Herts Jazz FILM Festival 2016
The first Herts Jazz FILM Festival which will take place on 16-18 September 2016 and 2 October 2016.
British jazz star, drummer Clark Tracey, says of this new venture:
I'm delighted that this year, alongside our Herts Jazz Festival (16-18 September), we will have this new complimentary film festival. The programme Mike has put together is excellent and very wide ranging. I'm particularly looking forward to the Buster Keaton shorts accompanied by one of our jazz club favourites - world class pianist David Newton (who will also be playing at the Jazz Festival) - and, of course, the gala evening on 2 October dedicated to my father, Stan Tracey. I have put together a special quartet of musicians who are all closely associated with Stan to play live after a rare screening of the great documentary STAN TRACEY: THE GODFATHER OF BRITISH JAZZ.
Mike O'Brien
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Cinema and music come together in this exhilarating new festival! The Herts Jazz Film Festival (#HJFilmFest) showcases a wonderful mixture of compelling films that all have a distinctly jazz flavour.
Timed to complement the Herts Jazz Club's well-established and prestigious annual Herts Jazz Festival, the #HJFilmFest will bring you classic Hollywood film noir, silent film with live jazz accompaniment, rarely-seen documentaries, and a performance by a superstar jazz quartet celebrating one of the UK’s greatest jazz pianists, Stan Tracey.
All events will take place at CW Entertainment in Welwyn Garden City, where the Herts Jazz Festival is held. Tickets are available online ( Garden City Cinema box office, or Telephone 0300 3039 620).
The full HJFF programme is:-
Friday 16th September, 6:15pm-8:00pm, Screen 2
SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS [Alexander Mackendrick, 1957]
Starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis in a film that Peter Bradshaw describes as “a fizzingly clever big-city satire and deeply strange late noir classic. Unmissable”. It features a jazz score by Elmer Bernstein and includes appearances by The Chico Hamilton Quintet.
Saturday 17th September, 10:20am-11:15am, Screen 2
Two Buster Keaton short films accompanied by David Newton on piano
Two short films from the comic genius Buster Keaton will be accompanied live by one the UK’s top jazz pianists, David Newton. He will be improvising to two of Keaton’s best short comedies NEIGHBORS [1920] and ONE WEEK [1920].
Sunday 18th September, 10:10am-11:15am, Screen 2
TUBBY HAYES: A MAN IN A HURRY [Lee Cogswell, 2015]
A new documentary about the great tenor player who left behind a body of work that has both stood the test of time and proven to be an inspiration to many like-minded musicians today. Narrated by actor and Hayes fan Martin Freeman.
Sunday 2nd October, 7:30pm-10:15pm, Screen 2
Gala evening dedicated to Stan Tracey
This legend of jazz will be celebrated in a very special evening of film and music. There will be a rare screening of the documentary STAN TRACEY: THE GODFATHER OF BRITISH JAZZ by eminent British director John Akomfrah. This will be followed by a live performance by the all-star STAN TRACEY LEGACY QUARTET featuring Art Themen, Steve Melling, Andy Cleyndert, and Clark Tracey.
The Herts Jazz Film Festival is supported by the BFI Film Audience Network, Garden City Cinema, Screen St Ives, and the Herts Jazz Club.