Jazz Greats Honored at Jacob Burns Film Series
Jazz greats like Anita O’Day and The Dorsey Brothers made their mark in another era but their music lives on.
Starting this week, their careers and their music will be celebrated through performance, films and discussion during the next month at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville.
The sixth annual Jazz Sessions: The Greats on Camera series begins tonight (Thursday) and will continue once a week through June 13.
Kathryn Bonomi, the programmer for the series, said she scoured the Internet and attended film festivals for several months to create this year’s series.
“I’ve loved jazz for a long time,” she said.
This year’s series opens with a live performance titled “The Anderson Twins Play the Fabulous Dorseys.” Peter and Will Anderson are scheduled to bring their off-Broadway show about the Doresy Brothers to the film center. A reception will follow the performance.
The Dorsey Brothers released a series of highly successful albums from the late 1920s through the mid-1930s featuring such stars as Bing Crosby and Glenn Miller.
On May 16, the John Pizzarelli Quartet will perform the works of the late Bobby Troup. Bonomi said he is most famous for “Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” a song he wrote in the 1960s. Aside from being a songwriter, Troup was an arranger, pianist, actor and host of the 1950s television series “Stars of Jazz.” The event also includes film clips of Troup and other jazz performers.
An All-Jobin Bossa Nova Night is scheduled for May 29 featuring the screening of the documentary “The House of Tom–Mundo Monde Mondo” about the Brazilian composer
Antonio Carlos Jobim. Jobim was credited with creating the bossa nova craze in the 1960s. The evening will include performances of Jobim’s works by a Westchester Jazz Orchestra septet.
The documentary “Erroll Garner: No One Can Hear You Read” will be presented on June 6 along with performances by the Konrad Paszkudzki Trio. The trio will perform some of Garner’s songs.
This year’s Jazz Sessions series will conclude on June 13 with the screening of the documentary “Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer.” Following presentation of the film, a question-and-answer session will be conducted featuring veteran music journalist Thomas Staudter and award-winning singer Alexis Cole.
Having film screenings combined with performances and discussions is an important part of the jazz series.
“It’s really a matter of matching up a film with a performer,” Bonomi said.
All performances in the series begin at 7:30 p.m.
The Jacob Burns Film Center is located at 364 Manville Rd. in Pleasantville. For more information, visit www.burnsfilmcenter.org/film/film-series/detail/29128.
