Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz

Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz

It must schwing!

1997 · 113 min · ★ 7.2 · Documentary, Music

"It must schwing!" was the motto of Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, two German Jewish immigrants who in 1939 set up Blue Note Records, the jazz label that was home to such greats as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins. Blue Note, the most successful movie ever made about jazz, is a testimony to the passion and vision of these two men and certainly swings like the propulsive sounds that made their label so famous.

Directed by Julian Benedikt · Written by Andreas Morell

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Stingray Amazon Channel

Cast

More from Julian BenediktSee all →

Cognacq-JayCognacq-Jay · 1994
Cognacq-Jay
10.01994
MovieHistoryWar
With the armies of the Liberation at the gates of Paris, station manager Kurt Heyzmann receives an order from his superiors to withdraw. As a farewell, he decides to prepare one last prestigious program, to be filmed and broadcast live. Kleischter, a Gestapo lieutenant, emerges to try and spoil the show, by antagonizing Heyzmann and his employees. He believes that the war is not over, and continues to hunt down potential Jews and STO deserters on the TV premises.
Je n'en ferai pas un drameJe n'en ferai pas un drame · 1996
Je n'en ferai pas un drame
10.01996
MovieComedyDrama
A couple finds themselves for a decisive weekend in the countryside after three months of dissonant relationships. She is playful and philanthropist, he is Protestant, she is an atheist, he is thoughtful, she is impatient, he is dreamer.
Jazz SeenJazz Seen · 2001
Jazz Seen
8.02001
MovieDocumentary
"Jazz Seen" is an exploration of the life of William Claxton, whose photographs turned the world of jazz on its keen and perceptive ear. Various jazz artists, photographers, and actors recount memories they had with Claxton and explore his work, while parts of his life are re-enacted by actors.
Love at First SightLove at First Sight · 1991
Love at First Sight
4.01991
MovieRomance
After the German reunification: A widowed, unemployed archaeologist with two children and a single futurologist with a little daughter in Berlin fall in love at first sight and persistently and unwaveringly develop a life together. An equally unspectacular and rigorous examination of love as a crucial basis for private and political action.
Play Your Own Thing: A Story of Jazz in EuropePlay Your Own Thing: A Story of Jazz in Europe · 2006
Play Your Own Thing: A Story of Jazz in Europe
2006
MovieDocumentaryMusic
A comprehensive history of European Jazz, exploring the origins of the US-influenced Jazz clubs after the Second World War, the first steps independent of American jazz and the various changes of direction that have repeatedly occurred in European jazz in the search for that "own voice" that European jazz musicians have helped to form. Featuring the great masters of European jazz such as Chris Barber, Jan Garbarek, Juliette Gréco, Stefano Bollani and Till Brönner, to name but a few.
Longing for BeautyLonging for Beauty · 2010
Longing for Beauty
2010
MovieDocumentary
A documentary directed by Julian Benedikt.

More Like This

'Round Midnight'Round Midnight · 1986
'Round Midnight
7.11986
MovieDramaMusic
Inside the Blue Note nightclub one night in 1959 Paris, an aged, ailing jazzman coaxes an eloquent wail from his tenor sax. Outside, a young Parisian too broke to buy a glass of wine strains to hear those notes. Soon they will form a friendship that sparks a final burst of genius.
New York, New YorkNew York, New York · 1977
New York, New York
6.51977
MovieRomanceDrama
An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.
Sita Sings the BluesSita Sings the Blues · 2008
Sita Sings the Blues
7.02008
MovieAnimationDrama
Utilizing the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, the epic Indian tale of exiled prince Ramayana and his bride Sita is mirrored by a spurned woman's contemporary personal life, and light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets.
Swing GirlsSwing Girls · 2004
Swing Girls
7.92004
MovieComedyMusic
A group of delinquent high school girls form a band when they accidentally poison their school's brass band and have to replace them.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter