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INTERNATIONAL SUMMER FESTIVAL GUIDE 2010: FEATURESunshine ScreeningStandout jazz festival performances caught on filmBy John McDonoughFor the first 30 years of soundmovies, jazz was limited to shortsubjects or specialty slots in studiomusicals. The first NewportJazz Festival in 1954 began tochange that. The music found afresh context beyond the cloisteredlimbo of the club and theconcert hall. But filming wasexpensive, and thus rare in theUnited States, where televisionremained indifferent. In Europe,though, many touring Americangroups were taped for television,and these concerts (issued byJazz Icons, Eagle Rock and othercompanies) are expanding thecatalog of jazz on DVD.Jazz On A Summer’s Day(1959; New Yorker Video)Bert Stern and Arim Avakian(brother of producer GeorgeAvakian) directed this innovativedocumentary of the 1958Newport Jazz Festival thatbecame the matrix for such laterclassics as Monterey Pop (1968)and Woodstock (1969). Asidefrom early newsreel clips, it isbelieved to be the first extendedfestival documentary ever filmed.Great performances by LouisArmstrong, Anita O’Day andThelonious Monk.Ordering info: amazon.comNewport Jazz Festival 1962(Quantum Leap)Shot for NBC by Buddy Bregman(arranger/conductor on EllaFitzgerland’s Cole Porter andRodgers & Hart songbooks), theimagery and sound are oftenpoor. Originally intended to capturethe triumphant return ofGeorge Wein and his Festival toNewport after the 1960 riots, itsinterest lies more in its scarcityand historical value than its musicalvalues. But it does catch completeperformances by OscarPeterson, Count Basie, DukeEllington, Rahsaan Roland Kirkand others in their prime.Ordering info: cduniverse.comNorman Granz Presents DukeEllington at the Cote d’Azur withElla Fitzgerald and Joan Miro(1966; Eagle Rock Entertainment)Granz used the Festival at Juan-Les-Pins in France as a platformfor this TV program and caughtEllington and Fitzgerald at theheight of their later glory in a prolificconcert that produced an LPin 1967 and an eight-CD compilationin 1998. The Cote d’Azurvideo is coupled with a seconddisc of Ellington (shortly beforehis death) in the studio with JoePass, Ray Brown and LouieBellson.Ordering info: eaglerockent.comMiles Davis Live In Sweden(1967; Sony/Legacy)Brief portions of this superblyshot concert appear on Sony’sThe Miles Davis Story, but theentire 35-minute, four-song setwas distributed in more limitedquantities as a promotional piece.With Wayne Shorter, HerbieHancock, Ron Carter and TonyWilliams all in peak form, this isonly the second extended performanceby a Davis group on film.Ordering info: legacyrecordings.comPlay Misty For Me(1971; Warner Bros. Video)In the late ’50s the Monterey JazzFestival became the PacificCoast’s answer to Newport. In his1971 debut as director, ClintEastwood caught the laid-backlocal color of the event and woveit into this tense thriller as a kindof five-minute documentaryinsert. On screen: Cannonball andNat Adderley, a young JoeZawinul and Johnny Otis.Ordering info: amazon.comBasie Jam: Montreux ’75;Jazz At The Philharmonic 1975(Eagle Rock Entertainment)Montreux has traditionally been aplaything of record companieseager to record their artists in afestival setting. When Granz tookover the festival in the ’70s, he notonly recorded but videotaped,yielding a series of 17 superbDVDs. Special mention goes toBasie, Milt Jackson, JohnnyGriffin, Roy Eldridge and LouieBellson on Basie Jam; and thefront line of Benny Carter,Eldridge, Zoot Sims and ClarkTerry on the JATP recreation.Ordering info: eaglerockent.comWeather Report:Live at Montreux 1976(Eagle Rock Entertainment)A historic early look at the gatheringstorm of fusion, here is theband as it stood about 12 weeksafter Jaco Pastorius began touringwith it and a year before itsbreakthrough Heavy Weather LP.Ordering info: eaglerockent.comHorace Silver Quintet:Live At The Umbria JazzFestival, 1976 (Arthaus Musik)One of the most picturesquefestival sights in Europe isPerugia, Italy, home of UmbiraJazz. With Silver in this concertfrom the festival’s early historyis a young Tom Harrell.Ordering info: naxos.comBuddy Rich: Live at 1982Montreal Jazz Festival(Hudson Music)Buddy Rich left behind anabundance of film, but fewknown festival performances.Fortunately, many MontrealFest concerts were taped fortelevision, including this outingby the band on eight charts,including a revival of ArtieShaw’s “Carioca.”Ordering info: hudsonmusic.comFlip Phillips 80th BirthdayParty (1995; Arbors)This Arbors festival builtaround the still dangerousPhillips may be awkwardlytaped but brings togetherBuddy DeFranco, Clark Terry,Phil Woods, Herb Ellis, BobWilber, Kenny Davern, ScottHamilton, Randy Sandke, DickHyman and many others fortwo hours of on-stage jams.Ordering info: arborsrecords.comDB86 DOWNBEAT May 2010