JAZZ HERITAGE CENTER ANNOUNCES
INITIATIVE ON JAZZ AND FILM
***
New exhibit, mini jazz film festival, lectures by
jazz film experts, weekly jazz film screenings highlight programming
***
Screening of Legend of Bop City, formal opening of JHC Media and Education Center
kick off initiative on January 17
(San Francisco - Tuesday, January 12th)
--- The Jazz Heritage Center (JHC), San Francisco’s only
permanent complex dedicated to jazz culture, art and history, announced today a
special initiative on jazz and film.
This new effort includes the formal opening of the JHC’s new Media and
Education Center, a 50-seat private theater adjacent to Yoshi’s Jazz Club and
Restaurant (1330 Fillmore Street).
As the JHC’s most
comprehensive initiative to date, programming will include twice-weekly film
screenings, a new exhibit of vintage and rare jazz film posters, a mini jazz
film festival, lectures, and a celebration of one of the Fillmore District’s
most popular jazz clubs during the 1950s and 1960s, Bop City.
“We are very pleased to
launch this important effort,” said Peter Fitzsimmons, Executive Director, Jazz
Heritage Center. “Jazz and film have had a long, meaningful relationship. We
are exploring this topic with jazz film experts, film screenings and, of
course, a special celebration of a legendary Fillmore jazz club. This
initiative brings the organization to a new level and we look forward to
sharing the experience with our growing number of supporters, members and
fans.”
The initiative kicks off on
Sunday, January 17th.
(more)
The JHC’s jazz and film
initiative includes the following elements:
The initiative kicks off on Sunday, January 17th at 3pm with a celebration of legendary Fillmore jazz club, Bop City. The event will include a
screening of the documentary, “The
Legend of Bop City,” and a panel discussion with the director, Carol
Chamberland, celebrated jazz educator Herb Wong, and musicians featured in
the film, including legendary saxophonist John Handy and vocalist Denis
Perrier. The event marks the formal opening of the JHC’s Media and
Education Center.
The following Sunday, Jan 24th at 3pm marks the opening of the JHC’s next major exhibit, Jazzin’, Jammin’ & Jivin’. This
unique exhibit, just shown at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City,
features 50 vintage film posters illustrating an eight-decade period
during which some of the greatest jazz musicians of African heritage
appeared on film, including Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong,
Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Lena
Horne, and many others. The exhibit will be displayed in the JHC’s Koret
Heritage Lobby space outside the entrance to Yoshi’s Jazz Club and
Restaurant and inside the JHC’s Media and Education Center. The exhibit is
on loan from the Separate Cinema Archive. Mark Cantor, the curator of the
exhibit and a well-known jazz film archivist and historian will give the
opening lecture for the exhibit, in partnership with the Jewish Community
Center of San Francisco.
A mini jazz film festival will take place on February 5-7, led by noted jazz
scholar and film historian Hal Miller. As the curator of one of the
world's most comprehensive personal jazz film collections, Mr. Miller
makes numerous guest lectures at colleges and jazz societies around the
country. Much of the footage shown in the Ken Burns documentary "Jazz" came from Miller's
collection, and he continues to be a primary resource for jazz video
footage for networks and independent production companies. In addition, he
contributed significantly to the opening of the American Jazz Museum in Kansas
City with video footage and written commentary.
Bi-weekly jazz film screenings, starting on January 26th.Jazz films will be screened throughout the
month of February, featuring some of the classic films illustrated in the Jazzin’, Jammin’ & Jivin’
poster exhibit, including Stormy Weather, Cabin in the Sky, Swingin Harlem, Lady Sings the Blues, Round Midnight and
others. Films from Hal Miller’s Jazz Icons series will also be
shown.
Overview of the Jazz Heritage
Center (JHC)
The Jazz Heritage Center is the only
permanent cultural and educational complex dedicated to the long history of
Jazz in San Francisco and the Fillmore District. Located within the new
Fillmore Heritage Center in the heart of the Historic Fillmore Jazz
Preservation District, the non-profit Jazz
Heritage Center is part jazz museum, part jazz cultural center,
and part jazz art gallery. By showcasing art and historical exhibitions,
concerts, films and youth programming, the JHC's mission is to preserve and promote jazz, an
American national treasure, while celebrating its presence as an active, living
art form in San Francisco and beyond. The JHC includes the Lush Life Gallery,
the Koret Heritage Lobby, the Take Five Gift Shop, and the JHC Media and
Education Center. Visit www.jazzheritagecenter.org for more information.
