Jazz on a Summer's Day/A Summer's Day With Bert Stern

Starring:Jimmy Giuffre, Thelonious Monk, Henry Grimes, Sonny Stitt, Sal Salvador, Anita O'Day, George Shearing, Dinah Washington, Gerry Mulligan, Big Maybelle, Chuck Berry, Chico Hamilton, Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, Mahalia Jackson, David Baily, Terry Gibbs (II), Armando Peraza, Martin Williams (II), Urbie Green
Director: Aram Avakian, Bert Stern
Studio: New Yorker Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video
Part concert documentary, part pop-cultural time capsule, Bert Stern's Jazz on a Summer's Day chronicles the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival with an approach as deceptively relaxed, even impulsive, as the music itself. Still photographer Stern sidesteps more formal documentary conventions such as narrative voiceovers to wander purposefully from festival stage to boarding-house jam sessions, taking in the parallel color and motion of the America's Cup preparations when he isn't capturing rich color footage of the performances and the celebratory mood of the concertgoers. In the process, he documents American jazz at a notably golden moment in its development--diverse, adventurous, and still broadly popular, this was jazz not yet under the shadow of rock and youth culture, played by an integrated artistic community a few short years away from social and political turmoil that would boil divisively to the surface during the '60s. To say Stern was rolling film in a jazz Camelot is overstatement, but only slightly so.

Amazon.com essential video

Part concert documentary, part pop-cultural time capsule, Bert Stern's Jazz on a Summer's Day chronicles the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival with an approach as deceptively relaxed, even impulsive, as the music itself. Still photographer Stern sidesteps more formal documentary conventions such as narrative voiceovers to wander purposefully from festival stage to boarding-house jam sessions, taking in the parallel color and motion of the America's Cup preparations when he isn't capturing rich color footage of the performances and the celebratory mood of the concertgoers. In the process, he documents American jazz at a notably golden moment in its development--diverse, adventurous, and still broadly popular, this was jazz not yet under the shadow of rock and youth culture, played by an integrated artistic community a few short years away from social and political turmoil that would boil divisively to the surface during the '60s. To say Stern was rolling film in a jazz Camelot is overstatement, but only slightly so.

Customer Reviews:

an excellent preservation of time.......2007-05-01

This is a beautiful looking film. Stern was essentially a photographer who got ahold of film equipment and was able to document this event (the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival). The sheer quality of the images (keep in mind it was 1958) really reflect Stern's true calling as a photographer. That being said, no, he is not a filmmaker by trade; if you are looking for a masterful film, look elsewhere; if you are looking for footage of the jazz musicians, by themsleves, isolated from the experience of playing to an audience, look elsewhere. However, if you want a great looking document portraying the experience of great jazz musicians playing to a crowd in 1958, and what it really looked and felt like, this is the film you must own. In my opinion, the opening scenes of Jimmy Guiffre playing (a vastly underrated jazz legend) are enough to get someone hooked. Lastly, this is one of the times when the DVD-format really shows its advantages in terms of sound. It's fantastic, and really captures the experience of this 1958 event like nothing else.

A fabulous bit of jazz history.......2007-01-05

We got this after seeing the Anita O'Day clips on YouTube. We think she certainly was one of the stars of this event, but the entire documentary is delightful and inspiring, both for the music recorded and the recorded moments of the jazz audience in 1958. Worth owning!

must have for traditional jazz fans.......2006-12-14

this is by far the best quality and footage I have seen of the
older jazz concerts. Color and sound are excellent, and it's
the best footage I have seen of Pop's and Mahalia. By contrast
the 62 festival is terrible in quality- poor sound and film.
It is annoying to cut away from the some of the performances,
but again it is still the best quality I have seen. If someone
has anything better out there, tell us about it.

Time capsule of the 50's.......2006-11-30

I am recommending this tape to any serious music fanatic. Being an old curmudgeon probably helps with the fascination of this film as I can relate to the 50's era. What a change from Newport to Woodstock, only 10 years later. Growing up in the Hippie years and looking back to 1958, I feel we have lost a way of life along the way. If you are looking for a peek into the 50's, buy this. The filming is great for it's time (35mm). Oh, how I long for those days to return after watching this flim.

*1/2 Star* Less than meets the eye.......2006-11-13

Pure and utter disappointment. I don't understand why this dvd received the high rating that it did. I suspect that some of the record labels pay people to post rave reviews that upon close inspection turn out to be hype. From a purely objective viewpoint, the audio and video quality of this release isn't worth the plastic its printed on. The color is washed out, and the audio sounds like rubber bands and distortion. Sure you get some head shots of some jazz greats, but that in and of itself is not worth the purchase. My advice... save your money.

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