Northern Soul: Living for the Weekend

The northern soul phenomenon was the most exciting underground British club movement of the 1970s. At its highpoint, thousands of disenchanted white working class youths across the north of England danced to obscure, mid-60s Motown-inspired sounds until the sun rose. A dynamic culture of fashions, dance moves, vinyl obsession and much more grew up around this - all fuelled by the love of rare black American soul music with an express-train beat.

'Round Midnight

Inside the Blue Note nightclub one night in 1959 Paris, an aged, ailing jazzman coaxes an eloquent wail from his tenor sax. Outside, a young Parisian too broke to buy a glass of wine strains to hear those notes. Soon they will form a friendship that sparks a final burst of genius.

Space Is the Place

Sun Ra and his Solar Myth Arkestra return to Earth after several years in space. Ra proclaims himself "the alter-destiny", meets with inner-city youths and battles with the devil himself to save the black race.

Norman Granz’ Jazz in Montreaux presents Ella and Basie '79—"The Perfect Match"

The two musical masters swing out.

Spaceways

A music documentary made with Sun Ra.

Dan Bárta & Illustratosphere – Zvířený prach tour 2022

The unmistakable voice of the eleven-time Anděl Award winner, first-class musicians, and songs that flow across musical genres in a concert experience from Brno's Sono Music Club... The concert, recorded on November 28, 2022, at the SONO Music Club in Brno, is the culmination of Dan Bárta & Illustratosphere's concert tour for their joint fifth studio album, Kráska a zvířený prach (Beauty and Stirred Dust). This mutually inspiring and authentically creative community of musicians included not only new songs in the program, but also a selection of some older atmospheric hits from their more than twenty-year musical career. Enjoy Bárta's refined vocal performance and a fusion of virtuosically played original compositions on the domestic scene, combining pop rock, jazz, soul, and funk with intimate poetry in the lyrics, just like hundreds of fans in one of the most acoustically perfect halls in the country.

Stop for Bud

Stop for Bud is Jørgen Leth's first film and the first in his long collaboration with Ole John. […] they wanted to "blow up cinematic conventions and invent cinematic language from scratch". The jazz pianist Bud Powell moves around Copenhagen -- through King's Garden, along the quay at Kalkbrænderihavnen, across a waste dump. […] Bud is alone, accompanied only by his music. […] Image and sound are two different things -- that's Leth's and John's principle. Dexter Gordon, the narrator, tells stories about Powell's famous left hand. In an obituary for Powell, dated 3 August 1966, Leth wrote: "He quite willingly, or better still, unresistingly, mechanically, let himself be directed. The film attempts to depict his strange duality about his surroundings. His touch on the keys was like he was burning his fingers -- that's what it looked like, and that's how it sounded. But outside his playing, and often right in the middle of it, too, he was simply gone, not there."

Noble Sissle's Syncopated Ragtime

Combining footage unseen since WWI with original scores from the era, this film tells the story of Noble Sissle's incredible journey that spans "The Harlem Hellfighters" of World War I, Broadway Theatre, the Civil Rights movement, and decades of Black cultural development.

James Brown: Soul Survivor

James Brown's legacy has influenced rap, soul, funk and R&B. But along with his huge talent, there's a dark side to Brown's success that includes stints in prison and unceasing tabloid speculation. This in-depth documentary takes a look at the meteoric highs and deep lows of Brown's career, offering some fascinating insights from the Godfather of Soul himself, as well as interview footage with Chuck D, Little Richard, Wyclef Jean and many others.

Lagniappe

A film created by Les Blank and Maureen Gosling from footage that was cut from the documentary "Always for Pleasure" (1978) about Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Little Richard: I Am Everything

The story of the black, gay origins of rock n' roll. It explodes the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard's complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon's life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions.

Blues in the Night

A struggling band find themselves attached to a fugitive and drawn into a series of old feuds and love affairs, as they try to stay together and find musical success.

The Wiz

Dorothy Gale, a shy kindergarten teacher, is swept away to the magic land of Oz where she embarks on a quest to return home.

Blues for Herold

A struggling young man secretly plays a magical trumpet that transports him from his desolate world into a colorful "bliss." When his younger brother discovers his secret, their relationship is put in jeopardy.

Filthy Betrayal

On the eve of graduation, a high school student finds herself dealing with both college applications and an unfaithful boyfriend.

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.

Bird

Saxophone player Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker comes to New York in 1940 and is quickly noticed for his remarkable way of playing. He becomes a drug addict but his loving wife Chan tries to help him.

Cecil Taylor: All The Notes

Cecil Taylor was the grand master of free jazz piano. "All the Notes" captures in breezy fashion the unconventional stance of this media-shy modern musical genius, regarded as one of the true giants of post-war music. Seated at his beloved and battered piano in his Brooklyn brownstone the maestro holds court with frequent stentorian pronouncements on life, art and music.

Rhythm 'n' Bayous: A Road Map to Louisiana Music

Documentary which celebrates the music of Louisiana.

Catfish Blues