Edinburgh International Film Festival's top Jazz & Blues films 01 Jan 1970
With Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival’s Blues Weekend Online taking place this week, Senior Programmer Niall Greig Fulton rounds up a selection of jazz and blues related films and videos currently available to watch at home.
German television music showcase Beat Club (1965-1972) featured a dazzling array of influential artists over the years. Here’s songs from Canned Heat, Muddy Waters and B.B. King via the official Beat Club YouTube channel:
Canned Heat – On the Road Again (1968)
B.B. King – Heartbreaker (1968)
Muddy Waters – Honey Bee (1970)
Waters also appeared on another famous German music show in the 1970s. Watch highlights of Muddy Waters - Live at Rockpalast (1978) here:
The full concert is available from Amazon Prime here.
https://www.amazon.com/Muddy-Waters-Blues-Band-Westfalenhalle/dp/B07BB6LQKD
See Waters jam with The Rolling Stones, and Miles Davis electrify both his band and his biggest audience ever in two classic performances made available by Eagle Rock on their official YouTube channel:
Muddy Waters & The Rolling Stones - Live at The Checkerboard Lounge (1981)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLuZxoOj2SDPU7xzsRl6dEz_7mFtljMtN
Miles Davis - Live at the Isle of Wight (1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMYVvjoXf4o
To see Davis in action just prior to his electric era, watch highlights of Miles Davis - Live in Copenhagen (1969) on the official Miles Davis YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1RJCGLa8Ni1-67ptN_E8-uSKnf-Vt0Kn
Get the full, uninterrupted concert via Amazon Prime here:
To learn more about “The Man with the Horn”, Stanley Nelson’s recent portrait of Davis, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (2019) is still available on BBC iPlayer.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ggdf
The iPlayer also features a superb selection of vintage blues content:
Chicago Blues (1970)
Harley Cokeliss documentary featuring Muddy Waters, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01m5xq2
Big Bill Blues (1956)
Jean Delire’s film noir styled short finds Big Bill Broonzy playing four songs live in a Brussels night club.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01m73lp
Blind John Davies (1985)
Journalist Studs Terkel and pianist Blind John Davis meet to talk and play the blues.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01m71pq
B.B. King Speaks (1985)
Broadcaster John Walters talks to B.B. King.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01m5wh5
Sounding Out: B.B. King (1972)
B.B. King filmed in England during the recording of his album The London Sessions.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01m5j5g
Sonny Boy Williamson Sings (1985)
Rare footage of harmonica blues player Sonny Boy Williamson.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01m5v9n
With a reputation as the biggest indoor jazz festival in the world, The Northsea Jazz Festival is an annual event that has been held in the Netherlands since 1976. The fourth edition in 1979 featured a breath-taking line up of blues and jazz legends. Several of the concerts from the event are available in their entirety on YouTube:
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Count Basie
Muddy Waters
Sun Ra Arkestra
B.B. King
Ella Fitzgerald
Oscar Peterson & Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
Staying on the festival circuit, the world-famous Montreux Jazz Festival recently opened-up their vast archive and released 50 concert films to stream for free. Amongst the many gems on offer, there’s incredible performances from Nina Simone, Ray Charles, Etta James, Quincy Jones and Isaac Hayes. Click here to access this unmissable opportunity.
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https://www.montreuxjazzfestival.com/en/50-concerts-to-stream/
Throughout the 1980s director Robert Mugge delivered several extraordinary documentaries focusing on great jazz and blues musicians. Three of the best, exploring the worlds of Sun Ra, Gil Scott Heron and Sonny Rollins, are currently available free with Amazon Prime:
Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise (1980)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sun-Ra-Joyful-ROBERT-MUGGE/dp/B07CGD4FTL
Gil Scott Heron: Black Wax (1982)
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gil-Scott-Heron-Black-ROBERT-MUGGE/dp/B079XX36M5
Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus (1986)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sonny-Rollins-Saxophone-ROBERT-MUGGE/dp/B07BDNVP5H
Also available free with Amazon Prime, director Les Blank’s The Blues According to Lightning Hopkins (1970) is a memorable and insightful portrait of the legendary Texas blues man.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07B12LMWP
Netflix has a fine selection of jazz and blues related documentaries currently on offer too, exploring the lives of such greats as Lee Morgan, Nina Simone, Quincy Jones, John Coltrane and timeless blues enigma Robert Johnson.
I Called Him Morgan (2016)
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https://www.netflix.com › titleI Called Him Morgan | Netflix
What Happened Miss Simone (2015)
https://www.netflix.com › titleWhat Happened, Miss Simone? | Netflix Official Site
Quincy (2018)
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https://www.netflix.com › titleWeb resultsQuincy | Netflix Official Site
Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary (2016)
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https://www.netflix.com › titleWeb resultsChasing Trane | Netflix
Devil at the Crossroads (2019)
Last but by no means least, the INA (Institut National de l'Audiovisuel) website and YouTube channels feature countless extraordinary archive musical performances. Here’s a small selection of the many gems available:
Dizzy Gillespie – A Night in Tunisia (1970)
Thelonious Monk – Jazz Portrait (1970)
Ella Fitzgerald – Live at the Cannes Jazz Festival (1958)
Manu Dibango – Soul Makossa (1973)
SérgioMendes & Brasil 66 – Mas Que Nada (1969)
SérgioMendes & Brasil 66 – Upa Neguinho (1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm5t4p7CpME
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme (1966)
John Coltrane – Naima (1966)
Miles Davis - Au clair de la lune (1956)
Herbie Hancock – Toys (1972)
https://m.ina.fr/video/I09229158/herbie-hancock-video.html
Herbie Hancock – Sleeping Giant (1972)
https://www.ina.fr/video/I09229166
Herbie Hancock – Water Torture (1972)
https://m.ina.fr/video/I09229159/herbie-hancock-water-torture-video.html
Charles Mingus & Eric Dolphy – Live at Festival Jazz d'Antibes Juan-les-Pins (1960)
https://m.ina.fr/video/I07194667/charlie-mingus-eric-dolphy-au-festival-d-antibes-video.html
Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Arkestra – Jazz Session (1972)
https://m.ina.fr/video/CPF86658710/sun-ra-and-his-intergalactic-arkestra-video.html
John Lee Hooker – I Feel Good (1979)
https://www.ina.fr/video/I15202216/john-lee-hooker-i-feel-good-video.html
