius trumpeter and a man crazy about Jazz.
The Last Of The Blue Devils - The Kansas City Jazz Story
7.9/10
Documentary film detailing the history of Kansas City jazz.
